The three-time Grammy Award-winning Indian music composer is working on two films including a Hollywood spy thriller titled ‘MR-9’.
Three-time Grammy Award-winning Indian music composer Rickey Kej. (Supplied)
Before taking up his passion — music — as his full-time profession, Ricky Kej studied dentistry. Like many achievers, he initially faced many hurdles and eventually reached the pinnacle of success with not one but three Grammy Awards.
In an exclusive interview with South First, Ricky Kej talks about his journey as a musician, his upcoming projects, the humanitarian services he takes up, and much more. Excerpts from the interview:
Q: The first award is always special and the second feels glorious. But how do you feel about winning a Grammy for the third time? Was it a pleasant surprise?
A. As an Independent musician from India, I used to feel like winning one Grammy was an unattainable dream. Now, I have three and it’s all still so surreal.
I am extremely grateful to have had another opportunity to make India proud by achieving this on the biggest platform in the world for music.
Q: From the first time holding a musical instrument, to starting as a keyboardist and winning a Grammy three times, how do you recall your musical journey?
Rickey Kej with the Grammy Award. (Supplied)
A. It has been a long but fruitful journey. I am glad that I did not give up on my dream of becoming a professional musician.
There were immense societal pressures as being a full-time musician was not considered to be a career.
I do not come from a family of musicians, but I always believed that hard work can compensate for any lack of talent that I might have and I have worked extremely hard all my life.
Q: What has been your learning experience as a musician?
A. Music is a lifelong learning experience and I have never let genre boundaries define my music.
As a musician, I have to continuously evolve and practice my craft. I also need to ensure that I keep in touch with the latest technology in music creation.
Q: What has been the turning point in your life?
A. Music has always been everything to me. Despite being forced to complete a degree in dentistry (I wanted to pursue music professionally), I am glad that I believed in my abilities and continued to create music from the heart regardless of stiff resistance.
All of that only made me want to work harder to prove my critics wrong.
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Q: What is music for you? What inspires you?
A. Music is as important as oxygen to me. I live and breathe music and it has been my closest companion ever since I was young.
Music and my love for our environment are the two main pillars of my life. The music that I create is an extension of my personality and a reflection of my beliefs. Nature is my muse and I am heavily inspired by her.
Q: Tell us about your special albums and your collaboration with international musicians and artists.
A. All the music I compose is special to me in some way; be it my first Grammy Award-winning album Winds of Samsara or the current two-time Grammy-winning album Divine Tides.
Ricky Kej with American composer Stewart Copeland. (Supplied)
For the albums, I collaborated with Stewart Copeland who has always been one of my musical heroes. I like to team up with people who are more talented than me. For, this drives me to work harder.
I have been extremely fortunate to collaborate with my musical heroes. I always learn a lot with each collaboration.
It is such a fulfilling experience to bring all these different cultures, traditions, and people together through the universal language of music.
Q: How is music interconnected with Nature and living beings?
A. Nature is the greatest artist and there is beauty everywhere you look.
The rustling of leaves due to a gentle breeze, the song of the birds, the sound of the waves, the pattering of the rain, the crackling of the fire, and all the sounds in Nature evoke a strong emotional response in human beings, regardless of the place we live in or what culture we belong to.
Music exists in all of the five natural elements. One of the first sounds we, as humans hear, is our mother’s heartbeat.
Music is omnipresent and the way we interpret it and react to it makes it a surreal human experience.
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Q: You have also been serving as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. Tell us more about it.
A. Music is a powerful universal language and has always played a role in evoking an emotional response and is also used to convey a larger message.
Throughout history, this is the reason music has always been used in political activism, public protests, grassroots movements, sports, etc, to create awareness and stir action.
I have always believed that only when people start acknowledging an issue and start a dialogue to solve it, a solution will come.
Rickey Kej at the Grammy Awards ceremony and Cannes Film Festival 2022. (Supplied)
I aim to inspire this dialogue through my music. Ever since I won the Grammy Award, I have dedicated my life to raising awareness of various environmental and social issues through music.
I have created anthems for various causes, including many official songs for the United Nations and other global non-profit organisations like WWF, Earth Day Network, etc.
I work with several national and state governments, global bodies, scientists, and world leaders to effectively convey their urgent complex messages related to the environment through the powerful language of music.
Through my live concerts in India and around the world, I directly interact with lakhs of people and disseminate these important messages.
Q: What are you working on for your next album and what are your other projects?
A. I am currently wrapping up the soundtrack for two films.
I have a lot of live concert performances lined up, starting with the G-20 Summit happening later this month in Bengaluru.
I also have a couple of other exciting projects in the pipeline.
Q: Will we soon see Rickey Kej composing for a Hollywood or any big-budget Indian film?
A. My first Hollywood film, MR-9, is a spy thriller and it will be released in a couple of months.
I am open to making music for films if the subject matter is strong and it moves me.
Q: Other than music, what do you love the most?
A. I love spending time amid Nature and I try to get away to do just that whenever I can. I also love watching films.
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Q: What is your goal?
A. I’d like to do whatever I can, to the best of my abilities, to make this world a better place for everyone and everything.
Q: Finally, are you looking forward to a fourth Grammy Award?
A. I consider every award to be a platform for me to work harder for the greater good.
I am glad I have won three Grammy Awards, but I don’t take that for granted.
For me, using these awards for vanity is pointless and I know that I have a lot of work to do to address global issues such as climate change.
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