Holding truth without flinching

KURATED NO. 278
VANCOUVER FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL 49
RECENT RELEASE Celestial Libations
by Ruby Singh and Future Ancestors feat. Arthur Flowers

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CONTENTS

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Vancouver-based Ruby Singh is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist (Dessmin Sidhu photo)

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Arthur Flowers is a Black American author, Syracuse University professor, performance poet, griot and hoodoo practitioner. (Caleigh Mayer Photo)

RUBY SINGH’S CELESTIAL WANDERINGS

Holding truth without flinching; finding the rhythm and spirit inside it

“It’s a prayer, a praise song, and a sonic ritual,” says Ruby Singh about Celestial Libations, a broad spectrum mash up of roots-blues-hip-hop-gospel and spoken word that delves into spiritual, personal and political planes. “It’s about divinity—not out there—but right here, with and in all of us.”

Singh’s inspiring words ring true. An inventive multi-disciplinary artist, he charts a big vision while roaming in the beyond. He’s tapped into recording the bioelectric signatures of plants for ambient sound. He strives to connect with his ancestors – living and departed – in ethereal realms.

“I come from a long lineage of humans who have understood such things, as the origins of Sikhism talk about the interconnected, vibratory existence of the entire universe,” he told the Vancouver Sun. “It seems like a natural extension to me. A lot of discussion around divinity went into this record.”

On Celestial Libations – released in November – Singh showcases and joins forces with a like-minded and equally inquisitive collaborator Arthur Flowers, a 75 year-old Black American author, Syracuse University professor, performance poet, griot and hoodoo practitioner. Some call hoodoo an African-American form of folk magic. Flowers’ fluid definition sees it as a living, modern framework for personal transformation, community responsibility, and artistic expression.

“I’d been wanting to work with Arthur for years, since we first met at the Indian Summer Festival in Vancouver and thankfully the stars aligned,” says Singh. “I can’t believe this incredible man’s work has never been recorded and released, so we wanted to make all the room on this album to celebrate this story slingin’ hoodoo man! His love and dedication to the craft in service to the greater world is deeply inspiring.”

In turn Flowers relates, “When I first met Ruby Singh I detected his magical nature, but little did I know just how much of a dream weaver he is until he, Khari and Holly wove dreams I didn’t even know I had into realities, so fine they glow like stars in the firmament.” Singh’s supporting band The Future Ancestors comprises Khari Wendell McClelland (of the Sojourners) and Holly Eccleston. They’re joined byoud and guitar player Gordon Grdina, percussionist Kenton Loewen, DJ Paul Finlay and bassist Karlis Silins.

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Holly Eccleston (left) and Khari Wendell McClelland (right) are Ruby Singh’s band, the Future Ancestors.

The music

The 11 varied songs on Celestial Libations are collaborative or individual compositions by Flowers, Singh and McClelland. At the heart of the collection are Flowers’ wisened, gritty vocals conveying all the passion and knowing of an astute 75 year-old Black American. His performance on In The Beginning, Blessings and When the Hammer Falls stand out.

“It definitely feels like we are in an age of hammers falling, from south of the border to across in Palestine and things like the wealth gap happening all over that means we are living in a time of oligarchs,” Singh tells the Vancouver Sun. “This is what I expect the moment when people build some sort of momentum to say they have had enough everywhere might sound like.

“This song came out of watching the world unravel; climate chaos, greed, oligarchies, genocide and realizing that the hammer’s already falling,” says Singh. “We wanted to hold that truth without flinching, but also to find rhythm and spirit inside it. When The Hammer Falls is both a warning and a prayer, a call to rise even as the sky comes down.”

What they’re saying

Vancouver music writer Douglas Heselgrave is keen about Ruby Singh and Future Ancestors featuring Arthur Flowers: “Together, this trio holds the core of a work rooted in reverence, kinship, and sonic healing. Come hear new musical futures created in the moment as voices and beats coalesce into a radiant storm of sound.”

He adds, “This will surely be one of the most memorable experiences of this year’s festival.
Come be transported.”

Kudos for Singh

Hailing from BC’s Crows Nest Pass, Singh is based in Vancouver. His website notes he’s a multi-award-winning composer, producer, performer and educator with a broad artistic practice spanning music, poetry, photography and film, exploring myth, ecology, justice, and speculative futures. Singh’s soundscapes are deeply rooted in the sonic worlds around us—from coastal rains and planetary movement to birdsong—and are known for their immersive, visual quality. His compositions, which bridge traditional and emergent practices, have earned multiple Jessie and Leo nominations and reflect a bold reimagining of the human experience.

He’s earned multiple awards:
• In 2022, Singh received the Lieutenant Governor’s Jubilee Award for excellence in Art and Music
• In 2023, he was nominated for a JUNO, and won both the WCMA Global Artist of the Year and the BC Touring Council’s Artist of the Year
• In 2024, he was awarded the WCMA Electronic/Dance Artist of the Year.

His recent projects include:
• Vox.Infold, an acclaimed a cappella collaboration centring Indigenous, Black, South Asian and Inuit voices
• RupLoops, an interactive solo live-looping performance
• kraKIN, a boom-bap ecology of West Coast flora, fauna, and fungi
• He also produced Polyphonic Garden, an ambient audio-visual world, and Jhalaak, a Sufi hip-hop album recorded in Rajasthan, India.

Kurated is tuned in
Kris Sig Plastic V3

14 June 2026

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