Tag: Wildflowers

All The Bees are Kirsty McGee and Gitika Partington, two highly experienced writer-musicians who have who have created an exciting new album of gentle yet deep, pastoral alt-folk that brings together their distinctive styles into a crisp, fresh new collaboration that weaves its stunning, reflective songs like gossamer threads around the ear.

McGee is an award-winning wandering maverick and spellbinding live performer who has been releasing music and performing all over the world for over twenty years. Her fans include Emma Watson and Danny Boyle, for whose 2014 thriller Trance the song ‘Sandman’ provided a cornerstone, both in its original version and covered by lead actress Rosario Dawson.

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 likes of BBC 6 Music. She has created 4 books of multi-genre choral acapella arrangements published by OUP and Hal Leonard and multi layered vocal tracks for Warner Chappell and Peermusic. During the lockdown of Spring 2020, she directed nearly 100 community singers and produced 9 award winning, original, quirky virtual choir videos of her choral arrangements.

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 3 years, through major grief from close family deaths, illness, the crashing lack of usual musical ventures and the whole trauma of the pandemic, the pair immersed themselves in their new-found collaboration and created the debut All the Bees album.

McGee & Partington have only met three times in real life – most of that time was spent cooking and eating seriously healthy and beautiful plant-based food, and their perfect blend of harmonies and musical flow throughout the album suggests some kind of pre-destined deeper connection.

Reflective, heartfelt and unashamed of straying into poetry, the lyrics focus on nature themes and cycles including loss death and rebirth. McGee’s intricate flute arrangements and Partington’s layered vocals form a hazy, breath-infused backdrop to the songs reminiscent of Nick Drake.

From the poignant, gentle and reflective moods of the album’s first single ‘Wildflowers’, to the nostalgic banjo-flecked vocal epic ‘King Crow’, the album is a lush and gorgeous piece of work to be treasured in record collections amongst the best alt-folk albums of the past decade. With tracks like the sweet, twinkling ‘Petals’ and the slow burning ‘May Tide’, the dreamy layers of beauty that pervade All the Bees and their songs will comfort you this winter like a warm blanket of hope and reflective intrigue.

Artists’ websites: www.kirstymcgee.com  www.gitikapartington.com

‘Wildflowers’ – official video: