For the culminating event of her FourOneOne residency, Alexis Lombre pairs herself with Georgia Anne Muldrow, the intergalactic producer, singer, beatmaker and songwriter who, Lombre says, “has fundamentally shaped [her] mind.”

Since the 2006 release of her astonishing debut Olesi: Fragments of an Earth, Muldrow has written, sung and produced over fifteen genre-hopping studio recordings, recombining Black musical lineages into otherworldly new forms. Muldrow’s restless, ecstatic body of work taps into Roberta Flack, Nina Simone, Sun Ra and Baduizm’s frequencies, spanning elements of jazz, hip-hop, neo soul, electronics, spirituals, R&B, avant-garde, Afrofuturism, and pop—unified by earthy vocals, sticky grooves, and Muldrow’s lyrical introspections on love, self-knowledge, and Black freedom.

Since mentoring Lombre as a producer and composer during a fellowship, Muldrow has become her friend and collaborator in a series of adventurous, soulful duo performances. For their show at Roulette, they’ll present a “spirit-led” evening with piano, synths and voice.

Still in her twenties, the pianist, vocalist, composer, and producer Alexis Lombre established herself as a force out of Chicago’s legendary musical universe while barely out of her teens. Living, learning and working in the vibrant musical cultures of Chicago, Detroit, New York, and now Los Angeles, Lombre’s cosmopolitan musical vision is formed in dialogue with textures of contemporary urban Black experience in these cities. Dissolving “boundaries” between Black music’s so-called “genres”—including R&B, avant-garde, gospel, soul, hip-hop and jazz—is part of the living tradition she carries. As she puts it, “Separation is an illusion. Especially within the genres of Black music.”

This event culminates Alexis Lombre’s residency with FourOneOne, taking place April 3–18 at venues across NYC. Spanning concerts, listening parties, and conversations with Alexis alongside her inspirations, mentors, and peers, this residency foregrounds both her singular talent and their collective histories. FourOneOne is a non-profit organization supporting historically aware and rooted performance practices across genres, enabling New York’s many audiences to engage with multiplicity and alternative approaches to time and space. More at www.fouroneoneprojects.org.