Katels

Today is the day!! 💿💿💿 My second album, Calliope, is now here :) Huge thank you to Scott at @therecordingcenter for putting so much time and care into the mixing and mastering of these songs. He also played percussion throughout the record! Absolutely stunning cover art by my dear friend Sophia at @hartillustrationstudios . I'm completely blown away by her work and feel so proud to have this masterpiece representing my music. Special thank you to @mayalove.j and @magdannymous for being many voices in my choir. I'm lucky to have such incredible and talented friends to prove to me again and again that music is meant to be made together. I can't wait to hear what you all think!! Drop a comment, repost, share, and tell me what song is your favorite off of the album! . . . . #indieartist #newalbum #albumdrop #indiefolk #singersongwriter #katelscalliope #montanamusicians

Creativity has a way of bringing stories to life in unexpected ways—Frame by frame, detail by detail. Today’s featured film: 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙥𝙚 Calliope, directed by Melissa Bloom of The Sisters Bloom, with music by @k.atels , is an eco-conscious stop-motion animation experience created in Kalispell. Returning to Westland after creating the beloved animated bison film for Project Winterland last year, Melissa brings not one, but two stop-motion projects to this year’s festival—and will share a sneak peek of a third new piece live with audiences in Whitefish. Blending handcrafted artistry, storytelling, and a deep connection to nature, her work is quickly becoming part of Westland’s creative legacy. We’re building something meaningful together, and it starts with the stories we choose to share. #WestlandImpactFestival #WhyWestland #WhitefishMontana @sistersbloomstudios @anderson_888 @k.atels

Congratulations to our two winners of Reel Weird, our first ever Missoula music video competition! Skadget and Katels deservingly split the vote and each received 4 hours of recording time at Treasure State Studios! We are incredibly thankful to have such a grand prize donated for these artists who put a lot of work into their videos. Both submissions are available on YouTube. Check them out! Katels "Calliope" Skadget "MAGAt Fest" Thanks to everybody who submitted and came out on a wildly sunny day to sit in the dark and listen to some local music. Special thanks to Andy Smetanka for putting together some incredible old videos and sitting through a Q&A with us. Thank you to the staff at the Roxy for helping us set up early. Big thanks to Scott at The Recording Center for coming out for our awards ceremony and to Jules Jensen for playing a great set. We had a very low turnout, because the sunny weather that made the block party amazing conspired to keep everyone outside on a Sunday afternoon, so thanks to everybody who was a good sport about it. We love and appreciate you! We've thought about making this a yearly event. Comment below if you think it's a good idea 😘 #weirdfest #wmrf #missoula

The tightrope walker must be precise in her path forward for the show to go on. A step anywhere but along the narrow line of her destiny would end it all. So she keeps stepping forward… I’m so excited to share with you the music video for Calliope! One of my many inspirations for this album came from the calliope, which is the iconic steam organ that you might associate with the circus. When I would listen to the sounds that would become the title track for Calliope, I kept thinking of a tightrope walker, standing above her crowd. An idea started to form for a video where she gets lost in a space outside of the circus tent. Falling from the tightrope, I knew a transformation must occur! I was so excited to find that there was a stop motion studio in my neck of the woods, and I reached out to see if they would be interested in helping create a music video for me. Here is my big thank you to The Sisters Bloom for bringing the imagery of this song to life! 🩷💛💚 Director: Melissa Bloom Music + Concept: @k.atels Cinematography: @motionnoise Animation: @madmaxwinston @grace.rehbein.art Fabrication: Melissa Bloom @kyleashayray @achrysalis.moon @grace.rehbein.art @camillehine Compositing: cartoonraccoon Please make sure to go watch the full video on Youtube 🥰 follow the link in my bio to find out what happens to our tightrope walker!! #stopmotion #animation #musicvideo #montanamusicians

talking from the gut, telling the truth, laughing ourselves silly, feeling enlivened, going home again, everything better

Katels released her latest LP ‘Calliope’ this past fall and I’m overdue on sharing about it. Here’s footage from some sessions, sessions that quickly became collaborative. I always appreciate and enjoy playing instruments on top of engineering and mixing client’s music! Check out her album! 🎧 The music is vulnerable, and the sonic landscape really carries the listener through a unique journey thats both grounding and disorienting. 🎹 Synths, vocoders, flutes, woodblocks, half setup drum kits, tape decks, and much more - lots of fun putting this together week-by-week! Truly enjoyed bringing @k.atels creation to life - check it out! katelsmusic.bandcamp.com . #singersongwriters #indiemusician #recordingstudios #musicproducerlife #behindthemusic

Strata 🪨 I've been waiting to release this video for about two months now. I could blame my hesitance on the vulnerability of making art with one's body, or the fear of being perceived (and the irony of wanting my music to be heard). I think often about how many different skillsets artists are required to have in this day and age. Writing and recording music is only one small part of being a musician. You also have to know how to market yourself and promote your work, and this often means playing all sorts of different roles that don't necessarily always feel comfortable, or come naturally, to me. One of my biggest accomplishments in making my second record, Calliope, was being able to ask for help where I needed it, and enlisting many other incredible artists to help make the vision a reality. Releasing this video really feels like I'm giving myself permission to be messy in an attempt to explore those other skills. Nothing about my art has ever been intended to be perfect. That's what I've always liked about making music - the earthy, organic, and sometimes messy process. I'm excited to start sharing more about this album soon. Be on the lookout for more videos--inspiration behind the songs, more music videos, and live versions of the music. This LP took me two years to write and record, and in an era where AI art litters every fucking platform, I really love these songs for their humanness. So here is more humanness, perhaps the most exposed (and empowered!) I have ever allowed myself to be publicly. If you're interested, the full video is up on Youtube. Follow the link in my bio to my channel and give it a watch for me, if you are so inclined :) Big thank you to @melissathompsonart for taking the day to drive up to my neck of the woods, and paint me for this video! Forever grateful to @sawthesine for his wonderful videography work, and capturing these moments for me. And another big thanks to @scottmathson for decoding my attempt at vocalizing the drum part that I wanted in this song, and being my percussionist. This song (and the rest of my album) wouldn't be what it is without Scott's mixing and mastering skills at @therecordingcenter .

making music with the chatter in here . . . . #blindpilot #indiecovers #acousticguitar #indiefolk #cozyvibes

feeding time like I would feed a fire

Polite Company - @rksbandofficial . . . . #rainbowkittensurprise #indiecovers #pianomusic #indieartist

Strata - lyrics + visualizer 🪨🪨🪨 Back in September, I reached out to @melissathompsonart and asked her to paint me into the shore of Flathead Lake for a music video for Strata (which you'll wanna keep an eye out for btw 👀). Getting painted was such a vulnerable and empowering experience, and I cannot wait to share the full video with you all. Until then, here's some b-reel I cut together from the day! Shout-out to @sawthesine , my wonderful videographer, who captured all of this great footage for me ☺️ full video on YT 🩷 . . . . #indieartist #singersongwriter #lyricvideo #visualizer #bodypainting #montanamusicians #katelscalliope

🌕 Werewolf - Fiona Apple 🌕 . . . #fionaapple #theidlerwheel #montanamusicians #singersongwriter #indieartist #indiecovers