Trans-Classical/ Post-Prog-Alternative
fiery grooves, soaring melodies, probing ballads & multi-level syncopations that draw from rock, jazz, the Yoruba music of Nigeria, Brazil,
Eastern European Klezmer, Surf music, J-Pop, video games, electronica, hip-hop, vaudeville, European classical and more.

 

Sounds like:
Joseph Martin Waters & SWARMIUS has the freewheeling, restless and generation breaching vibe of artists such as
Dead Mau5, Armin van Burren, Sun Ra, Björk, Radio Head & Gershwin.

Since their 2006 debut at Kosovel Hall in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Joseph Martin Waters & SWARMIUS has performed in venues ranging from concert halls to raves, pushing musical boundaries with original compositions that merge African, Latin, & Middle Eastern “grooves” with rock & hip-hop, inside the harmonic and melodic depths of classical music.

A sonic fusion of Hip-Hop, House-Lounge-Techno meets modern-classical.

Joseph Martin Waters & SWARMIUS has an international following that includes Ireland, Germany, Slovenia, Poland, Sweden, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

Our Presentation:
Fluidly blending electronics and virtuosic acoustic performance, Joseph Martin Waters & SWARMIUS is simultaneously boundary pushing and intimately connected to the music of our times.  The guiding question that informs each of our pieces is “is it possible to create music that thrives in everything from a rave to a classical concert hall and every place in between: street corners & clubs; living rooms and places of worship; grammar schools and college hideaways…. Music that constantly probes who we are and how we are becoming as a culture – that is fun, challenging and stimulating for the mindbody.” No matter the venue, we break the fourth wall and engage our audiences by describing the musical influences and inviting feedback, as well as engaging members of the audience in the performance.

“What Kind Of Music Would Mozart Make If He Were Living On The Beach in So Cal – NOW”

Joseph Martin Waters & SWARMIUS Members

Karen Garcia – soprano
Rudy Giron (Hyacinthus) – counter tenor
Todd Rewoldt (SAXIMUS) – alto saxophone
Ian Buss (Saxitoxin) – tenor saxophone
Daniel Castro – guitars, bass
Geoffrey Burleson (Peripateticus) – Piano
Daniel Pate (Tempus Rhythmicus) – drums & percussion
Joseph Martin Waters (Jozefius) – laptop and composition

The June 18th, 2022 performance at The Cutting Room in NYC
was a world premiere in the form of an old-fashioned radio drama,

with live sound effects, voice actors,

singers, musicians and narration.

 

Cast for the Magic Hummingbird LIVE production On June 18. 

Lauren Haughton-Gillis, Director
Richard Dueñez Morrison, Music Director, Conductor
Barb Macz, stage manager
David Smith – sound effects, live foley

Featuring: 
Rudy Alexander Giron, counter tenor,      “Francisco”
Karen Garcia, soprano, “Apolonia”, “Ixazaluoh,”
and Francisco’s mother, Spanish translation
Cat Rojo, alto, “Clara”
Leonard Patton, tenor, “Franklin”
Gustavo Alcoser, tenor, “Elias”, co-writer
Scene one, composer of mariachi music
Scene two.
Charles Coleman, baritone, “The Preacher
Philip Gomez, countertenor, plant spirit, refugee
Geoffrey Burleson, piano and accordion

Daniel Castro, guitar and mandolin, additional Spanish translation
and additional audio editing and recording.

Michael Jones, electric guitar
Andrew Michel, bass
Daniel Pate, percussion and drums
Todd Rewoldt, saxophone
Antotina Styczen, piccolo, alto flute, bass flute, nose flute

Joseph Waters, narrator, composer, librettist, lyricist, sound design.

Book by Joseph Martin Waters, Gustavo Alcoser and Michael Gillis

Story by Joseph Martin Waters

A musical-opera about plant spirits, teenage rockers and refugees.
A limited series in 6 episodes.

Three San Diego, California teen rockers head to Tijuana to perform in a punk club on the TJ boardwalk… One of them, Francisco, was born in Oaxaca, Mexico but doesn’t know it.  He is visited continuously by visions and struggles to comprehend their meaning, being both scared and fascinated.
His bandmates Clara (his soulmate) and Franklin (his sometimes frenemy) struggle with their own issues.  Franklin’s father is a shaman in a white separatist cult…
After their gig Clara and Frankiln chase Franscisco down the beach, into a storm, and they stumble onto a magic hut in the jungle…. 

Francisco gets stranded, finds a new community and begins to learn of his past and purpose.

 

In Tijuana Francisco and Elias make a sacred journey to the desert in the moonlight, while north of the border The Preacher hatches plans for world domination.

 

The Preacher makes a pact with the Lord Of The Crows.  The refugees travel through the body of a snake…

 

The refugees and the cult finally meet, with life changing consequences for both. 

Next day, sunrise… ..  the desert sand is wet from the downpour… as the sun stretches one hand up over the precipice, the mountain’s shadow blankets a multitude of human shapes … intertwined, snuggled into the warm bosom of the magic mountain….

From their pheromone world where plant spirits chant quietly inside rays of light, Apollonia, Skeleton Rose and Mother-Father hover …

Episode 6 is the dramatic climax of “The Magic Hummingbird”

Purchase music by Joseph Martin Waters & SWARMIUS

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