Talking to: The Rotary Fifth’s Michelle Bee
During a pub gathering three years ago, a mutual friend introduced singer-songwriter Michelle Bee to Mark Kyriacou, a music producer and co-founder of the band Loka. A casual conversation about favourite artists led to their passing bits of music and vocals back and forth via WhatsApp and the discovery of a natural creative connection.
“We’ve literally just kind of co-wrote by batting ideas back and forth”, Bee said.
They’ve written more than 20 songs, founded the experimental pop group the Rotary Fifth, and plan to release their first album later this year.
The way Kyriacou constructs music and melody and sees the ‘geometric patterns in music’ resounds creatively with Bee.
“Working with Mark’s music, the ideas just come out so quickly. I’ve never really had to try with the music he’s sent me… Whatever mood the music is, that’s what comes out in the vocals”, said Bee.
They’re joined in the Rotary Fifth by Loka co-founder Eamon Ellams (percussion and drums), Tom Sumnall (bass), and Jonathan Copley (guitar).
Visual music
The band’s name comes from a book about the harmonograph, a 19th-century mechanical device that draws harmonic patterns based on different pendulum configurations.
‘Rotary fifth’ patterns consist of ‘encircled hearts and fives’, and match how Bee visualises and how Kyriacou constructs music.
The visual dimension of music is so important to the band they’ve even contemplated building their own harmonograph. “Each song is a piece of art that has a visual with it”, said Bee.
Kyriacou pairs their music with circular imagery like swirling spirals and the concentric rings of raindrops on water, and with found vintage video footage.
They’ve also worked with London-based filmmaker Michael Down to create visually striking videos for the songs ‘Sun Salutations’ and ‘Take your Aim’.
‘Sun Salutations’, for example, weaves lyrics about discovering the fundamental kindness of people with scenes, both haunting and joyful, from pre-Christian festivals, collected by Down on his travels throughout Europe.
Releasing Music and Performing During Lockdown:
Following up on the successful release of their EP Automata in February, which saw songs played on BBC’s Radio 6 and Radio 2, the Rotary Fifth intends to release their first album by the end of this year. A second, shorter album will follow in 2021.
The fact they regularly collaborate virtually has enabled them to continue working on the album during lockdown.
“We’ve probably written more during lockdown than we normally would have, because everyone is at home now”, said Bee.
Collaborating across the Atlantic, between the United Kingdom and New York City, each band member contributes their part to a song, which Kyriacou then pulls together with the visual elements.
“It starts off as a tiny little germ of an idea, and comes back months later…fully formed”, said Bee. She emphasised the importance of song selection and order when compiling an album. “An album shouldn’t be a collection of songs”, said Bee. “It should take you on a huge journey and tell a story”.
While Coronavirus has stalled the process of mixing and mastering the album in a studio, the band contemplates the possibility of performing live shows.
Bee explained they’d love to do a small number of shows and festivals, incorporating their trademark visual elements into the performances. “Thinking about the landscape of music [right now though,] it’s unclear”, she tells me.
Adapting to the current situation, they contributed a 40-minute video sequence in June to a virtual fundraising event for Love, Jasmine, a family bereavement support charity.
The Everyday
Fundraising, song writing, and releasing an album would keep anyone active, and Bee fits her music around her everyday life as a fulltime working single mum.
Although she used to pressure herself for not devoting all of her time to music, she’s always found a space for song writing and subsequently also more creative freedom.
‘If there’s something that you really want to do, you’ll find time to do it...The passion gives you the discipline’, she said. ‘There’s a place for people who...have normal lives to be able to be creative...’
Discover
Listen to Automata on Spotify and learn more about the Rotary Fifth on their website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Written by Sarah Lin Bhatia
Sarah writes in her free time whilst studying digital marketing. Originally from America and now a proud Londoner, her personal motto is: ‘Music, London, life’.