Janel Munoa began singing at an early age, howling through the deep forests at the edge of her tribe’s Reservation in Southern California. As she grew up, Janel’s Luiseño Indian howls took on layers of inspiration from her brother’s punk tapes and her parents’ record collection, forming into a full-throated sound that embraces the overlapping worlds of rock, soul, blues and hip-hop.
Moving from the woods of California to a forest in Western Massachusetts, Janel and creative partner, Alex Vazquez, holed up in a cabin to write songs. “Howls from Deep in the Woods,” Janel’s debut album, was released in the fall of 2017 on the pair’s indie label, Deep Red Records.
“We chose that album title because each song felt like a howl,” says Janel, “like a coyote calling out to like-minded individuals, to people who might be drawn to the world we created.”
The year it was released, “Howls” received two Native American Music Award nominations: Best Rock Recording and New or Debut Artist of the Year. At the ceremony, Janel was honored to present a tribute to one of her heroes, the Native American activist and poet John Trudell. Recently, the Indigenous Music Awards announced that Janel has won in the category of 2019's Best New Artist.
In the Fall of 2019, Janel and Alex released another full-length album, “Blackstone”, a more wild and minimalistic record that Janel describes as “Tom Waits dancing with Fiona Apple.” The pair have reimagined older material from when Janel lived in Topanga Canyon, CA and worked with producer and songwriter Frank Gryner (Rob Zombie, A Perfect Circle, L7).
Janel is propelled live by a tight backing band that includes some of the regions most sought after session musicians. A formidable presence onstage, Janel uses her dark-timbered voice to draw the audience into her world of raw musical ceremony.