What is Grammy award winner Ricky Kej up to next?

Ricky Kej
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

On a roll since winning his third Grammy (a rare honour for an Indian musician) in February this year for his album ‘Divine Tides’, Ricky Kej on May 22 tweeted “one of the biggest announcements of my life — a state-of-the-art performing arts school with an interdisciplinary approach to music, stage arts, filmmaking, and more.”

I am grateful to the Chancellor and the fantastic team at the university for trusting me to steer and head this school from the ground up.”

The warm and affable Ricky has come a long way from writing commercially successful jingles, and is today universally known, being ambassador for Earth Day Network, UNCCD Land Ambassador, Global Ambassador for Kindness for UNESCO-MGIEP, and celebrity supporter of UNICEF. Lauded as a composer and environmentalist, he has been doing what he believes in and is passionate about. On Earth Day (April 22) this year, he performed at the Gateway of India in Mumbai to raise awareness about saving the planet.

Excerpts from an interview

Ricky Kej with the Grammy award for his album ‘Divine Tides’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

How different will be this school of performing arts?

It has always been my dream to that India should have a world-class performing arts university. What better place than our country, which is a treasure trove of art and heritage. I am excited that it is finally coming true. It will be in the under-construction campus of Chanakya University in Bengaluru. We hope to nurture young aspirants into versatile artistes through an interdisciplinary and a holistic method.

You have collaborated with several international and Indian artistes, including drummer Stewart Copeland, flautist Wouter Kellerman, Bollywood composers Salim-Sulaiman, tabla exponent Bickram Ghosh and ace violinist L. Subramaniam. Is collaboration the way forward for musicians?

I have also worked with singers Shankar Mahadevan, Udit Narayan, Jonita Gandhi and Kailash Kher. Art cannot exist in isolation. When work as an ensemble, you keep pushing the boundaries of creativity. And often the results are exciting. In the West, a single work sometimes involves multiple composers. Even Hindi film songs are collaborative works but this feature rarely gets highlighted. But I like to acknowledge every artiste who is associated in a project. I never call a song my own. My live shows are not just about me, every artist on the stage is a star.

You have also composed for films, including the acclaimed Wild Karnataka. Do you adopt a different approach for films?

It was amazing to work with the inimitable Sir David Attenborough, who is an inspiration for environmentalists and conservationists. Recently, I worked on a beautiful Malayalam movie, Adrishya Jalakangal. Its strong anti-war narrative resonated with me. The film’s director Bijukumar has won two National awards. I also composed music for a Hollywood spy thriller starring the Avengers star Frank Grillo, and Michael Jai White. I am also doing the music for a few natural history documentaries.

Ricky Kej and American drummer Stewart Copeland
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

What changes would you like to see in the world of music production in India?

I would love to see more independent music coming out of India. Till now, songs for us meant only Bollywood numbers. Also, independent musicians are getting the opportunity to compose for films. This is fantastic. But the problem is when independent musicians stop making music from the heart to become part of the mainstream. We will then lose out on songs on the environment and social issues. I think making niche music is good; you have a loyal fan following that lasts. It may be small compared to Bollywood. I hope musicians create what they are comfortable with. Also, we need a more robust mechanism in India when it comes to royalty. Collection rights societies should be ethical, especially for classical musicians and independent musicians. The licence fee that organisers pay for live concerts, instead of going to the performers, somehow ends up going to mainstream record labels that have absolutely nothing to do with the music that was performed.