Black Belt Eagle Scout, the project of Swinomish musician Katherine “KP” Paul, is back with a new single called ‘Fantasy’. The gentle, mesmerizing track marks her first new music since 2023’s The Land, The Water, the Sky; it’s also the first Black Belt Eagle Scout song to be released since the singer-songwriter was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2024. It comes with a music video filmed in Kotzebue, Alaska, where her Iñupiaq family is from. Check it out below.
“I wrote ‘Fantasy’ during a time in my life when I was transitioning out of the nonprofit world and into making music full time,” KP explained in a statement. “I was feeling really burnt out and disconnected from the work I was doing. Working in the Native nonprofit world, I often felt this pressure to be some kind of superwoman representing Native people, while also trying to fit into systems that didn’t always reflect who we are as Native people. I was at a point where I didn’t want to keep trying to fit into something that didn’t feel right for me anymore. I wanted to make music, feel free, spend time in the trees, and reconnect with myself outside of all those expectations.”
“I started writing this song on just an acoustic guitar, playing into my voice memos on my phone,” she continued. “In the recording, you could hear my hand shuffling against the guitar and that made its way into the beat of the song with the snare and hi hat. Claire Glass and Nay Mapalo produced and also played on the song. They are in this incredible band called Hikes; part of Hikes’ sound includes these beautiful and fast guitar licks, which I took inspiration from for the guitar solo of the song and wrote it for Nay to play on the track.”
Commenting on the video, KP added: “My cousin Priscilla Hensley created original choreography inspired by Iñupiaq dance, and she also directed and filmed the video alongside Evan Benally Atwood. Movement needed to be a big part of the visual storytelling because of my own journey with multiple sclerosis. When I first had my MS relapse, I could barely walk and lost the ability to play guitar. Since going through a healing process and regaining mobility, movement has become something I do with intention now. To be in our ancestral home, supported by my family and moving on the land in these pieces that we created was cultural healing work.”
Revisit out Artist Spotlight interview with Black Belt Eagle Scout.
