The Paper Box | Brooklyn, NYC

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 boasts an unusually accomplished line-up of musicians, featuring guitarist Jeremiah Lockwood of Balkan Beat Box, drummer John Bollinger of Barbez, bass saxophonist Colin Stetson of Arcade Fire and Tom Waits' band, and the trumpet and tenor sax horn section of the band Antibalas, Jordan McLean and Stuart Bogie. The powerful combination of musical personalities yields an unassailable force of excitement. The Sway Machinery began its work in 2006, a product of a long collaboration between Jeremiah Lockwood and Israeli percussionist Tomer Tzur, joined by a battery of heavy hitting horn players. In 2007, Tomer moved back to Israel, and the band was joined by Brian Chase, one of the best known and loved drummers in the underground rock music scene, who played with the band until 2009. The band continues to expand and contract, including in its extended family violinist Sarah Neufeld, bass guitartist Nikhil Yerawadekar, trumpeter Kenny Warren and saxophonist Matt Bauder. In September 2007, the band premiered Hidden Melodies Revealed, a secret celebration of Rosh HaShana (the Jewish new year) at Angel Orensanz Foundation. This multi-media concert celebrated the power of the Cantorial music tradition in an event that blurred the line between rock show and ritual. In 2009 the band brought this unique concept to Los Angeles and San Francsico, playing to enthusiastic standing room only crowds. The band's debut full-length album, also entitled HIDDEN MELODIES REVEALED, was released on JDub Records. In January of 2010, The Sway Machinery traveled to Mali to perform at the legendary Festival of the Desert. While in Africa, the group recorded a new album featuring collaborations with luminaries of Malian music, including Vieux Farka Toure and Khaira Arby. The album that resulted from this remarkable intersection of worlds is called The House of Friendly Ghosts, and will be coming out on JDub in 2011.

Born and raised in Tijuana and now living in Los Angeles, Ceci Bastida joined the band Tijuana NO when she was just 15 and became one of the first women to rise in the ranks of contemporary Latin rock. Their song “Pobre de Ti” and their cover of The Clash’s “Spanish Bombs” are now considered rock en español classics. She embarked on her solo career in 2006 with the ep Front BC, and in 2010 released Veo La Marea, a mix of electronica, rock, and hip-hop that The Fader dubbed "bodacious, clicky, and gongy" and the Los Angeles Times described as "a marching-band traipsing through the Amazon rainforest." The album, which included hot-button songs about immigration, the Mexican border, and the drug war, earned her a Latin Grammy nomination and featured guest spots by Diplo, Rye Rye, Niña Dioz, XXXChange, and Tim Armstrong. Her songs have been remixed by Julieta Venegas, Mexican Institute of Sound, Skeet Skeet, Pepepe, Algodon Egipico, & others.

Joro-Boro was born in Bulgaria. He plays and promotes etnoteck, glitch-folk and post-national bass - the dirty local side of globalization force-fed back into a party without borders detonating the conglomerated mono-culture. Joro-Boro is a monthly host of MoGlo (Modern Global) on Radio New York 91.5FM, has toured with Balkan Beat Box, and has performed with artists ranging from Bassnectar to Tinariwen. He established himself over seven years as the resident DJ in the Bulgarian Bar (Mehanata) in New York City. In 2007 he left his residency there and developed the charlatan/artist alter ego Joro De Boro. Joro-Boro is not an artist / charlatan / mythologist. Joro De Boro could be just the opposite.