W4RP Trio & LiKWUiD's Release 'Sermon of the MatriarK' Album

W4RP Trio — the internationally touring chamber music group whose daring cross-genre experiments dip into everything from modernist orchestral works to tango and bleeding-edge jazz — release their new album Sermon of the MatriarK, via Phenotypic Recordings®. 

Tonight, January 9, W4RP Trio and LiKWUiD will celebrate the release of Sermon of the MatriarK with a special album release show at Brooklyn Art Haus — full show details here, and the full list of upcoming W4RP Trio live dates are listed below.

A collaboration with the barbed and poetic lyricism of rapper LiKWUiD, Sermon of the MatriarK is a towering conceptual work strives to, as W4RP put it, "honor the strength and resilience of women across the Black diaspora." W4RP constructs a propulsive and ominous sound that evokes Stravinsky-esque theatricality, fire and brimstone gospel music, rhythms from the worlds of contemporary minimalism and jazz, and grandiose hip-hop production.

Meanwhile, atop that formidable swirl, LiKWUiD unspools lyrical threads that revel in the depth of Matriarchal Afro-diasporic folklore while simultaneously celebrating the ascendancy and power of the modern Black woman.

As W4RP Trio share: "Sermon of the MatriarK began as an exploration of folkloric material from the African diaspora with powerful female protagonists. As we sought to understand these characters, we became increasingly aware of their real-life counterparts—the heroines who shape our daily lives. We connected the dots from the legendary African warrior princess Yennenga to Black freedom fighters Harriet Tubman and Assata Shakur, all the way to our mothers, aunties, sisters, and friends fighting to protect and uplift themselves, their families, and their communities.

Try as we might, instrumental music alone can only go so far in communicating the details of these stories. We are thus forever indebted to a longtime friend of the band, the amazing lyricist and human Faybeo’n Mickens (LiKWUiD), for taking our rough concepts and lyrically running a marathon with them. By helping us articulate these complex ideas, LiKWUiD helped us create a project that evokes the deep roots of matriarchal Afro-diasporic folklore and celebrates women’s rise and empowerment. We hope this album will instill in the listener a sense of these powerful figures’ legacies and honor the strength and resilience of women across the Black diaspora."

W4RP TRIO LIVE DATES

Jan 9 - Album Release Show with LiKWUiD @ Brooklyn Art Haus - Brooklyn, NY
Jan 25 - "HooDoo Lounge" - Moab Music Festival Winterlude Residency - Moab, UT
Jan 31 - "Star Hall" - Moab Music Festival Winterlude Residency - Moab, UT
Feb 1 - Copeka - Grand Junction, CO
Feb 3-5 - Wyoming Symphony Education Residency - Caspar, WY
Feb 6-7 - Improvise Arts Residency - Rapid City, SD
March 10 - Long Island University - Brookville, NY
March 12 - ​​Fessenden School - Boston, MA
May 12-17 - Geneva Music Festival - Geneva, NY 

ABOUT W4RP TRIO

Described as a “talented group that exemplifies the genre-obliterating direction of contemporary classical music” (Columbia Free Times), W4RP Trio is an internationally touring cross-genre chamber music experience. Reflecting the combination of Juilliard trained members juxtaposed with members steeped in rock and jazz styles, the one-of-a-kind ensemble can be seen performing classical works in prestigious halls on the same tour where they headline a standing room only show at a rock venue. In addition to their electrifying public performances, they have gained a reputation for their innovative educational workshops with students from grade school through university level. Their groundbreaking original compositions and collaborative works explore myriad musical traditions and styles, as well as important social issues.

Maintaining a busy performance schedule, W4RP has performed hundreds of concerts all across the United States, in addition to touring throughout the United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland, Holland, Germany, Africa, and the Caribbean. Highlights of recent seasons include headlining at Barcelona’s LEM Festival for Experimental Music and the Omaha Under the Radar Festival; being featured artists at the MASA Jazz Festival in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the Moab Music Festival’s Winterlude, and the Vancouver Island Music Festival; and launching the world premiere of their original work for the ensemble, narrator and full orchestra, “Brother Yasuke: The True Story of the Afro-Samurai."

W4RP Trio’s collaborative partners range from orchestras to hip hop to jazz and pop artists. They have performed mind-blowing original orchestral programs with the Des Moines and Louisville Orchestras, as well as the Chesapeake Orchestra, Palaver Strings, and New York City’s Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra. In popular music, W4RP has long standing collaborations with spoken-word artist LiKWUiD as well as vocalists including Mirah, Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez, Claire Wellin (of San Fermin), and Rich; W4RP recently opened for Icelandic jazz-pop sensation Laufey at the Caroga Lake Music Festival.

Their education work has led them to numerous Colleges and Universities where they have presented their original workshops and masterclasses in improvisation and creative music making. Recent highlights include, the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, U.K.), North Carolina School of the Arts, James Madison University, The North Carolina School of the Arts, Cal State LA, University of Iowa, UC Davis, University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), and Syracuse University, among many others.

Individually, the W4RP members hold degrees in performance from the Juilliard School, Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, and New York University. The beneficiaries of an incredibly diverse range of education, among the ensemble, they have received chamber music training from members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Emerson, and La Salle Quartets as well as jazz instruction from figures such as Ray Anderson, Tony Moreno, Dave Pietro, and Mike Richmond.

ABOUT LiKWUiD

DJ LiKWUiD, born Faybeo’n LaShanna A Mickens, is an award-winning hip hop fusion artivist, DJ, songwriter, music supervisor and educator. As an avid lover of the African American diaspora of music, LiKWUiD’s style of DJing is based around blending beats together as one tapestry of sound. Her signature “traphrobeats” genre-bending style, blends house music, hip hop and afrobeats ~ three of her loves representing her Gullah ancestry, Harlem influence and southern upbringing. She is a Cultural Ambassador to the United States and Voting Member of the Recording Academy.

Photo credit: Titi Ayangade

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