Brian McBride - The Effective Disconnect (Music Composed for Vanishing of the Bees)

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4...according to our Clinton on Fri 15 Oct, 2010.

The latest installment of McBride's surprising move from prolific Fulham goal poacher to ambient pioneer extra-ordinaire is this stunning soundtrack to the documentary "Vanishing of the Bees". I joke of course, this Brian McBride has long been known as one half of consistently appealing minimalist beauty-drone merchants Stars of the Lid. There really is no discernible difference between this and the noise made by his parent band. It's extremely slow burning, quietly unfurling orchestral drone pieces of such beauty I feel like weeping on the spot. I can almost smell the church where I last saw Stars of the Lid wow a stunned audience in Leeds a couple of years back. The instruments swell in the most incredible way, whether they be trumpet drones, violin or elegiac piano. Superb minimalist chamber music throughout, and heartily recommended to fans of Stars of the Lid, Pan American, La Bradford, Celer, Thomas Koner, William Basinski. And to top it all off this is a soundtrack to a film about the vanishing of the bees - bees are the most wonderful creatures and basically - without them we are fucked.

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* BRAND NEW STUDIO ALBUM ONE HALF OF STARS OF THE LID.

* PRESS:
- WIRE: "To underpin this sombre warning, McBride has composed a series of austere yet elegiac instrumentals...fittingly the greatest impression is made by those instruments that have become absent, the way we only notice the buzzing of bees when silence falls."

* From Brian McBride:
"When George and Myriam approached me to compose for their film they suggested I concentrate on four different themes: the gloriousness of the bees, the endurance and hardships of traditional beekeepers, pesticides and the holistic nature of non-industrial agriculture. I was especially intrigued with the idea of combining some of their mournful
aspirations with something more serene."

"Composing began in May of 2009. I had decided to start fresh not using anything that I had already recorded. Preparing the music for the film, I knew that I needed to provide more built-in changes in the structure of the pieces to give George and Myriam more flexibility. As I worked, I purposely distanced myself from the more continuous architecture employed in my previous recordings in favour of several mini-suites.

"In the thinking about the music, I hoped that the pieces would do justice to the gloriousness of the bees theme, striving for a more overt hopeful quality. But old traditions die-hard and the hopeful side of the music was eventually more subsumed by the lamentable."

"I should also mention that if you have seen the film, this record will not contain all the music used and scored for this film."

"I am incredibly honoured to be a part of this project even if the final compositions turned out to be more appropriate for a different and more forlorn film. I know you have a lot to think about in this world but if you care about food or the world around us, you deserve to at least consider the arguments within this honest and real piece of film-making."

TRACKLIST:

1. Melodrames Telegraphies (in B major 7th) Part 1 2. Melodrames Telegraphies (in B major 7th) Part 2 3. Girl Nap 4. Several Tries (in an Unelevated Style) 5. Supposed Essay on the Piano (Bmajor piano Adagietto) 6. Toil Theme Part 1 7. Toil Theme Part 2 8. Toil Theme Part 3 9. Beekeepers Vs Warfare Chemicals 10. I Know That You Don't Like The Future Like I Do 11. Chamber Minuet

* FOR FANS OF: STARS OF THE LID, DEAD TEXAN, PAN AMERICAN, THOMAS KONER

* QUOTES:
"A lush combination of everything from understated trumpet to an exultant, aspiring melody, feel like messages from
some lost, distant landscape." All Music Guide "Without flashy production, without a flashy image, and without a super-
fast riff or commercial hook, McBride manages to create all the gravity in the world." Brainwashed

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