Black Belt Eagle Scout - "Fantasy"

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Photo by Evan Benally Atwood

Swinomish musician Black Belt Eagle Scout (aka Katherine "KP" Paul) has her first single out since 2024's excellent The Land, The Water, The Sky, and her first since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. "Fantasy" has everything we love about Black Belt Eagle Scout. It's a dreamy indie rock song with some folk elements and guitar heroics we don't normally see in the genre. As great as Paul's vocals and lyrics are, there's just something about these guitar solos that we can't resist. Black Belt Eagle Scout is one of the most underrated artists out there today, and songs like "Fantasy" show why she should be much closer to a household name.

KP says of her latest single:

“I wrote ‘Fantasy’ during a time in my life when I was transitioning out of the nonprofit world and into making music full time. 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. 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.”

You can watch the video for "Fantasy" below. The single is out now on Saddle Creek. For more on Black Belt Eagle Scout, check out the artist's website. Upcoming live dates are below the video.


Tue. Nov. 17 - New York, NY @ The Metropolitan Museum of Art *
Fri. Dec. 4 - Tulsa, OK @ Vanguard
Sat. Jan. 30 - Maple Ridge, BC @ ACT Arts Centre

* = with Joe Rainey

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