Khazones Underground
Record label and cultural platform dedicated to reviving the tradition of cantorial music through contemporary voices.
Founded by musicians and scholars Jeremiah Lockwood and Judith Berkson, Khazones Underground is a record label and cultural platform dedicated to amplifying new voices in the revival of cantorial music.
Once, the Jewish world knew a particular kind of sacred artist: the khazn (cantor). In Yiddish, khazones refers to the expressive, deeply emotional musical tradition of the cantor—the spiritual voice of the community. Through virtuosic singing, rich modal language and profound feeling, khazones gave sound to the collective soul of Jewish life across the Yiddish-speaking world.
Although often spoken of as a lost tradition, khazones is far from extinct.
Two of the brightest voices in new Jewish music, Jeremiah Lockwood and Judith Berkson, have joined forces to start a new record label and cultural organization, Khazones Underground. Together, they bring a new generation of artists engaging with the vast archive of Jewish sacred music and reimagining it for the present. Their recording series showcases musicians who approach cantorial repertoire with creativity, scholarship and a spirit of renewal.
Rooted in old-world vocal traditions yet open to contemporary interpretation, these artists explore Khazones as a living practice—one capable of connecting past and present, memory and innovation. For many musicians today, this repertoire offers a powerful means of engaging with heritage, spirituality and artistic expression.
Khazones Underground invites listeners to rediscover the cantor’s voice,not as a relic of history, but as a vibrant and evolving artistic language for today.
(Info)In the Chassidic communities of Williamsburg and Borough Park, a small group of young singers is reviving the dramatic cantorial style of the early twentieth century. Drawing inspiration from historic recordings of legendary cantors such as Gershon Sirota, Zawel Kwartin and Yossele Rosenblatt, these artists reconnect with a powerful musical lineage. Featuring voices including Yanky Lemmer, Shimmy Miller and Yoel Kohn, this album captures the raw energy of a contemporary cantorial revival in Brooklyn.
Album cover art by Tomasz Jurecki.
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For generations, the voice of the khazn shaped the sacred and musical life of Jewish communities. With the arrival of recording and mass media in the early twentieth century, women performers known as khazntes began bringing cantorial music to wider audiences. The Return of the Immortal Khazntes reconnects with this forgotten lineage through a new generation of artists.
Album cover art by Tomasz Jurecki.
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The Dream Past is the first album in a decade by The Sway Machinery, the Brooklyn band described by The New Yorker as “unclassifiable and uplifting.” Continuing their cantorial revival project, the record draws on rediscovered bootleg recordings of live prayer, transforming Jewish sacred melodies into a powerful bridge between past and present.
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Khazones Underground
https://khazonesunderground.com