All the Bees is an exciting new collaboration between two highly experienced writer-musicians, Kirsty McGee and Gitika Partington. Kirsty McGee is no stranger to these pages; her last album, The Deafening Sound of Stars, was released in 2019. Our reviewer, Mike Davies, called it “an unqualified celestial masterpiece and the most ineffable romantic album of the year, one to fall in love with and to.”
Partington has had a similarly vibrant and varied career in music to date, releasing seven albums which have achieved critical acclaim and national airplay from the likes of BBC 6 Music.
All the Bees will release their self-titled debut album on 8th December 2023 via Hobopop Recordings, described as gentle yet deep, pastoral alt-folk. We get to hear those combined unique, distinctive styles in their first offering, ‘Wildflowers’, the lyric video for which premieres below. This hazy, ethereal track conjures a fragrant, meandering, reflective walk in the countryside as autumn turns to winter, remembering the wildflowers and the abundance of summer.
The single does have a deep pastoral feel, reminiscent of some of the more psychedelic British folk of the seventies, heightened not just by their gentle harmonies and music, which is exquisitely arranged throughout, but also the language they use – the folkore of flowers. It wouldn’t sound out of place on a Wicker Man soundtrack, having a similar ethereal quality to Paul Giovanni’s Gently Johnny. As Kirsty mentions below, it uses the forgotten language of countryside folklore, and this ancient wisdom seems to have woven itself into the very fabric of the music. Those beautiful musical interpretations and unique qualities we can hear on this tranquil lead single make this an exciting and highly anticipated album in my book.
Kirsty shared the following on the single, which is steeped in the folklore of flowers:
Having grown up pretty wild in the country, as a child, I was fascinated in a Victorian tradition called ‘floriography’ that allowed lovers and friends to deliver clandestine messages to one another using a symbolic ‘language of flowers’. This is such a fun well of unspoken meaning for a lyricist. ‘Yarrow’ – a British wildflower whose Latin name ‘millefolium’ translates as ‘one thousand leaves’ has been used to secretly communicate everlasting love, bravery, and even has the country name ‘bad man’s plaything’. Meadowsweet, by contrast, means beauty, happiness, peace and protection but was also thought to deter snakes. For years, I’ve enjoyed a ‘private language’ when choosing flower names in my lyrics. All the Bees, steeped in countryside folklore, is a perfect project for me to use this forgotten language.”
Pre-Save Wildflowers: https://orcd.co/allthebeeswildflowers
McGee and Partington crossed paths by chance on a lockdown film and TV sync music Zoom course and started working together remotely. Over the next three years, through major grief from close family deaths, illness, the crashing lack of usual musical ventures and the whole trauma of the pandemic, McGee and Partington immersed themselves in their new-found collaboration and created the debut, self-titled All the Bees album, which is due for release this winter.
The duo have only met three times in real life – most of that time was spent cooking and eating seriously healthy and beautiful plant-based food. Their perfect blend of harmonies and musical flow on ‘Wildflowers’ and throughout the new album suggests some kind of pre-destined deeper connection.
All The Bees’ debut single ‘Wildflowers’ comes out on 27th October via Hobopop Recordings, with the self-titled debut album to follow on 8th December 2023.
Websites: https://kirstymcgee.com/ | https://gitikapartington.com/