Describing Hataaliinez Wheeler, AKA Hataałii, as “prolific” goes beyond understatement. Located in Albuquerque but rooted in Window Rock, Arizona—the capital of the Navajo Nation—he’s barely into his 20s but has amassed a wide body of work spanning music, art, acting (AMC’s Dark Winds), poetry, and DIY filmmaking. The drive is instinctual: when he was in high school, Wheeler challenged himself to write and record one song every day figuring if he “did three hundred songs in the year, one of them had to, like, sound pretty good.” The method has paid off. Last year, Dangerbird Records released two of Wheeler’s singles as part of their Microdose Single Series, “Presidents Got Me All Night Long” and “Land of Poor Chance.” Recorded with LA artist Joel Jerome, the recordings demonstrate an idiosyncratic style, which drifts between slacker friendly indie rock, new wave, folk, ambient, bossa nova, and lackadaisical low-slung, country-tinged boogies. Fans of Alex G, Bill Callahan, Car Seat Headrest, and Mac Demarco should take note, but rest assured, Hataałii is his own creation entirely. Check out a few of our favorite Hataałii songs and videos as an introduction below.
