The Bird and the Bee first took flight in 2004, when members Inara George and Greg Kurstin began crafting a blend of jazz, electronica and Space Age pop.
From the start, the duo’s sound was as eclectic as its pedigree. Mr. Kurstin, a celebrated producer and studio musician, has helmed records for such artists as Lilly Allen and Kylie Minogue. Meanwhile, Ms. George lends her songwriting talents to emerging artists while enjoying her own solo career. The daughter of Little Feat’s Lowell George, she grew up among such iconic figures as Van Dyke Parks, with whom she collaborated on the symphonic pop album “An Invitation” earlier this year.
Despite their busy schedules, both musicians find time to craft the stylish tones of the Bird and the Bee, whose sophomore record arrives in January 2009.
“Stolen moments, that’s how we do it,” says Ms. George, who will join Mr. Kurstin for a series of show dates this fall. “We get together and work hard for a couple of hours, and then go off and work on our other projects. And all of our songs come from those sessions.”
If the band’s creation process is somewhat rushed, the resulting music is nonetheless nuanced and smartly crafted. Ms. George plays the role of songbird, pitching her alto vocals against her partner’s backdrop of programmed percussion and buzzing activity.
The Bird and the Bee’s debut album arrived in early 2007 and found an audience among fans of sophisticated pop and dance music alike. The record even spun off a No. 1 single on the Dance Club charts, a feat that continues to surprise the musicians.
“We never thought we would ever be able to add that honor to our resume,” admits Ms. George.
“Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future,” the band’s second full-length effort, doesn’t hit shelves until the winter. Nevertheless, Ms. George and Mr. Kurstin continue to record new material during “stolen moments,” including an upcoming tribute record to an undisclosed artist.
“We will be covering an entire album,” the singer says, “but I’m not going to say who. Let it be a surprise.”
In the meantime, the Bird and the Bee will hit the road to drum up support for “Ray Guns.” Consisting of several performances, the duo’s cross-country jaunt centers on a show at Spiegeltent. The New York City venue combines opulence with the eerie spectacle of an old-world carnival - a setting well-suited to the Bird and the Bee’s music.
“We thought we should do a little tour surrounding the date,” Ms. George explains. “It’s a great way for us to get ourselves together, to figure out how to play these new songs live.”
• The Bird and the Bee will visit Jammin’ Java this evening for a performance that begins at 8 p.m. The $17 show also features music from Willoughby, a California-based musician also known as Gus Seyffert.
Musee Mecanique on exhibit
Filled with coin-operated music boxes, antique arcade games and other novelties, Musee Mecanique is one of San Francisco’s most unique destinations. The bayside museum evokes an era in which technology and elegance went hand in hand, and its collection of hand-painted relics helps preserve a slice of the city’s visual past.
Micah Rabwin and Sean Ogilvie were born and raised in California, where they drew inspiration from the museum’s vintage appeal. Adopting the name Musee Mecanique, they also began crafting music that paid similar homage to earlier decades.
In the mid-2000s, the musicians decided to relocate north. They settled in Oregon, where their new surroundings helped shape Musee Mecanique’s lush mix of pianos, guitars, strings and vintage instruments.
“When we moved to Portland,” explains Mr. Rabwin, “we only had a couple guitars and keyboards. That first summer, we went to a lot of garage sales and picked up various instruments, mostly old neglected keyboards. As we were writing our album, we’d pick up various new instruments and try them out.”
The two ushered new members into the Musee Mecanique fold and began recording their band’s debut album, “Hold This Ghost.” Melding digital synthesizers with orchestral flourishes, the group found room to showcase elements of the past and present, not unlike the museum that inspired their name.
To understand the musicians’ approach, it helps to gain insight into their respective record collections. Mr. Rabwin prefers to fall asleep to the “Koyaanisqatsi” soundtrack, whose minimalist tones were composed by Philip Glass, while Mr. Ogilvie raves about Clara Rockmore’s “Berceuse.”
“It’s a timeless piece not just in its composition, but in its performance and instrumentation,” Mr. Ogilvie says of the latter song. “The theremin itself is at once so elegant and quirky - and combined with the piano, it creates such a perfect pairing of old and new, acoustic and electronic, but wholly organic. It’s a simple but haunting arrangement of a great Tchaikovsky tune that tells an unsettling story. … It expresses just what it needs to express, but nothing more.”
Musee Mecanique will present its own elegant, expressive music during the band’s third tour, which started in late September and runs until Nov. 6.
• Catch the band’s headlining performance at the Black Cat on Tuesday. Tickets for the backstage event cost $10, and doors open at 9 p.m.
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