DADA

orchiddBB (Jen Sapiro, Vivek Menon, Hans Young Binter, Mario Fontes, and Orchid McRae) is a group that fuses song, improvisation, and dense synchronized movements to explore themes of queerness, trauma, and tropes in contemporary media. Their work, primarily composed by percussionist Orchid McRae, has been described as having “this experimental, almost skramz type of sound, but... the singing [comes] through in this operatic way” (Raised by Cassettes). orchiddBB’s debut album, water the teeth, will be released in February 2026.

Orchid McRae: is a percussionist, composer, improviser, and mixed media artist based in NYC. Her deeply collaborative process often centers around structured pieces that ignore or subvert the dimension of "time" in music. Besides her own work and frequent improvisation-based collaborations, she is a member of the ensemble Dot Iso and the rock band Kissy Noises. In late 2024, she launched EXOSKELETON, a performance series dedicated to structures built outside of or in support of the body. Orchid collaborates extensively with artists outside of music including digital/textile artist Vân Anh, performance artist Rute Ventura, and experimental theater troupe Rhymes with Orange. orchiddbb.space

Ellie Shannon: is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who lives with her wife Jamie in Brooklyn. She was born and raised in Los Angeles; where she started studying french horn as a teenager. Her music looks inward and downward with influences ranging from contemporary classic music to the American folk revival. She collaborates with various local musicians including Paco Cathcart, Matt Bachmann, Sammy Weissberg and Mike Kolb.

Jen Sapiro (she/her): is a vocalist and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. Spanning multiple genres and artistic disciplines, Jen offers a unique perspective as an improviser. Sometimes biographical, sometimes fantastical, her work centers on intensely emotional poetry that explores themes of memory, grief, family, and the complex relationships therein.

Dr. Vivek Menon: is a violinist based in New York City. He started playing violin at the age of 3, and has extensive performance experience in several styles of music. His practice synthesizes a broad range of influences into a distinctive individual sound, while prioritizing creative collaboration with an array of artists. Vivek holds a doctorate degree from Stony Brook University, a master's degree from Mannes School of Music, and a bachelor's degree from UNC Chapel Hill.

Hans Young Binter: is an American musician, pianist and composer based in New York City, working within the city's vibrant creative music scene in addition to collaborations across musical styles and artistic disciplines. Their practice is primarily improvisatory, and seeks to utilize the multitude of expressive possibilities that improvised music can contain, all while fostering a music-making environment grounded in core elements of collective creation such as conversation and ritual.

Mario Fontes: is a bassist, guitarist, music educator, songwriter and improviser who likes engaging in as many musical fields as he can make time for. He strongly believes in music’s role as a creative expression and communication tool. He aims to incorporate this into his several practices and collaborations with fellow New York City artists.

Storytime Gather round, loved ones, for a story. Do you want to hear a story? We have some to share with you. Artists Toni DeVincentis, Samantha White, Anjali Shinde, Kathleen Barnes, and you, have all collected moments to weave like patchwork into a one-time, ephemeral, un-pinpoint-able experience. You may not know what will materialize. Neither do we.