iyatraQuartet are launching their critically acclaimed lockdown album BREAK THE DAWN, in person!
Invited by TunedIn London programmer Eleanor Thorn to perform their album tracks plus a new commission to mark the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage from Rotherhithe to the ‘New World’.
iyatraQuartet take their name from the Hindi word ‘yatra’ for ‘travel’ with a sense of a ‘pilgrimage’, a journey that started for the quartet 8 years ago. Their music evolves through group improvisation sessions, drawing on diverse inspirations from plainchant, English folksong, poetry and Karnatic classical music.
BREAK THE DAWN has both delicacy and power throughout. The core instruments of violin (Alice Barron), bass clarinet (George Sleightholme), cello (Rich Phillips) and percussion (Will Roberts) are augmented by additional instruments, all performed by the quartet, including bodhran, singing bowls, charango, kalimba, rice bowls, tabla and a healthy dose of sublime vocals.
iyatraQuartet make original music rooted in ancient melodies and folk tales. Their distinct vocal harmonies emerge from a rich sound world of soaring strings, the exuberant lyricism of the bass clarinet and sensitive percussion abounding with groove.
Delving into generations-old European traditions for inspiration, particularly the work of 12th Century pioneering female composers, iyatraQuartet re-imagine early music and stories through their unique contemporary twist. The band embraces a sense of journey through place and time in their music.
City Hope Church is opposite the Biscuit Factory on Drummond Road and is an easy walk from Bermondsey Tube Station. It is spacious with plenty of scope for good social distancing measures.
iyatraQuartet: Break The Dawn Live
30th September 7.45pm
City Hope Church SE16 2JY