In The Week's Top Chicago Music Stories, Chance Dances And Soul Evolves
By Justin Freeman in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 5, 2016 6:40PM
Chance The Rapper Dances Faster Than The Speed Of Light In A New Video
There's a sense of joyful optimism to local rapper Towkio's new video for "Clean Up." Joined by Chance the Rapper and local footworking crew The Era, Towkio and friends—including a young child at 1:40—spend most of the video dancing at whirlwind speeds under a train track, with a simple pink wall as their backdrop. The video was filmed in Chicago, Pitchfork reports, and presumably in winter. This could be what finally makes Chicago winters cool. (Also if you know where that wall is, email tips@chicagoist.com!)
Clean Up (ft. Chance the Rapper)Watch // Towkio ft. Chance The Rapper & The Era. "CLEAN UP" dir. by [LL]
Posted by Towkio on Tuesday, February 2, 2016
A House DJ Who Worked With Frankie Knuckles Will Spin At Smart Bar
photo via facebook
Black Madonna, disciple of classic Chicago house, will open for DJ Harvey at Smart Bar on Mar. 19. Her show will be part of a series of 15 Smart Bar shows that basically amount to a monthlong 15th birthday party for electronic music site Resident Advisor. She's the DJ to see, though.
Black Madonna has been on the rise since 2012, when she was a resident DJ at Smart Bar alongside Frankie Knuckles. Now she's touring all over the world as a highly sought after performer, helping curate the Northside ‘82 label, standing unshakably tall for women in electronic music and getting one of the top spots on RA’s list of the world’s best DJs. A few years ago, she blessed us with a mix you should definitely check out below.
An Ascending Local Band Mixes Pop With Garage Rock On Their New Single
This week, Chicago rockers Twin Peaks announced they have a new album, Down in Heaven, coming out May 13. They also released the album's first single, “Walk to the One You Love,” which continues their infatuation with Black Lips-esque power pop and the ‘60s garage rock aesthetic.
(Also: Tickets go on sale today for their album release show at Lincoln Hall on May 13, the same day the album comes out.)
A New, Death Cab-Ish Single Is Called, Death Cab-Ishly, "Required Reading"
Since Into It. Over It opened for emo pioneers The Promise Ring at Metro on New Year’s Eve, they've announced a new album, Standards, set to come out on March 11. The first two singles they shared—“No EQ,” followed by this week's "Required Reading"—are polished yet pensive, reminiscent of early Death Cab For Cutie and the aforementioned Promise Ring. Now heading out on tour, they're playing a hometown show April 30 at Lincoln Hall with The World Is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die and Pinegrove. That should be a good one.
A Local Singer Who Recorded With Prince Releases A New Soul EP
On Tuesday, rising Chicago soul singer Eryn Allen Kane released her newest project, Aviary: Act II, an EP evocative of R&B singers from Alicia Keys to Mavis Staples. This comes about a year after Prince invited Kane to perform and record with him, based off the strength of a few of her songs. She's since made a high-profile appearance in Spike Lee’s contentious Chi-raq, and collaborated with artists like Saba and Chance the Rapper. Kane is definitely on the rise; check out her single “Dead or Alive” and the rest of the new EP below.