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Ant-Bee - Electronic Church Muzik (CD)

Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 9th July 2012

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Label: Barking Moondog Records
Catalogue Number: BMR1
Price: £9.99

Featuring guest appearances by Jan Akkerman (Focus), Peter Banks (Yes/Flash), Daevid Allen & Gilli Smyth (Gong), Michael Bruce (Alice Cooper), Napoleon Murphy Brock (Zappa), Zoot Horn Rollo & Rockette Morton (Capt. Beefheart's Magic Band), Don Preston, Bunk Gardner, Buzz Gardner, Motorhead and Jimmy Carl Black (Mothers of Invention), Moogy Klingman (Todd Rundgren's Utopia.

Asheville, NC - After a 12 year gap between albums, and fans holding their breaths, avant-garde music pioneer ANT-BEE, best known for recording ex-members of the Mothers of Invention and Alice Cooper Group together on the critically acclaimed 1998 release 'Lunar Muzik', has finally released what could be considered the artist's masterpiece. Possibly the most unique and innovative album to be recorded in decades, ANT-BEE 'Electronic Church Muzik' is an exploration into the spirituality of man (and woman) in a steam-of-consciousness psychedelic trip.

Featuring legends of progressive rock and classic rock, ANT-BEE's new opus boasts guest appearances by by Jan Akkerman (Focus), Peter Banks (Yes/Flash), Daevid Allen & Gilli Smyth (Gong), Michael Bruce (Alice Cooper), Napoleon Murphy Brock (Zappa), Zoot Horn Rollo & Rockette Morton (Capt. Beefheart's Magic Band), Don Preston, Bunk Gardner, Buzz Gardner, Motorhead and Jimmy Carl Black (Mothers of Invention), Moogy Klingman (Todd Rundgren's Utopia). Ant-Bee is the brainchild of one Billy James.

Formed through a series of musical experimentations in the recording studio back in 1987 in Los Angeles. In 1988, Ant-Bee were signed to Los Angeles record company Voxx/Bomp Records. The first Ant-Bee album was 'Pure Electric Honey', and received rave reviews worldwide. Ant-Bee became an overnight legend in the European underground. The album also featured guest performances by Bob Harris (Frank Zappa) and Rick Snyder ( Captain Beefheart ).

In 1990 the live Ant-Bee ensemble was assembled and gigged throughout Los Angeles to the astonishment of most audiences. Also at this time, while recording new material, the first Ant-Bee video was filmed "Here We Go Round The Lemon Tree" which viewed in L.A and Canada. During this period a cover version of the unreleased Beach Boys song "Do You Like Worms?" was recorded. Oddly through a bizarre turn of events this Ant-Bee version of the song was mistakenly played on a Beach Boys radio show as a rare Beach Boys demo!! It eventually surfaced on several elaborate European bootlegs as an unreleased Beach Boys studio outtake from 1966!!!!

In 2004, ANT-BEE was mentioned in Brian Wilson's 'Smile' tour program, proclaiming the artist was the first to cover the 'Worms' track in question. Again the original Mothers make guest appearances along with the legendary Daevid Allen of Gong/Soft Machine, Harvey Bainbridge of Hawkwind and the original members of the Alice Cooper Group (namely Michael Bruce, Neal Smith) making 'Lunar Muzik' the most ambitious and pioneering project of the '90s!!! Also to promote the release of this album was the filming of the psychedelic video 'Child Of The Moon'.

After a tour of the east coast with Michael Bruce, the Ant-Bee began work recording the fourth album 'Electronic Church Muzik' which promised to be an even bigger extravaganza then the previous album. Possibly the most adventurous album of the decade, after 12 years the new ANT-BEE album 'Electronic Church Muzik' is now available!

Tracks:

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Review: ANT-BEE REVIEW

Ant-Bee - Electronic Church Muzik

I was forewarned that this was different. Well, ok – but Ant-Bee [aka Billy James] has a wide array of influences and a long list of ‘70s music legends to help him out on various projects. The guy is a great drummer, as well as singer, producer, author, etc... On this album there's plenty of little ‘tracks’ and full of twisted psychedelic excursions, talk [“snorks”], sound effects, … then again this is coming from a guy hugely influenced by the likes of the Mothers of Invention [a few of whom appear here], the first few Bizarre Alice Cooper albums [Michael Bruce is on here too!], Gong, Utopia, and other more ‘left-field’ stuff of the late 60s/early 70s era]. Not a rock album by any stretch, but interesting to say the least, and it includes some very likeable and worthhwhile to check-out covers, such as “Living” [from the first Alice Cooper album – “Pretties For You”], Todd Rundgren’s classic “Don’t You Ever Learn” – featuring Murphy Brock on vocals [I thought this was Glenn Hughes at first!], and Peter Banks “Endless Journey” [w/ Banks also on guitar], as well as a few interesting originals, like “Flutter-Bye, Flutter-Flye” – a quiet track, co-penned by Michael Bruce [who also plays on this one], and “Sectrets Of The Dead” – co-written by the late Bruce Cameron, who also performed guitar & sitar on this.

A unique project, and one that is far from the usual 10 track pop-rock/rocker/ballad format; this one being 22 ‘tracks’ long, and one that requires a few listens to see how far-out this really is. Kudos to Billy James for coming up with such a unique listening experience; aside from writer, producer, and arranger, James also does a stand-out job as drummer, keyboard player, and singer throughout much of this.

www.ant-bee.com

Review: Ant-Bee review

https://www.rocking.gr/reviews/album/Ant-Bee_-_Electronic_Church_Muzik/3526/

Ant-Bee

Electronic Church Muzik

Barking Moondog (2011)

By Costas Sakkalis

Imagine a disk in which participating States epifanestata bands like Mothers Of Invention, Magic Band to Captain Beefheart, Alice Cooper (when he was still a band), Focus, Gong, Yes ... Well, now you can stop imagining because surely the result has nothing to do with what happens in the "Electronic Church Muzik". The Ant-Bee, aka Billy James, has long unsolicited take the project to gather some of his favorite musicians from the '60s and '70s, in order to revive and reactivate their music. In this, however, adds plenty of doses convictions of avant-garde route. You, then, are two covers on the "Living" from the first disk (or "the" if you prefer) Alice Cooper and "Don't You Ever Learn" the Todd Rudgren to be among the most robust configurations disc and significantly interesting in the way the soul and psychedelic elements respectively amplified after care they receive. Can the "Eye Of Agamoto" the participant Don Preston also function as a Mini reunion Mothers body and soul.Can Jan Akkerman in "Mannah" to impress the guitar virtues that earned him vast amounts of nature and like to do and Zoot Horn Rollo in "Mallard Flies Towards Heaven".

But all belongs more in the Ant-Bee, who manages to tie all these elements into something that has its own identity. And it is none other than a space-electronic-psychedelic and sometimes oddly church (to justify the title album) music. This result was greatly assisted by craftsmen kind Daevid Allen and Gilli Smith.Where necessary, however, he takes the reins as the wonderful "Flutter-Bye, Butter-Flye", after also doing everything on the disk, from song to washboard and the loops until the mellotron. We end missing and other strange sounds of chickens, donkeys and ... the Groucho Marx! Overall, the sound escapes, of course, the mainstream and wants a degree of risk and ignorance search of adventure music to be appreciated. On the other hand, flows smoothly, is friendly enough for the listener (for data sets at least) and has moments that can be isolated from the whole. I would not say to listen anyway, but I'd certainly not ignore.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO

Pure Electric Honey
SCD - £9.99

Review: ANT-BEE ON AMAZON

I am very fond of the music of Ant-Bee, but I am the first to admit that sometimes the music I like is a bit rarified for some people's tastes. However, on Amazon, the first reader review has just appeared...

https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Church-Muzik-Ant-Bee/dp/B00533XZ8S/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1348435471&sr=1-1&keywords=ant-bee

An Interesting Take On Psychedelic Music September 13, 2012

By Gary D. Garles

Format:Audio CD

Had my first listen today. The disc started out sounding a lot like their previous efforts, which I dearly love. By the end of the fourth song I was totally hooked. There is a sequence of songs from Flutter-bye through Endless Journey/The Light/Mannah that is as good as any album ever gets. The band plays psych music, and yet the individual songs are just well-written pop. It all works very well together.

Check out Ant-Bee at Gonzo