Mali Obomsawin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mali Obomsawin
Obomsawin in 2022
Background information
Born	(1995-07-19) July 19, 1995 (age 30) Stratford, New Hampshire, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, Free Jazz, Folk music, Roots, Rock, Contemporary Indigenous
Instruments	Double Bass, Electric Bass, Voice, Guitar
Years active	2014-present
Labels	Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Out Of Your Head Records

Mali Obomsawin is a talented musician from the Abenaki First Nation community. She is an award-winning bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Mali plays many types of music, including free-jazz, rock, and American roots music. Her first solo album, Sweet Tooth, came out in 2022 and was very popular worldwide.

About Mali Obomsawin

Mali Obomsawin was born in Stratford, New Hampshire. She is a member of the Abenaki First Nation, located in Odanak, Quebec. She also has Sephardic Jewish heritage.

Mali grew up in Farmington, Maine. She started playing the double bass when she was ten years old. Her cousin is Alanis Obomsawin, a famous Abenaki musician, filmmaker, and activist.

Education and Learning

In 2013, Mali Obomsawin attended Berklee College of Music. Later, she transferred to Dartmouth College. She graduated from Dartmouth in 2018 with two degrees: one in comparative literature and another in government.

Music Career

Early Bands and Tours

In 2014, Mali joined her first band, a folk-rock group called Lula Wiles. The band toured a lot in the United States, Canada, and Germany. They were known for their amazing three-part harmony singing and creative songwriting.

Lula Wiles signed with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings in 2018. They released three popular albums before the band stopped playing together in 2021.

Solo Work and Collaborations

Mali Obomsawin also performs with other musicians. She has played with artists like Jake Blount, Peter Apfelbaum, and Taylor Ho Bynum. She also performs with Bill Cole's Untempered Ensemble and The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band.

Her first solo album, Sweet Tooth, was released on October 28, 2022. It received great reviews from around the world. Jazz Times called it their "album of the day," and The Guardian named it their "Folk Album of the Month" for November 2022. Mali co-produced the album with Taylor Ho Bynum.

Music in TV and Film

In 2023, Mali Obomsawin's music was featured in the TV show "Reservation Dogs". Her music appeared in the third episode of season 3, titled Deer Lady.

She also created the music for the National Geographic Documentary film called Sugarcane. This film first showed at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024.

In 2024, Mali released her second album under the name Deerlady. This was a duo project with guitarist Magdalena Abrego. She also released a collaborative album with Jake Blount called "symbiont" through Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. On December 10, 2024, National Geographic released Mali's original music score for the film Sugarcane on Hollywood Records.

Music Albums

As Mali Obomsawin

As Deerlady

With Lula Wiles

With Jake Blount