RUBY SINGH TO RELEASE NEW DOUBLE LP, kraKIN - A MORE-THAN-HUMAN HIP-HOP COLLABORATION - AND POLYPHONIC GARDEN SUITE II - AN AMBIENT COLLECTION.
BOTH ALBUMS INCORPORATE ‘BIOSONIFICATION’ OF FLORA, FAUNA, AND FUNGI, FIELD RECORDINGS AND KEYBOARDS TEMPERED WITH THE SONGS OF VARIOUS ANIMALS INCLUDING WOLVES, ORCA AND OWLS
DOUBLE LP SET FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 17, 2023
WATCH / SHARE “INTO THE CLOUDS” FROM kraKIN HERE
BUY / STREAM “INTO THE CLOUDS” HERE
BUY / STREAM “FAIRY CREEK LAMENT” FROM POLYPHONIC GARDEN SUITE II
WATCH / SHARE “FAIRY CREEK LAMENT” VISUALIZER HERE
Photo Credit : Dessmin Sidhu // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Today, JUNO Award nominated artist, 2023 WCMA Winner (Global Artist of the Year) and the recent recipient of the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Excellence in Music and Art, Ruby Singh is sharing two new tracks from his upcoming double albums; one a hip-hop collaboration entitled kraKIN, the other, Polyphonic Garden Suite II, explores the pulses and soundscapes of life. Both albums were created incorporating ‘bionsonification’, raising songs from indigenous flora and fungi, transforming bioelectricity into midi data to inform pitch and rhythm.
“Into the Clouds” is the second single from the upcoming more-than-human hip hop LP, kraKIN. With mushrooms playing 808’s and basslines, melodic percussion built from the calls of Steller's Jays, and rapid tapping hi hats created out of the rhythm of a Woodpecker, this bouncing track is infused with the natural world. Joining the fray are biosonified indigenous plants: Horsetail on horns, and Wild Blueberry and Hellebore on ambient and staccato synths. Singh and Datura’s lyrics invite us on a pilgrimage to the mountaintop to contemplate our impact on the environment and invite our imaginations to take flight into what could be possible. One of the verses is even written from the perspective of Woodpecker who has hopes for joining the Wu-Tang Clan, ‘Rrratitatitat: now that’s where it’s at / guard a habitat with a rapid tap / punch a hole through the back of this bark like a hole through the dark | stacking bills, making marks with this art / keep it sharp.”
“This tune was inspired by the alpine regions of the world which have always been destinations for spiritual pilgrimages,” says Singh. “All the sounds come from Mt Washington in Strathcona National Park on the lands of the K’omoks people on Vancouver Island. The colourful lyric video was created by Alevate Studios with animations from the flavourcel collective.”
WATCH / SHARE “INTO THE CLOUDS” FROM kraKIN HERE
BUY / STREAM “INTO THE CLOUDS” HERE
In BC less than 1% of Old Growth Forests are left standing and even with so few intact ecologies surviving, they are still being logged and destroyed for short term gain. “Fairy Creek Lament”, the second single from Polyphonic Garden Suite II was created from field recordings from Fairy Creek, on the lands of the Pacheedaht First Nations, site of one of the largest cases of civil disobedience in canada’s shortsighted history. This meditation on loss was created through tempering keyboards with the song of Robin, Thrush and the endangered Western Screech Owl, creatures and kin that stand to lose their habitats due to human impact. The sublime animations for this video were created by the artistic wonder that is Sab Meynert. May we begin to choose new paths that understand our interdependence with this world and show care for all that surround us.
BUY / STREAM “FAIRY CREEK LAMENT” FROM POLYPHONIC GARDEN SUITE II
WATCH / SHARE “FAIRY CREEK LAMENT” VISUALIZER HERE
MORE ABOUT kraKIN and POLYPHONIC GARDEN SUITE II
In physical form, these 2 albums will incarnate as a 100% post consumer fibre book collaged with lyrics, poetry and artwork by Sab Maynert, the Flavourcel Collective and Singh himself. Set for release in November, the book will be accompanied by a seed bomb bookmark with QR codes for the albums. 30% of the profits will be donated to the incredible work of Raven Trust, who support the inherent and constitutionally-protected rights of Indigenous Peoples as a powerful pathway towards reconciliation and environmental justice.
kraKIN is a more-than-human hip-hop collaboration bringing together the sonic stylings of Singh, the amphibious intellect of Dr. Michael Datura (aka professah exile), and a boom-bap menagerie of West Coast plants, amphibians, and mushrooms. In an age of ecological crisis, this multi-species assemblage aims to decompose human dominion and reintegrate our minds with the resonant ecology of a living world. kraKIN creates their unique place based sound by cutting and crossfading samples of field recordings of biomes throughout western canada and incorporating “biosonification”—a technology that translates the bioelectric signature of flora, fauna and fungi into musical information.
Singh named his latest project, kraKIN, based on the birth of the project in the Octopus Islands, the habitat of the giant pacific red octopus, in Desolation Sound. The tracks include everything from cedar tree basslines, wolf-howl and orca song synths, fungi-triggered 808s, to woodpecker hi-hats —resulting in an ecological portrait aiming to shapeshift perceptions and help us stay awake to the ways of the world.
WATCH / SHARE “ECHOLOCATE” FROM kraKIN HERE
BUY / STREAM “ECHOLOCATE” HERE
Singh’s ambient offering, Polyphonic Garden Suite II, intimately explores our relationship with this living, breathing and animate world. He created the album over the course of two years of travels to six biomes throughout so-called ‘british columbia’. The emerging melodies are then mixed with field recordings and unique instrumentation (tambura, mohan veena and fujara). Singh tempers keyboards with the songs of coastal wolves, orca, and birds (western screech owl, thrush, robin, song sparrow). To further deepen these sonic landscapes, the midi data of plants and fungi trigger the songs of their animal cohabitants: a Cottonwood tree triggers the call of the Song Sparrow that lives within its branches; bull kelp triggers the song of orcas. What emerges are complexly layered sonic ecologies of connection and wonder for the natural world, where Singh imagines how we might move towards right relations with these generous lands, waters and skies.
BUY / STREAM “SHORELINES” FROM POLYPHONIC GARDEN SUITE II
WATCH / SHARE “SHORELINES” VISUALIZER HERE
During this age of climate crisis, Singh continues to examine his role as an artist. This double release, kraKIN and Polyphonic Garden Suite II, ask us to question our relationship with this living planet and all the creatures and kin we share it with. In these twinned projects, Singh creates sonic ecologies, shining light towards our interdependence within every ecosystem. Polyphonic Garden opens a fragrant ambient invitation to explore this relationship, while kraKIN serves as an urgent warning of the crisis we face through a pointed critique of capitalism, colonialism and the terrible choices we have made and continue to make. At the time of writing, canada is experiencing the worst forest fires in recorded history. Singh believes that art has a crucial role in reimagining futures and repurposing aesthetic freedoms toward civil and environmental justice.
kraKIN TRACKLIST
01 Better Days
02 Midnight Wings
03 EchoLocate
04 Cross Pollinated
05 Tooth N Claw
06 Into The Clouds
07 Magnetic North
