Three-time Grammy winner Ricky Kej dedicates his trophy to “India”

Tribune News Service

Bengaluru-based Indian music composer and producer Ricky Kej, who won his career’s third Grammy award, on Sunday, dedicated the honour to “India.” Kej won the Grammy for his Divine Tides album, which was nominated in the Best Immersive Audio Album category.

After bagging the trophy, Kej took to Twitter and expressed joy on his win. He wrote, “Just won my 3rd Grammy Award. Extremely grateful, am speechless! I dedicate this Award to India. @copelandmusic. Herbert Waltl Eric Schilling Vanil Veigas Lonnie Park.”

It was Kej’s collaborative project with Copeland and they bagged another Grammy for Best New Age Album in 2022. The composer also won for his 2015 album, Winds of Samsara. Ricky is India’s youngest Grammy Award winner, and only the fourth Indian to do so.

Know the artiste

Kej has Punjabi and Marwari roots. Born in North Carolina, US, he moved to Bengaluru at the age of eight.

He holds a degree in dentistry from Oxford Dental College but he chose music as a career choice.

He joined the progressive rock band – Angel Dust, based in Bangaluru, as keyboard player while attending university and eventually moved on to set up his own studio.

He was inspired by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Peter Gabriel (vocalist).

He composed music for various platforms, more than 3,500 radio and television jingles. He has 17 studio albums and four feature films under his name, including the natural history documentary, Wild Karnataka, narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Kej’s goodwill

Kej is an environment activist and also made music on the subject of nature such as albums, Shanti Samsara and Earth Love, which are all about the urgency to save it from destruction.

In 2022 Cannes Film Festival, the singer repeated his 2002 Grammy-winning outfit to start a dialogue on re-wearing clothes for environment’s sake. In the caption sharing both the event’s picture, he wrote, “#ReWear4Earth…Fashion Can Be Trendy Twice. ReWear your outfits for different occasions and do your part in reducing damage dealt to the Earth. This year, I was on two of the biggest stages in the world – the Grammy Awards & Cannes Film Festival and chose to wear the same outfit. Fast fashion isn’t always fashionable.”

In December, 2022, he was announced as The United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR)’s Goodwill Ambassador. UNHCR Asia also congratulated the musician on Twitter and wrote, “Congratulations to @Refugees Goodwill Ambassador @rickykej for his third #Grammy Award Thank you for continuing to use your voice to stand #withrefugee” —ANI &