What do you get when you combine Arcade fire, Balkan Beat box, Antibalas and Tom Waits’ band together? Captain Planet? Folk Voltron? Well, sort of… The Sway Machinery is a border-crossing five-piece containing a member from each of these landmark bands. Equal parts baroque-pop songwriters and folk music curators, this band takes the Jewish tradition of Cantorial singing and attaches it to a swinging brass section with Ivory Coast percussion holding it all down. It’s something you’re not likely to find at many synagogues, but luckily they’ve found a home here in Brooklyn. The band comes back from Mali where their new LP was just recorded earlier this year (The House of Friendly Ghosts, Vol. 1 off JDub) to play at 92YTribeca on August 2nd. Make sure and come early to see my favorite ethnomusicologist/DJ Awesome Tapes from Africa begin your overseas journey before the band takes the stage at 9pm. – Mike Levine
