Ricky Kej MUSIC COMPOSER & ENVIRONMENTALIST

MUSICIAN FOR THE EARTH - An internationally renowned Indian music composer and environmentalist, Ricky Kej is a two-time Grammy winner. He tells CHIRAG MOHANTY SAMAL how he creates music in collaboration with artists around the world to highlight the plight of climate change victims.

- CHIRAG MOHANTY SAMAL

You recently won Grammy for the second time. Tell us about Divine Tides, how did it come about?

I had been working on a follow-up to my Grammy® winning album Winds of Samsara and had catalogued some of my favourite ideas. When the pandemic hit, I reached out to Stewart Copeland, the founder and drummer of one of the biggest selling bands in history, The Police. He agreed to make this album with me. Stewart has one of the most amazing home studios and that helped us record seamlessly during the pandemic. Stewart and I recorded our portions individually and it all came together superbly. All of the songs have strong Indian roots and celebrate the resilience of our species.

You won your first Grammy in 2015, what has changed between the first win and now?