Katherine Paul | |
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.jpg) Paul performing atSouth by Southwest inAustin, Texas, 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1989 (age 35–36) Anacortes, Washington, U.S. |
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| Years active | 2014–present |
| Labels | Saddle Creek Records |
| Website | www |
Katherine Paul (born 1989)[1] is aSwinomish/Iñupiaq singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based inPortland, Oregon. Her music is influenced bypost-rock,alternative rock, andNative American traditional music. She has released anEP and three albums under the monikerBlack Belt Eagle Scout. Her self-titled EP as Black Belt Eagle Scout was released in June 2014.[2] Her debut studio album,Mother of My Children, was first released by Portland tape label Good Cheer Records in 2017, then re-released in September 2018 bySaddle Creek Records.[3] On April 26, 2019, Saddle Creek released a Black Belt Eagle Scout single titled "Loss & Relax" on a seven-inch vinyl backed with the B-side "Half Colored Hair".[2]
Paul was born inAnacortes, Washington[1] to Kevin Paul, aSwinomish/Colville father and enrolled member of theSwinomish Indian Tribal Community,[4][5] and Patricia Aqiimuk Paul, anIñupiaq mother and enrolled member of the Native Village ofKotzebue in Alaska.[6][7] Paul grew up on theSwinomish Reservation in thePuget Sound region of Washington. Her earliest musical experiences included listening to and singing indigenous music ofthe Coast Salish.[8] She was ajingle dress dancer at regionalpow wows with her family's drum group, the Skagit Valley Singers.[3] At a young age, Paul began learning to play the piano and played the flute in her school band.[9] Her interest in the guitar and drums began when she came into the possession of some bootleg VHS tapes ofHole andNirvana, from which she taught herself to play those two instruments by pausing the tapes and studying the musicians’ fingerings and techniques.[10]
During high school Paul became involved in the small DIY music scene in Anacortes, Washington near the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, driving her parents' car to attend shows at the Department of Safety venue.[3] The venue, located in an old firehouse, is where she met Canadian artist and musicianGeneviève Castrée who became a mentor to Paul.[10] An inspiration of Paul's, Castrée would attend her early performances, encouraging her and praising her for her playing.[3]
In 2007, Paul moved from Washington to Portland, Oregon to attend college atLewis & Clark College.[10] While in Portland she became involved with theRock and Roll Camp for Girls, and later contributed guitar, drums, and vocals for Portland-based bands Forest Park and Genders.[2][11][12]
Paul's first release as Black Belt Eagle Scout was an eight-song self-titled EP in 2014. Her next release was 2017'sMother of My Children, Black Belt Eagle Scout's debut album.[2] Paul played all the instruments on the album including bass, keyboard, percussion, organ, vibraphone, and piano, in addition to guitar, drums, and vocals.[13] The album was recorded at the Unknown recording studio, a converted church in Anacortes. During the recording session, Paul stayed on the reservation with her parents.[10] The first two tracks are accompanied by music videos byDiné filmmakers Demian DinéYazhi' ("Soft Stud") and Evan James Wood ("Indians Never Die").[14] Songs on the album deal with topics such as loss, grief, heartbreak, and Paul's identity as an indigenous queer woman. In 2016, her mentor Geneviève Castrée died of pancreatic cancer. Paul says music is what helped her process her grief during this time. This Paul accredits to her Native upbringing and the healing, spiritual roles that singing and drumming played for her during her upbringing.[10] The album's second track "Indians Never Die" is a response to both theDakota Access Pipeline protests atStanding Rock and togentrification occurring in Portland.[3] Paul is open and vocal about her identity as a "radical indigenous queer feminist".[15]
Black Belt Eagle Scout has been compared to other West Coast bands such asMazzy Star andNirvana.[9]The Seattle Times refers to Black Belt Eagle Scout's sound as "intrinsically Northwest", because of Paul's blending of Pacific Northwest rock andCoast Salish traditional music.[3]Pitchfork callsMother of My Children "a collection of pensive rock songs saturated with an oceanic mood".[8] John Amen ofPopMatters gaveThe Land, the Water, the Sky a score of 9/10, noting, "Black Belt Eagle Scout teaches us, guides, and inspires us, all the while dazzling us with lush atmospheres, seismic rhythms, and a voice that unfurls from another and perhaps a better world."[16]
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles[2]