beetBITE (fleaBITE and Levity Beet) invite us to ‘Tune It Up’
Award-winning children’s music duo beetBITE (Levity Beet and fleaBITE) are treating us to a brand-new single each fortnight – and this week, a brand-new website!
Here’s something fun to start your week with: the release of Tune It Up, a toe-tapping tune which the beetBITE team wrote especially to bring happiness. A guitar’s strings need tuning up from time to time, and so do we.
Tune It Up comes from quite an unusual place. Robin Nathan (fleaBITE) and Levity Beet discovered they both had a Jewish grandmother who grew up in Paris (not the same grandmother). Levity researched Django Reinhart’s jazz guitar style, and came up with a catchy and fully-formed instrumental; then Robin added the melody and lyrics.
beetBITE also decided to do a version in French (Allez Hop), enlisting talented songstress Tui Mamaki for lead vocals.
Tune It Up is an encouraging story about moving from having the blues into a more cheery place, through engaging with a perky gypsy jazz song.
Tune It Up also encourages us to take good care of our pets and the animals around us – and to remember that even a duck might be having an off day.
With two of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most-loved children’s songwriters behind it, beetBITE have been releasing a single every two weeks since April 1st, which will culminate in the unfolding of two EPs on July 18, featuring 11 songs for adventurous young listeners.
beetBITE is the product of two creative brains – a father and an auntie – having a load of fun. Between them, Levity Beet and fleaBITE have taken the top spot at the Aotearoa Music Awards nine times (Best Children’s Album, Artist, Song and Video).
The beetBITE project is supported by NZ on Air in their first ever ‘New Music Kids’ Project’, which encourages experienced children’s artists to produce ambitious projects.
