Event

Sway Machinery - CD Release Party

This horn-driven sextet from New York draws on a mélange of influencesfrom Afropop to Ashkenazi cantorial tropesmining cultural memory that has rocked stages and dance floors from Mali to Poland. Fronted by Jeremiah Lockwood, formerly with Balkan Beatbox.

"Jeremiah Lockwood makes the ancient modern and the mythological real"
The Village Voice

For those who have seen The Sway Machinery in action, little explanation is needed. The band's combination of rhythmic power and potent folklore takes no prisoners. On stage the energy of submerged worlds is torn out into the light of day. And indeed, the historical tradition of Cantorial music, which is the focus of the band's work, is very much a lost world.

The music of The Sway Machinery invites the listener to become like children wandering in the forest, discovering something mythic and wonderful. The band's sound is rooted in the personal history of bandleader Jeremiah Lockwood, whose storied education included singing in the choir of his grandfather, Cantor Jacob Konigsberg and over a decade of playing in the subways of New York City with Piedmont Blues legend Carolina Slim. Lockwood's musical vision of worlds colliding in the experience of the individual has been aided and abetted by a stellar cast of band mates. Foremost in the collective of brilliant musicians that make up the band is drummer John Bollinger, of Barbez. Numerous illustrious alumnae of Antibalas helped found the group and make up the touring ensemble, including trumpeter Jordan McLean, bass player Nikhil Yerawadekar and guitarist Timothy Allen. The band is fortunate to boast Anthony Braxton and Arcade Fire sideman Matt Bauder on tenor saxophone. Past members of the collective have included bass saxophonist Colin Stetson, drummer Brian Chase, Israeli percussionist Tomer Tzur and saxophonist Stuart Bogie.