THE SWAY MACHINERY: PILGRIMAGE - November 13, 2009
Pilgrimage: a project statement by Jeremiah Lockwood, leader of The Sway Machinery
Tax deductible donations are now being excepted to support this ambitions project:
In celebration of The Sway Machinery’s invitation to perform at the legendary Festival of the Desert (January 7-9, 2010) in Esekane, Mali, I am embarking on a new project, entitled Pilgrimage. The Pilgrimage project will consist of a real act of journeying by the band to the depths of the Sahara desert, and will also result in a new body of work that we will create while in Africa. Our journey will be documented through the recording of a new album by The Sway Machinery and through the making of a unique documentary film about our musical journey, to be directed by the extraordinary filmmaker Jonathan Hock.
The ensuing art products will enable The Sway Machinery to bring our unique exploration of the historic Jewish Cantorial music tradition to a wider audience than we have ever met before. Both album and film will engage our core audience of young music lovers in a dialogue about the nature of contemporary Jewish identity and question the usual narrative of Muslim-Jewish relations.
THE OPPORTUNITY:
The Festival of the Desert is one of the largest music festivals in Mali, with an annual attendance of over 10,000. In addition to featuring the best of Mali’s music scene, artists like Ali Farka Toure and Tinariwen, the Festival has begun to attract international artists on the level of Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant.
The Festival takes place in an entirely Islamic nation and cultural milieu. The invitation on the part of the Festival to an unambiguously Jewish themed act represents an unprecedented hand extended across a cultural divide, a gesture that would be unthinkable in most of the Islamic world. The unique nature of the Festival in the Desert and its focus on themes of inter-tribal peace and healing within the context of Malian society creates an unparalleled opportunity for deep cultural dialogue and exchange.
The Sway Machinery will be the first performers presenting any aspect of Jewish culture at the Festival of the Desert, which takes place in the deeply traditional Islamic milieu of the Saharan Sahel. We will be serving as cultural ambassadors, bringing Jewish music traditions into an arena where they will be truly an unknown. Acting as both teachers and students, the band’s art will surely be impacted by the incredible potential for cultural dialogue implicit in our journey.
THE GOAL:
The film and album created on this journey will open up this fascinating and magical personal experience to the world. The art products of our journey will encourage viewers to re-imagine the nature of cultural divisions and to re-invest emotionally in the potential of art to heal. Viewers of the documentary film will be invited to celebrate the ability of the imagination to guide us along alternative paths that refute the notion of Jewish culture as something stagnant and conservative.
As the leader of The Sway Machinery, my goal for the band has been two-fold: to delve deeply into myself to create a new musical presentation of the Cantorial music tradition that I came to know through my family, and to foster a community of musicians who are empowered to create on their highest level. Our journey will strengthen the spirit of community not only among the creative voices involved, but through the dialogue we will open up to the world.
The issues the project frames include a meditation on the connection between creativity and sustaining identity, on ways in which borrowing and celebrating other cultures can help strengthen self-knowledge and commitment to one's own communal past, and on taking apart the narrative of enmity between Muslims and Jews and bringing a new and positive story to this issue. It is my goal to bring these issues to vivid life through my music and through the adventure I am undertaking.
THE TEAM:
The Sway Machinery is one of the premier acts to emerge from New York City’s underground music scene in recent years and has garnered a cult following among young music lovers well beyond the metropolitan area. Members of the group are prominently featured in such well-know bands as Arcade Fire, Antibalas and Balkan Beat Box. The band’s focus on rediscovering and celebrating the Jewish Cantorial spiritual music tradition has been central in the forging of the group’s particular and visceral sound. The band’s debut album, Hidden Melodies Revealed, came out on JDub Records in 2009 and the group has been featured as a headliner at major venues in the US and internationally.
Eight-time Emmy Award winning director Jonathan Hock (Through the Fire, The Lost Son of Havana) has made a name for himself through his creation of uncompromisingly personal depictions of the lives of public figures. His involvement with the Pilgrimage bodes extremely well for the artistic and commercial potential of the project.
The profile of the project has also been boosted by Cinetic Media, a leader in the media industries that brought Napoleon Dynamite and Super Size Me to the mass market. Cinetic has come on board in this early stage of the project, lending their expertise in the fundraising and development stages, with an eye to the potential for distribution. Already, the team is developing a plan for the film's release on the festival circuit and is seeking potential television sales opportunities.
Tax deductible donations are now being excepted to support this ambitions project:
In celebration of The Sway Machinery’s invitation to perform at the legendary Festival of the Desert (January 7-9, 2010) in Esekane, Mali, I am embarking on a new project, entitled Pilgrimage. The Pilgrimage project will consist of a real act of journeying by the band to the depths of the Sahara desert, and will also result in a new body of work that we will create while in Africa. Our journey will be documented through the recording of a new album by The Sway Machinery and through the making of a unique documentary film about our musical journey, to be directed by the extraordinary filmmaker Jonathan Hock.
The ensuing art products will enable The Sway Machinery to bring our unique exploration of the historic Jewish Cantorial music tradition to a wider audience than we have ever met before. Both album and film will engage our core audience of young music lovers in a dialogue about the nature of contemporary Jewish identity and question the usual narrative of Muslim-Jewish relations.
THE OPPORTUNITY:
The Festival of the Desert is one of the largest music festivals in Mali, with an annual attendance of over 10,000. In addition to featuring the best of Mali’s music scene, artists like Ali Farka Toure and Tinariwen, the Festival has begun to attract international artists on the level of Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant.
The Festival takes place in an entirely Islamic nation and cultural milieu. The invitation on the part of the Festival to an unambiguously Jewish themed act represents an unprecedented hand extended across a cultural divide, a gesture that would be unthinkable in most of the Islamic world. The unique nature of the Festival in the Desert and its focus on themes of inter-tribal peace and healing within the context of Malian society creates an unparalleled opportunity for deep cultural dialogue and exchange.
The Sway Machinery will be the first performers presenting any aspect of Jewish culture at the Festival of the Desert, which takes place in the deeply traditional Islamic milieu of the Saharan Sahel. We will be serving as cultural ambassadors, bringing Jewish music traditions into an arena where they will be truly an unknown. Acting as both teachers and students, the band’s art will surely be impacted by the incredible potential for cultural dialogue implicit in our journey.
THE GOAL:
The film and album created on this journey will open up this fascinating and magical personal experience to the world. The art products of our journey will encourage viewers to re-imagine the nature of cultural divisions and to re-invest emotionally in the potential of art to heal. Viewers of the documentary film will be invited to celebrate the ability of the imagination to guide us along alternative paths that refute the notion of Jewish culture as something stagnant and conservative.
As the leader of The Sway Machinery, my goal for the band has been two-fold: to delve deeply into myself to create a new musical presentation of the Cantorial music tradition that I came to know through my family, and to foster a community of musicians who are empowered to create on their highest level. Our journey will strengthen the spirit of community not only among the creative voices involved, but through the dialogue we will open up to the world.
The issues the project frames include a meditation on the connection between creativity and sustaining identity, on ways in which borrowing and celebrating other cultures can help strengthen self-knowledge and commitment to one's own communal past, and on taking apart the narrative of enmity between Muslims and Jews and bringing a new and positive story to this issue. It is my goal to bring these issues to vivid life through my music and through the adventure I am undertaking.
THE TEAM:
The Sway Machinery is one of the premier acts to emerge from New York City’s underground music scene in recent years and has garnered a cult following among young music lovers well beyond the metropolitan area. Members of the group are prominently featured in such well-know bands as Arcade Fire, Antibalas and Balkan Beat Box. The band’s focus on rediscovering and celebrating the Jewish Cantorial spiritual music tradition has been central in the forging of the group’s particular and visceral sound. The band’s debut album, Hidden Melodies Revealed, came out on JDub Records in 2009 and the group has been featured as a headliner at major venues in the US and internationally.
Eight-time Emmy Award winning director Jonathan Hock (Through the Fire, The Lost Son of Havana) has made a name for himself through his creation of uncompromisingly personal depictions of the lives of public figures. His involvement with the Pilgrimage bodes extremely well for the artistic and commercial potential of the project.
The profile of the project has also been boosted by Cinetic Media, a leader in the media industries that brought Napoleon Dynamite and Super Size Me to the mass market. Cinetic has come on board in this early stage of the project, lending their expertise in the fundraising and development stages, with an eye to the potential for distribution. Already, the team is developing a plan for the film's release on the festival circuit and is seeking potential television sales opportunities.