Bee and Flower is a band founded in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1999 by singer-songwriter, bassist, animator, illustrator, composer and producer Dana Schechter. Schechter formed the band while also a member of
Michael Gira's band
Angels of Light.
Bee and Flower's co-founding band members include
Ani Cordero on drums and backing vocals, Roderick Miller (Richard Ruin, Kitty Solaris) on piano and keyboards, Jon Petrow (Cordero, And the Wiremen) on viola and violin, and Lynn Wright (
James Hall, And the Wiremen) on guitar. They recorded their first
demo in 1999 with
Sam McCall. Later members include Ethan Donaldson (And the Wiremen) on drums, Joni Heine (
The Ocean) on bass, and Thomas Fietz (Richard Ruin) on drums.
[Sourced via published photographic images of the band's releases (not relying solely on user contributions) and releases on individual artist's pages o]
Discogs
Touring members included Jeff Conaway (
The Psychic Paramount) and Rainer Baumgartner (
The Durgas) on drums, Thimo Sander (Poems for Laila) on guitar, Martin Wenk (
Calexico) on percussion, guitar and trumpet, and Simon Goff (
Aidan Baker) on violin.
History
In 2001, the band supplied the track ''Twin Stars'' for the compilation ''
This Is Next Year: A Brooklyn-Based Compilation'' released by
Arena Rock Recording Co.
Their album ''What's Mine Is Yours'' was released in 2003.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
awarded it 4/5, praising Schechter's "sexy yet sophisticated performance" and attention-grabbing voice.
Bee and Flower collaboratively wrote the original score for the feature film ''
A Good Night to Die'' (2003); Dana Schechter had previously scored Singer's film ''Dead Dogs Lie'' (2001). Both films were directed by Craig Singer.
A music video for "I Know Your Name", directed by Josh Graham (Neurosis, Storm Of Light) was released on
Neurot's "Various Artists 1 DVD" in 2004.
In 2004 the band, then consisting of just Dana Schechter and Roderick Miller, went to
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
with producer
Toby Dammit (
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
and
Swans) to record an album. Schechter and Miller then settled in Berlin, making it the new base for the band.
["Interview with Dana Schechter from Bee and Flower" on ]
Night Seminar Music Interviews
', January 2010. (Archived on 25 January 2023.)
''Last Sight of Land'', recorded in 2004 in Berlin and released on tuition music in 2007, explores elements of traditional film scoring orchestration, with an emphasis on strings, choirs, and a large bass section. This album marked the departure of the core band from New York City to Berlin between 2004 and 2008. Bee and Flower have worked since this album with a number of musicians, both in the studio and in live performances, who play in notable bands, including
Thomas Wydler (
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) and
Peter von Poehl (
Bertrand Burgalat).
''The Bridge'' (2009, Lakeshore Records), a compilation track for the official soundtrack for documentary film ''Scott Walker 30 Century Man'', was recorded in Berlin and NYC. Schechter met film director Stephen Kijak after working as an animator on the film, and was later invited to contribute a track. The album also features contributors
Damon & Naomi,
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson (born June 5, 1947) is an American avant-garde artist, musician and filmmaker whose work encompasses performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and sculpting,Amirkhanian, Cha ...
,
Saint Etienne,
Jarboe, and more.
The band's last studio album to date, ''Suspension'', was recorded by Ingo Krauss at Candy Bomber Studios in Berlin and released in 2012. In addition to some past guest musicians such as Martin Wenk, the LP includes trumpet playing from
Paul Watson (
Sparklehorse).
In 2021, Schechter stated that she was uncertain of the band's future, but would not confirm that the band has been dissolved:
I don’t think B&F ee and Flowerwill come back. It existed for 12-plus years and that was enough for it to run whatever course it could run. Despite the fact that (in my opinion) those records are really great, it wasn’t a successful band and running it took a lot of my blood, sweat and heartache, so I was ready to let it go by the end. However, we are all still friends and fans of each other’s current projects.
As of 2022, Schechter is based in Berlin.
[Insect Ark, Dana Schechte]
biography
original page archived on 24 February 2023.
Releases
* 2001 – ''Dead Dogs Lie'', Original Film Score
* 2003 – ''
A Good Night to Die'', Original Film Score
* 2003 – ''D.I.Y. Or Die'' Independent Film / Interview
* 2003 – ''What's Mine Is Yours'', CD (Neurot)
* 2004 – ''Various Artists 1'', DVD Music Video (Neurot)
* 2006 – ''What's Mine Is Yours'', CD/Russia (Soyuz)
* 2007 – ''Last Sight of Land'', CD (tuition)
* 2007 – ''Dust & Sparks'', 7" (Morningrise)
* 2009 – ''"The Bridge" – Scott Walker 30 Century Man CD Compilation'' (
Lakeshore)
* 2011 – ''Split EP w/ Keiki'', 10" (Cheap Satanism Records)
* 2012 – ''Suspension'' (Cheap Satanism Records)
References
External links
*
archived8. October 2012)
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 2000
German musical groups
2000 establishments in New York (state)