2 time Grammy® Award Winner, US Billboard #1 artist, United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and “GQ Hero 2020”, Ricky Kej is an internationally renowned Indian Music Composer. Ricky has dedicated his life and Music to creating awareness on the Environment, and positive social impact. He has performed at prestigious venues in over 35 countries, including at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and Geneva. In his career of over 2 decades, Ricky Kej has won over 100 music awards in over 20 countries.
Ricky has been awarded the United Nations “Global Humanitarian Artist” award and the “Ban Ki-Moon Award”. Among other awards to his credit, he has also won Producer of the year at the South African Music Awards, Album of the year at the Zone Music Awards (New Orleans, USA), Global Indian Music Award and Mirchi Music Awards (India), and Centre for Conscious Creativity’s ‘FutureVision’ Award (Los Angeles, USA). Ricky is also conferred with the title “Youth Icon of India”. ‘Real Leaders’, a Signatory to the United Nations has recently named Ricky Kej as one of the 100 Real Leaders who ‘Inspire the Future’. The House of Commons, Parliament of Canada has awarded Ricky for his “Outstanding Musical and Humanitarian Achievement”.
FMM: What is important to you when composing music?
I have dedicated my life to raising awareness on various social and environmental issues. Therefore, it is extremely important to me that every piece of music that I compose is socially relevant, thought-provoking, engages people on an emotional level, and helps inspire them to make small incremental changes in their own lives. This will create a ripple effect thereby making a tangible difference in the world around us.
FMM: In 2022, you won a Grammy for the “Best New Age Album” for Divine Tides. Tell us about “Divine Tides” and your partnership with Stewart Copeland (The Police).
I had been working on a follow-up to my 2015 Grammy®-Winning Album ‘Winds of Samsara’ for a while and had cataloged some of my favorite melodies. However, these recordings were delayed due to my relentless touring schedule. The pandemic presented an opportunity for me to spend time in my studio and focus on this project again. I have always been a huge fan of Stewart Copeland. In 2016, I was privileged to collaborate on a song with him for a benefit album I produced. This time I mustered the courage to ask him to collaborate with me on a complete album, and what followed was one of the most fulfilling personal and musical experiences I could ever ask for. Stewart is not just a living legend but also an extremely humble human being filled with knowledge, wisdom, and positive energy.
FMM: Tell us about your music video. What was your vision?
Visuals play a very important role in my creative process because through them, I can shine a spotlight on the subject that I’d like to portray and the message I want to convey. I am very happy with the way all the eight music videos from ‘Divine Tides’ have turned out. I collaborated with several acclaimed filmmakers from around the world to shoot these videos and I am excited to showcase them. Videos from this album were shot in Leh, Tamil Nadu, The Western Ghats, the North-East of India, Thar Desert, Los Angeles and Spain. As you can imagine, it was a challenge to shoot these videos during the pandemic, but it was also a blessing in disguise as we could showcase Mother Earth in all of her glory since most of the world’s population were indoors. I consider all of the songs to be vital pieces of the larger picture which is the complete album. That is the reason we decided to make eight music videos since we felt that all of the tracks need their moment in the sun to shine individually and to coexist as a complete piece of art together on a diverse musical canvas.
All of the music videos are available on: www.DivineTidesMusic.com
FMM: How do you see Divine Tides transforming the planet?
For the last few years, I have dedicated my life and all of my music towards elevating environmental consciousness. All of the music that I have made since then has addressed different aspects of various environmental and social issues such as climate action, human-animal conflict, sustainable farming, the refugee crisis, etc. I have always believed that only when people start acknowledging an issue and start a dialogue to solve it, a solution will come. My aim is to inspire this dialogue through my music because music is an emotional language and has the power to retain a message deep in the consciousness of a listener. I have stayed true to these thoughts while creating ‘Divine Tides’ and it is a tribute to the magnificence of our natural world and the resilience of our species. I have always been fascinated by the resilience of the human species, and these thoughts were interpreted through the music. We are thrilled to have created an album that celebrates life and will create a wave of much-needed positivity in our audiences.
FMM: Where would you like to see your video?
The music that I create comes straight from my heart and I love what I do. I have created anthems for various agencies of the United Nations and for other global non-profit organizations etc. I work with several National and State Governments, Global bodies, Scientists, and other world leaders to effectively convey their urgent complex messages related to the environment and other social issues through the powerful language of music. I am humbled to serve as an Ambassador for the UNCCD, UNICEF, Earth Day Network etc. Through my live concerts in India and around the world, I can directly interact with hundreds of thousands of people and disseminate these important messages through music. We only protect what we love and through my music and through ‘Divine Tides’, my aim is to nudge audiences to fall in love with our natural world all over again.
FMM: Can you take us through the creative process for the album?
The entire album was recorded virtually due to the lockdowns. I have always relied on technology for all of my recordings and therefore, I had plenty of experience to make this as seamless as possible. Stewart too is high on technology and has one of the most amazing home studios. Stewart and I recorded our portions individually and it all came together superbly. All of the tracks are vital pieces of the larger picture which is the complete album. That is the reason we decided to make eight music videos since we felt that each individual track needs its moment in the sun to shine individually and to coexist as a complete piece of art together on a diverse musical canvas.
FMM: You are nominated for a Grammy in 2023 for “Best Immersive Audio Album”. What does this mean to you?
This nomination came as a complete surprise. It is a huge honor for me to compete in the same category with global superstars such as Christina Aguilera and The Chainsmokers. We envisioned our album ‘Divine Tides’ from scratch as a truly immersive experience and we used Sony’s cutting-edge 360RA technology to facilitate this. It warms my heart to get this worldwide recognition for all of our efforts.
FMM: What environmental issues concern you the most?
It is extremely difficult to compartmentalize and rank issues pertaining to our environment based on urgency as there are several factors that contribute to each major issue. We all know that our carbon emissions have to be contained and eventually lowered in order to counter global warming. To do this, we have to move away from fossil fuels, from intensive farming techniques of both crops and animals, stop rapid deforestation, etc. Fossil fuels also affect the air and millions of people around the world perish from air pollution-related diseases. Intensive farming techniques for crops greatly reduce biodiversity due to monoculture whereas intensive farming techniques for animals use highly unethical and inhumane practices for greater yield. Rapid deforestation and habitat loss is a major driving force when it comes to species extinction. Not to forget – plastics and their effects, freshwater pollution, ocean acidification, and their threat to marine life. Therefore, all of this is interlinked. As consumers, we have to make concrete changes within our own lives to address these issues. We have to change our demands to disrupt the supply chain. What we need is a change in consciousness and behavior. We need to consume less of everything. We have to vote for leaders who are environmentally conscious and we have to support businesses that are environmentally responsible.
FMM: Share your important work for 2023.
Recently, I was made the “Goodwill Ambassador ” for the two-time Nobel Peace-Prize-winning organization, the United Nations Refugee Agency. I am very grateful to the United Nations for trusting me with this critical role and I look forward to embarking on this collaboration to further the mandate of protecting and serving refugees. I also have several new projects in the pipeline and live concert performances lined up around the world. As always, I will do my very best to ensure that I can make a difference in this world with whatever I do.
