Staying in one place is never good for an artist and University of New Mexico alum Hataaliinez Wheeler, who performs under the name “Hataałii,” recently realized that when he moved to New York City, New York, to continue writing music and painting.
A 23-year-old singer, songwriter and painter, Wheeler is known for creating a psychedelic fusion of indie-rock and melancholic pop. Wheeler, who recently attended UNM, first started writing songs and painting in his dorm room, he said.
Art can come from a lot of different places, and for Wheeler, his music and paintings often come from similar places, described as “Ntł’iz and Yódí,” he said.
“In (the) Navajo way of thinking, there are two different ways of looking at things, especially in prayer, and one is Yódí which is sort of the material world and the objects that you have, belongings. And then there’s Ntł’iz, which in English translates to spirituality or essence, or even things you think about or believe in,” Wheeler said. “It’s hard to get into it in English and that’s not really touching it yet. But that’s where the art comes from, it’s not always a place but it’s like a side of a coin.”
Wheeler first got into art because he wanted to excel at something, and the arts were a natural fit, he said.
“I wasn’t any good at sports and I didn’t know what else to do,” Wheeler said. “I wanted to be good at something, so I started writing songs and painting in my dorm room.”
Wheeler has released seven albums including “I’LL BE AROUND” and “Waiting For A Sign,” an EP and a handful of singles.
Wheeler is working on a new EP different from a lot of his work, he said.
“If anything, it’s a little rock and roll, it’s a little dreary and it’s got a lot of overdrive. I think, if it’s similar to anything, it’s like my self-titled album I put out in 2021,” Wheeler said.
Wheeler has an ever growing collection of his own paintings. To him, painting is a physical expression of feeling, he said.
“I think it’s my head, or a combination of physical vigor and visual elegance. It’s sort of like a battle between the two and you’re sort of just scaling and weighing the two. In the end the goal is to just visually portray what you feel,” Wheeler said.
His newest EP and his favorite painting both come from this feeling of Ntł’iz.
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“Music and painting are entirely spiritual…Native people have always dabbled in those kinds of things and it’s important for us to remember and think about things like that,” Wheeler said.
Hataałii first moved to NYC because he wanted more, he said.
“Everyone keeps telling me to keep moving forward and I’m not really sure what that means but I feel like I’m on the right track,” Wheeler said.
Camillo Cretara is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @DailyLobo
