Songhive Compilation
SONGHIVE is a folksong project concerned with raising awareness of the current plight of our native bees. Bees are responsible for 80% of pollination in the UK, are essential to biodiversity, and ultimately the future of humanity. Despite all this, we continue to obliterate the pollen-rich plants they depend on, and our governments insist on legalising pesticides that do them harm.
Folk music has long been fraught with political dissent and attended by social change; perhaps this collection will serve to highlight how the decline of bees has entered the public consciousness. Here isn’t the place to wax lyrical, but hopefully this small project can raise some money for our friends; “the little musicians of the world”... (The King & The Hermit, 10th c. Irish Verse).
Tracklist:
1. Rosie Hodgson - The Bee-Boy's Song02:33
2. Rowan Piggott - Queen & Country03:18
3. The Rheingans Sisters - The Honeybee
4. Nick Burbridge - The Queen's Dream Of Lost Fields04:11
5. Ray Chandler - Frisky Drone / Diligent Worker02:16
6. Georgia Lewis - The Bee Wassail03:23
7. Rowan Piggott - Soul Wake Dirge02:39
8. Nancy Kerr - Dark Honey
9. Keryda - The Honeybee Slipjig03:11
10. The Wilderness Yet - We Must Away03:29
11. The Hivemind Choir - The Keeper's Lament02:44
A shorter digital edition is now available from Bandcamp.
"Featuring some of the British folk scene’s young stars as well as more established acts...even the bees themselves are almost present, as their buzz is imitated by a shruti drone... The bees are a vehicle for optimistic action and a means for folk to be refocused to its political roots." – The Guardian
