THE SWAY MACHINERY 

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

The Sway Machinery is an all‐star collective of innovative visionaries led by guitarist
Jeremiah Lockwood of Balkan Beat Box. The Sway Machinery's line‐up includes
Brian Chase of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on drums, touring member of Arcade Fire Colin
Stetson on bass saxophone, and Stuart Bogie and Jordan McLean of the Antibalas
horn section on tenor saxophone and trumpet respectively.
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 Sway Machinery's sound stems from Lockwood's rich musical relationships
with his grandfather Cantor Jacob Konigsberg, and with his mentor Carolina Slim,
the renowned blues player who guided Lockwood's musical development.
Konigsberg, one of the last great exponents of Cantorial singing, led Lockwood into
an understanding and love of the soulful and ancient heritage of Synagogue music.
Lockwood's deeply personal relationship to these two musical traditions helped him
to forge a unique musical language of his own. The Sway Machinery was borne out
of this rich layering of culture.

The Sway Machinery's debut album, Hidden Melodies Revealed, was released on JDub
Records in 2009. Lockwood layers the haunting notes of his Cantorialinfluenced
vocals over the energetic, celebratory rhythms of afro‐pop, hard‐hitting
drums and the blues. Their recordings showcase pieces based on mystical texts
taken directly from the Jewish High Holiday prayers and reconfigures them in a
startlingly new musical landscape. Lockwood's ambitious melding of styles results
in what The Village Voice has called a most “joyful synthesis.”

The release of Hidden Melodies Revealed has been followed by performances
internationally, notably at the 2009 Krakow Jewish Culture Festival, where the band
performed before an audience of 15,000. Recently, a track from the record was
featured on the popular television series Weeds. Upcoming, The Sway Machinery
plans to reprise its unique Jewish New Year concert‐event in Los Angeles and San
Francisco in September of 2009, and to bring their unique musical concept to Africa.
The Sway Machinery is the first ever Jewish‐themed act to be invited to the Festival
of the Dessert, in Mali. The Festival will took place in January of 2010.

More notes to be released soon.
In 2012 The Sway machinery performed at Roskilde Festival and recorded a new album.

copyright: GRIOT GmbH, and The Sway Machinery