Gossip Wolf first caught wind of local producer-rapper Montana Macks in 2015, when his work appeared all over the Rich Jones EP Pigeons & Waffles. Macks has been a little quiet for the past couple years, but he’s had his hands full working on an instrumental album called Arrivals & Departures. He tells Gossip Wolf that he began working on it when Jones suggested he compile his unreleased material for a beat tape—but because Macks has been recording for around a decade, he has a whole lot of unreleased material. “We collectively went through over 2,500 beats to make these selections,” he says. The tracks collected on Arrivals & Departures have a soulful, sophisticated, and thoroughly relaxing vibe; the album drops Friday, August 7.
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Anni Rossi left for New York in 2010, but Gossip Wolf will always consider her a Chicagoan. After all, her outstanding 2009 full-length, Rockwell, is still the best (if not only) album named after the start-and-stop street that runs north-south the whole length of the city. For the past few years, Rossi has been releasing mixtapes of what she calls “strange pop experiments, curiosities, comedy and characters.” Last week, she dropped the latest installment, a charmingly homemade video mix called House of Rossi. “Most of these songs and videos were captured on my iPad and DV camera in restaurants, airplanes, trains, on tour, with friends or at home,” she says. The mix is streaming on Spotify and YouTube, and Rossi is already on to new projects—including an EP due later this year and a 2021 full-length produced by Bobb Bruno of Best Coast.
The audio portion of House of Rossi is streaming on Spotify.
Last week local arts nonprofit Quiet Pterodactyl dropped the all-star compilation SituationChicago, which benefits 25 of the city’s music venues. It contains tracks from Jeff Tweedy, White Mystery, Big Silky, Ric Wilson, Girl K, Dee Alexander, the Twilite Tone, and 18 other amazing local acts!
ALERT! ALERT! White Mystery is selling a LIMITED EDITION vinyl of “People Power”. 100% of the sales will go to financially support venues. The fundraiser “Situationchicago – Music For Independent Venues” is a project made up of venues and artists who have joined together to support Chicago’s local venues! You can support the cause on Situation Chicago’s BandCamp, Instagram, and Facebook. Keep an eye out for more surprises on the way…… Below are the amazing artists and venues that are participating!
To celebrate thriving Black culture in Chicago and beyond, we’re amplifying the coolest content creators around. We’re forever grateful to these artists for their voices, truths, and inspiration to White Mystery. Support their art, watch their videos, and seek them out on social media NOW.
Clint is a pizza punk who always brings snacks to the party. You may remember Show You Suck from White Mystery TV Episode 2 with Cadien James from Twin Peaks. White Mystery has been a big fan of SYS since playing together at a Pitchfork after-party in 2015. For Chicago news and thought pieces, you need to follow Show You Suck on Twitter immediately.
Krystal is the kind of friend you feel you’ve known your whole life. Her unique blend of rock’n’soul unites her St. Louis roots with her Chicago spirit, and her performances are guaranteed to give you chills! You may recognize Krystal’s voice from the White Mystery Lightscape soundtrack for outdoor sculptures that played music on State Street during Lollapalooza. We met her cousin Mannie Metcalfe when White Mystery opened for Iron & Wine at the Pageant in STL in 2010, and he’s one of our favorite pals on Earth as well. Thank you for blessing us with your friendships, Metcalfes!
JC Brooks & the Uptown sound are absolutely unbeatable live, led by the exuberant, endlessly talented JC Brooks. White Mystery first joined forces with them at the Brooklyn Vegan SXSW showcase in 2012, and jammed many times since then. The Chicago Sun Times call these groovy dudes one of the “city’s hottest young bands” and you’d be lucky to experience them.
Psalm One is an incredible rapper, poet and artist we first played with at the Girls Rock! Camp jamboree in 2011. She is a talented MC and vocal critic of sexism and racism in the music industry. We’re forever grateful to Cristalle for inviting us backstage when she opened for Insane Clown Posse in 2017. Psalm One rocked the White Mystery Telepathic record release at the Hideout in 2013 and teamed up with the illustrious Angel Davanport as Big $ilky for the 4/20 x 420 x 420 Fest in 2020. Rapper Chicks are badass.
Jesse 5k is a born and bred Chicagoan introduced to us this year through his performance for Do312 MORE. Jesse 5k is an emerging rapper that blends poetry, psychedelic, spoken word, and hip hop into eye-opening music that blends indie genres. We deeply respect his perspective on being a young Black man in America, and encourage you to dive in with his experiences.
One part thespian, one part poet, another part musician, and one more part philosopher, Mykele Deville brings change through the depth of his voice. You may recognize Mykele from his groundbreaking record release performance at Thalia Hall not too long ago. Mykele graced us with his presence on White Mystery “WMTV” Episode 4, where Francis and he played video games and talked about politics, which is a great way to share real perspectives. We urge you to check out his recent work, “Maintain.”
You may recognize the brilliant Jolene from her DIY literary ‘zine, the Sick Muse. She is a multi-hyphenate super star that shares her truth by all means necessary and lifts up others in the process. White Mystery is blessed to have rocked with her barn-stomping punk’n’soul group Blacker Face at Rock ‘n Roll Market in 2019. Blacker Face will blow your hat off your head with their live performances, and you’ll emerge a changed person.
The Black Tones are Seattle-based twins Eva and Cedric, on guitar and drums respectively. They are a rock’n’roll duo, and White Mystery feels a particular kinship with them as a two-piece sibling band. The Black Tones’ unbeatable grooves are the best parts of garage and surf that only family can knit together so tightly. We love the Black Tones and you should too.
When Joseph Chilliams dances, the whole world dances with him. Named Chicago’s “Most Charming Rapper” by VICE Magazine, he founded the iconic Pivot Gang and transformed the profound losses into spiritual, musical magic. We’re honored that Chilliams joined us on White Mystery TV where he and Francis and Joseph bonded playing Super Smash Bros. Chilliams is a gentle soul who’s power comes through his words. You may also be familiar with his equally talented brother and Chicago rapper, Saba.
Manasseh Champion aka Doso is an emerging Chicago hip hop artist whose roots run deep with his family’s West Point School of music on the South Shore. You can hear the discipline of his music education flow and transform into freedom of expression. When he was a Music Business student at UIC, Manasseh interned for White Mystery and supported outdoor event production at Rock’n’Roll Market, and Season 1 of WMTV. Now, Doso carves his own path through independently booking shows and creating his own brand.
The floodgates have been thrown open, and music will be inundating the internet this Memorial Day Weekend, including some impressive festivals. Check them out, and remember to donate to the players and their causes!
Check out two songs by White Mystery on the Thrasher “King of the Road” in 2018! “Two Flats” and “Goody Two Shoes” from the album Hellion Blender in the iconic skateboard series.
On Monday, July 29, 2019, Miss Alex White performed in the third annual Soho House Mixtape project. Her song, “Gone Wise” is a true collaboration and execution on vision. Olivia Koivisto from Writing Club wrote the lyrics, Miss Alex White arranged the song and melody, Tony Scott-Green wrote the guitar hook, Mark and Rob locked down the rhythm section, J. Ivy contributed spoken word poetry to the bridge, the Music Club shouted gang vocals, then Sam Fishkin recorded and mixed the track. Veronica Kretzers created an entire bespoke outfit for Miss Alex White, then Robbie Botts shot the video on a 1990s camcorder at the Liar’s Club in Chicago. Listen to it here:
