Presented By
– Connor Singh VanderBeek on Jhalaak
When Ruby Singh and celebrated Manganiyar music collective Rajasthan Josh first collaborated at Indian Summer Festival nine years ago, a spark was lit that led to a profound musical and personal friendship across continents. The result is a collaborative album titled Jhalaak (spark), a Sufi/Hip hop project that leans back to Sufi mystic poetry from the 13th century and rides that current into the future with global bass sounds. This event is the launch and first screening of a special short documentary directed by filmmaker Paneet Singh about the making of the album Jhalaak. In the wake of canceled music tours and album launches, creating this film is a way for ISF to reimagine the role of a festival in amplifying the voices of artists during the pandemic.
Following the screening of the documentary, Ruby Singh is joined by stellar fellow musicians Khari Wendell McClelland and Tiffany Kuliktana Ayalik, and Kayley Inuksuk Mackay of PIQSIQ for a conversation about reclaiming musical and cultural inheritances from each of their particular locations. Khari Wendell McClelland has received wide critical acclaim for his ‘Freedom Singer’ project, recreating the music of fugitive slaves carried on their journey North from the United States to Canada. Inuit style throat singing duo PIQSIQ perform ancient traditional songs and eerie new compositions. They studied and practice throat singing not only as music but as a radical, political act of decolonization and cultural revitalization. Their dynamic modern expression is born out of the ancient practice of a living, changing, growing culture.
*N.B. Video on Demand/Replay: We encourage you to join us for the Event Premiere for interactive live elements like chat. If you miss the Event Premiere, the replay will be available from 12 pm/noon Friday, July 9th, 2021 for a one time watch per pass/ticket until midnight on July 17th, 2021
Ruby Singh, Khari Wendell McClelland, PIQSIQ
Event Supporting Partner
For inquiries and further information, email [email protected]
