Indigenous Montana Musicians to Support Today and Everyday
There are a myriad of Indigenous musicians here in Montana who are cherished community leaders, healers and storytellers. Today, and every day we should celebrate, support, and share their song.
Supaman
Supaman, a member of the Apsaalooke Nation, who grew up in Crow Agency, Montana. He writes about the issues and injustices Native Americans face throughout the United States, using rap tracks to express political and social grievances.
Supaman makes a revolutionary mix of classic 90s rap and traditional Apsaalooke music. Supaman comments on American hypocrisy through debate audio, tying politics into art. Syncopation in conjunction with classic record-scratch remixes make Supaman’s albums addictive. Lyrical delivery is on beat and well done, layering perfectly with the composition.
Cry Baby
Cry Baby is one for the books. They talk on other people’s perceptions and the effect they have on the psyche. The difficulties of breaking into the music scene and the frustration encircling a lack of diversity is described perfectly within Cry Baby’s discography. They write in metaphors and simile that give windows into their emotions.
Vocals are accompanied with stripped down electric guitar and simple percussion, bobbing softly through verses. Cry Baby’s vocals remind me of what honey tastes like; their music is soothing and kind. A playful whimsy is knit through their lyrics, charming the listener.
FUULS
Fuuls is one of the most well composed music groups in the Missoula scene. Electric guitar and energetic percussion carry the songs. The vocals are varied and contrasting against the instruments, add depth to the songs. Guitar is loud and spicy while the bass and percussion are consistent. Complex riffs are interspersed throughout the songs, performed with precision and passion.
Fuuls talk about the burden of creation in the midst of oppression, their songs range from light-hearted dancey riffs to the sickening grooves as they work through themes of mental illness, anti-capitalism and disillusionment with faith.
Ash Nataanii
Ash Nataanii writes devastatingly lovely pieces on the intricacies of identity, processing faith, and unrequited love. Longing and love are represented through metaphor and allusion, giving context to the narrative she paints.Themes such as family, depression, and love are highlighted throughout Nataanii’s discography.
A member of Fuuls, Nataanii’s composition channels her experiences, pulling from her spirituality and past loves. Simple guitar and percussion highlight complex and layered vocals. Her vocals add warmth to her songs: minor tones and chord progressions give it a melancholic tone. Nataanii captures the ecstasy of empowering Indigenous voices through her work in all her music projects and in the work she is doing with her new recording studio Weird Spirit Recordings.
Poverty Porn
Education, alcohol, and injustice. Poverty Porn touches on exactly that: the fetishization of poverty in the punk scene. Their lyrics touch on issues such as alcoholism, the cost of education and the expectation to create as an established band.
Their composition is loud, layered and eclectic. The guitar carries the song in large, sweeping riffs while the drums drive the beat with heavy symbol and kick drum. Bass shines through in exposees. The lyrics are passionate and meaningful, tying each song together.
Redclover
Redclover is compositionally breath-taking saturating personal vignettes with feeling. Redclover holds a special kind of intimacy with their listener. Their lyrics are tender and archetypal. Redclover bears witness to what happens around them and then turns it into art.
They weave acoustic guitar into raw vocals. Their sound is free and folkey, bringing legend into the present, modernizing the ballad. Redclover configures them to fit their narrative, composition pairs perfectly with lyrics to make something comfortingly new.
Jo Curtis
In a spoken word soundscape on existing within one’s true self, Jo Curtis comments on the poison of expectation within daily routine in their song “ Right About Now.” The piling up of dirty dishes and sticky, poison coated hands reference the toll societal expectations have on one’s psyche.
The juxtaposition of fluctuating high and low vocal pitching captures the free innocence of childhood, clashing with the intrusive thoughts of adulthood: each time Curtis references distress and upset their deepened vocal monologue shines through. Their celebration of self and culture rejects societal molds and finds freedom. The ending of the piece snaps the listener back to reality: the dishes are piling up.
Foreshadow
Foreshadow has a positive outlook in the face of seemingly insurmountable circumstances. The moving on and forward to brighter moments is emphasized in Foreshadow’s music: referencing familial love and his Salish and Blackfeet cultural roots. Foreshadow, from the Flathead reservation in Western Montana, uses his music to express concern on social issues pertaining to his community.
Synth chords and trap beats are layered underneath the lyrics, giving the song a strong beat. Foreshadow’s voice sweeps through the song in stressed syllables. Harmonies meld with the synth and smooth the tone of his work
Playlist
Assembled by Music Director, Elinor Smith.