West Philadelphia Orchestra

West Philadelphia Orchestra lyrics

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West Philadelphia Orchestra is a village brass band that comes together to celebrate, rage, party and protest. The group was founded in 2006 by drummer/songwriter/producer G. Mervine, who gathered together musicians who hung out at Fiume, a legendary watering hole in West Philly. They were initally inspired by Romani "orkestars" and "fanfares" like Taraf de Haidouks, Fanfare Ciocarlia and Kočani Orkestar, as well as Balkan music scene up the highway in NYC (Gogol Bordello, Slavic Soul Party!, Zlatne Uste, etc.). The sound of the early band is captured on WPO from 2008. The album features the vocals of Jack Ohly and the violin of Katt Hernandez. They followed up in 2016 with Tour de Filli, featuring singer Petia Zamfirova. In 2018, they began recording a series of singles, beginning with Izagarica, which was inspired by Philly's Magic Gardens on South Street. They followed with a tribute to Pole Grease, that great Philly tradition. They have collaborated with many artists and institutions, from the Trisha Brown Dance Company to Dr. Dog, Anthony Green and RJD2. Their most recent collaboration is with Rumi Kitchen for an EP of cosmic weirdness. Besides Balkan music, the group takes inspiration from the 60s free jazz (Sun Ra, Don Cherry), Brazilian street frevo, the beats hitting at the local clubs, and more. Insisting on local activism and community engagement, you'll find them on stages, street corners, protests and organic weddings throughout the Philadelphia region.