Performing as the shoegaze duo Deerlady, Mali Obomsawin & Magdalena Abrego are 2 improvising artists bonded in the language of experimentation. Their debut album ‘Greatest Hits’ is a journey thru songs penned by Obomsawin that explore decay & delicate moments, cradled by Abrego’s worldbuilding & evocative guitar playing. The band’s 1st single “There, There” premiered on the hit FX series Reservation Dogs in 2023, and the album, released the following January, has quickly won over audiences across Indian Country and the US. Described by NPR’s Lars Gotrich as a “headbang while you weep” experience, Deerlady is currently touring ‘Greatest Hits’ throughout 2024 and into 2025.
Mali Obomsawin is a genre-defying bassist, composer, vocalist and citizen of the Odanak First Nation. Her increasingly broad body of work spans jazz & roots music, indie rock & experimental sound. An international touring artist and celebrated accompanist, her current projects include this shoegaze duo Deerlady, the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band and her eponymous free-jazz ensemble. Obomsawin’s expansive and nuanced practice models 21st century Indigeneity, challenging listeners’ complacency with the urgency of our times while comforting with lush– and at times haunting– harmonies.
Magdalena Abrego is a guitarist, composer, and teaching artist based in Hudson, New York. Influenced by free jazz and punk, Magdalena’s approach to her instrument playfully confronts tradition and embraces queer experimentalism. Her compositions have been described as an “unpredictable musical journey” (Boston Hassle), both “blissful and beautifully erratic” (Boston Compass), and NPR Music called her guitar tone “wooden, ancient and thick with mystic fuzz.” Magdalena presently serves as a faculty member in the Contemporary Musical Arts program at the New England Conservatory. Her expertise has garnered invitations to deliver guest lectures and provide guidance to ensembles at esteemed music institutions across the United States, including Berklee College of Music and Dartmouth College.
I had the pleasure of hanging out with Mali & Magdalena ahead of the May 2nd duo performance of Deerlady in Madison at the Overture Center as part of the ‘Up Close’ series on the Capitol Theater stage. The three of us get into what is in store for folks in attendance as this normally more than 2, turns into a stripped down duo for this event. We talk challenges and possibilities of a their duo when working these songs live. We go seed to flower on the creation of ‘Greatest Hits’, their debut album and how they knew when Deerlady was born. The conversation around the songs and how they became complete after Magdalena put her unique skillset into action was simply opening, like getting a backstage peek into how the characters of a book really feel. The highlight for me was when the two of them pieces toGether a setlist after choosing one tune from ‘Greatest Hits’ and then following explanations of the choices were following up on the holistic vibe. This is music for those who feel at times when maybe feelings seem as if they have been shut off or down, but in truth, they are just finding their way. I am a fan.
