And here we find ourselves in a bit of an oxymoron kind of situation in that we’re going to showcase a song that advocates turning your back on the relentless assault of the digital world and embracing sensory input that relies on real things: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and physical feelings. And we’re going to do this via the mechanism of the Internet. You see the problem. And whilst there is a little bit of advocating shooting ourselves in the foot as a way to improve the world, on the other hand we’d argue that actually we would never argue for an embracing of an online reality over the much richer reality of…err…reality. Look at the blue of that sky, man, doesn’t that cloud look like Ireland, is that a red kite’s call, can you smell cut grass, goodness this curry tastes great, of course I want a hug.
These are all thoughts that are captured on Escape From The Digital World, taken from the forthcoming psychedelic folk-rock odyssey 21st Century Prayer due for release in the Autumn. The laid-back shuffle of a song contains some hard truths, and a reflection that “I feel like my generation is being used in some kind of grand experiment / Oh it can’t be good to be a guinea pig for all this technology we now need to live, so let’s get rid of it.” It’s a good thought, we wouldn’t recommend turning off life-support machines, but the everyday drag of recognising that there “Seems like there’s nothing left to say that isn’t already being said by some trolls” can lead to a resolution that “Well if it’s all just fantasy play, I’d rather be some kind of lost elf heading home / Listening to the outside world is so much more peaceful than online.”
Bee Appleseed lives out the truth of his song; he’s a prolific singer/songwriter, poet, musician, painter, entertainer, audio archivist, and recording engineer from Canby, Oregon. He’s spent much of his life exploring the world, performing DIY concerts across nearly fifty countries in Europe, North America, and South America and by all accounts he’s done this with a great sense of humour, a golden love for the road, and all those open to sharing the journey.
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