The Sails of Whydah

Our voyage began in 2008, founded by musician and producer, Tristan James, and inspired by a pirate crew who sailed the waters of the Atlantic in the early 1700s. The Whydah, a three-masted slave galley, was captured by pirates and manned by an unusual motley crew made up of former slaves, Indians, and sailors of humble origins. Each crew member was considered an equal and shared in the duties as well as the plunder; the ‘captain rules all’ attitude was absent. The Sails of Whydah project took this name because, like the sundry pirate crew, the band is made up of a number of rebellious artists who are all involved in the song writing and recording process. We explore the world, united by the dream of freedom and liberation from the confines of an imperialist society. Band founder Tristan James is an artist, signed to Proletariat Productions, Chicago’s socially conscious record label. He started this project with the goal of creating music made collaboratively with Chicago’s local community of artists and activists.