Indian Music Composer and Grammy® Winner Ricky Kej and Rock-legend Stewart Copeland (The Police) have been nominated for their latest album ‘Divine Tides’ at the 64th Annual Grammy® Awards. The nominations were announced by the CEO of the Recording Academy, Harvey Mason Jr.
Ricky Kej’s previous Grammy® Award win came in 2015 for his album ‘Winds of Samsara’. Based on the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, ‘Winds of Samsara’ was a runaway success and debuted at No.1 on the US Billboard New Age Albums chart, a first for a person of Indian origin. Ricky is the youngest person from India to have won a Grammy® Award, and only the 4th Indian. 5-time Grammy® Award winner Stewart Copeland is the founder and drummer of the legendary British rock group ‘The Police’.
FWM: What have you been working on in 2021?
I always used to have a hectic touring schedule and the pandemic has allowed me to spend a lot of time in the studio creating music and also work on several other projects. Besides working on my current Grammy® nominated album, ‘Divine Tides’, I released a music video to support the ‘Make A Mark’ project along with gold-medalist Olympians, Niccolo Campriani of Italy and Abhinav Bindra of India who trained refugees from war-torn regions such as Afghanistan in the sport of professional shooting. I also completed a project called “Women Of The Records”. When recording technology came to India in 1902 with the coming of the Gramophone Company from London, across the country, it was women who embraced this nascent technology. Most of them belonged to the courtesan community.
Their records catapulted Indian classical and folk music from the closeted confines of salons, temples, theatres, and royal courts to global mass media. It made super-stars of many of these women who also negotiated hefty fees from the recording companies. India was soon to emerge as one of the major markets for the fledgling international music industry. But soon the virulent Anti-Nautch campaign that targeted them branded all performing women as prostitutes; their stories and names were rubbished away into the dustbins of history and purged from national and musical consciousness. “Women Of The Records” is a tribute and an effort to recreate the stories, the lives, the magic, and the music of these stellar pioneers, but for whose brave efforts, Indian music and the music industry would not be where it is today. We have collected and unearthed many of these forgotten recordings, and painstakingly digitized them to introduce these women and their music to a whole new generation.
Another project I worked on is an epic documentary feature film on the mystic music traditions of over a thousand years of the Bauls of Bengal. Bauls are a nonconformist sect having gurus (mentors) but no dogmas, rituals, religious institutions, or scriptures. Their path to God or spirituality is defined through music. Declared as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, The Bauls of Bengal have kept their philosophies alive for over 1000 years, but modern demands threaten their simple, enlightened lifestyles. Our documentary “Who is Baul” premiered in London in July 2021.
My most recent release is called ‘Kaadu’ and it is a part of Indian duo Salim-Sulaiman’s Bhoomi 2021 project with Tamil Sensation Arivu. It is a dedication to the importance of forests and how all of us rely on them for our survival.
FMM: Tell us about the collaboration with Stewart Copeland (The Police) for your Grammy-nominated, new album, Divine Tides. How did this develop?
In 2016, I was privileged to collaborate on a song with Stewart Copeland for a benefit album I produced. This time I mustered the courage to ask him to collaborate with me on a complete album and I was thrilled that he agreed.
Stewart Copeland is one of the most influential musicians in the world because of his artistry and his pioneering style of drumming and percussion. I started my professional music career when I was quite young, and growing up, ‘The Police’ was one of the biggest bands in the world. I was blown away by his skills and even today, almost every other artist I collaborate with – regards them very highly and is influenced by their sound and style in some way. There was always a lot of poetry and intricacy with Stewarts’ drumming, which in my opinion, made The Police the legendary band it is.
Stewart and I constantly threw ideas at each other, adapted sounds, and crafted this album together piece by piece. All of the songs have strong Indian roots with a fusion of the west and the entire album celebrates the magnificence of our natural world and the resilience of our species. Given Stewart’s immense experience with various forms of music in various media, I had complete and absolute faith in his thoughts and suggestions, and every one of them took the album and the music to the next level. His infectious personality and his artistry really shone through and made this collaboration one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. Working with him was like attending the best masterclass imaginable.
FMM: What your inspiration for your album?
I had been working on a follow-up to my Grammy® winning album ‘Winds of Samsara’ and had cataloged some of my favorite ideas. Recordings were delayed because of my relentless touring schedule and when the pandemic hit, it presented an opportunity for me to spend time in my studio and kick-start this project.
I have always believed that we only protect what we love and that is what I hope to achieve by showcasing the magnificence of our natural world through my music. Despite what we have done to our planet through our unsustainable ways, humans are an incredible species who have survived dire situations such as wars, pandemics, various forms of persecution, extreme natural events and so much more through the centuries. From living in caves to walking on the moon, we have come a long way in such a short span of time. I believe that if we celebrate our differences instead of letting them tear us apart and if we learn to live in harmony with nature, all living beings on our planet will thrive. ‘Divine Tides’ illustrates these musings through its diverse soundscapes and music videos.
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: What we expect to see from you in 2022?
It is hard to make any concrete plans right now since the situation around the world is extremely unpredictable due to lockdowns, suspension of flights, border controls, etc.. Touring is definitely on my mind and I have a couple of live concerts lined up in the USA. I guess for the next few months I am going to work on promoting Divine Tides and try and get as many people to listen to it. Since I have worked so hard on the music, poured my heart and soul into it, I feel I owe it to the music to ensure as many people around the world enjoy it.
