Katherine Paul, a.k.a Black Belt Eagle Scout, has revealed her new album, The Land, The Water, The Sky, will arrive on February 10th via Saddle Creek. The news dropped along with the LP’s first offering, “My Blood Runs Through This Land.”
The Land, The Water, The Sky largely focuses on Paul’s experience of moving back to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in Washington from Portland, Oregon in 2020. In a statement, Paul shared that the album was created “to record and reflect upon my journey back to my homelands and the challenges and the happiness it brought.” She recorded the project in the ancestral Coast Salish territory with co-producer Takiaya Reed, and wrote and composed the set entirely on her own.
The album’s simultaneous expression of grief and celebration is successfully introduced by its first offering, “My Blood Runs Through This Land.” The album’s opener “is about the connection I have with my ancestors,” Paul said. “When I run my hands through the rocks at Snee Oosh Beach and dip my fingers into our waterways, I am reminded of where I come from.” Paul embraced the immersive “sounds and the feelings” of the surrounding forestland in a way that “deeply grounds me and strengthens my bond to my lineage of the Swinomish tribe.”
“I wanted the delicateness of these moments to meet the intense reality of the history of my people,” she shared. “I like to imagine my blood – all of my ancestors – running through our homelands freely and powerfully.” Paul cements her claim to the hallowed ground with an accompanying music video, directed by Evan Benally Atwood, that shuttles her between the shores and streets of Swinomish and Coast Salish land. Watch the visual for “My Blood Runs Through This Land” below.
Black Belt Eagle Scout kicked back into gear in October with her first new song in three years, titled “Don’t Give Up.” The single followed her 2019 LP, At the Party with My Brown Friends, which nabbed a spot on Consequence’s list of Top Albums of 2019. Pre-orders for The Land, The Water, The Sky are ongoing.
Paul also has a run of UK and European tour dates lined up for early 2023. Grab your seats via Ticketmaster.
The Land, The Water, The Sky Artwork:
The Land, The Water, The Sky Tracklist:
01. My Blood Runs Through This Land
02. Sedna
03. Salmon Stinta
04. Blue
05. On the River
06. Nobody
07. Fancy Dance
08. Sčičudᶻ (a narrow place)
09. Treeline
10. Understanding
11. Spaces
12. Don’t Give Up
