Grammy winner Ricky Kej says 'Indian musicians believe they need to be paid to make music' I Exclusive

By Latha SrinivasanRicky Kej is not someone who rests on his laurels. After winning his third Grammy for the album, Divine Tides with rock-legend Stewart Copeland, the Indian musician has been busy with his other projects in the US. By winning his first Grammy for his 2015 album, Winds of Samsara and two in 2022 for Copeland’s and Kej’s Divine Tides, the Bengaluru-based musician has shown that Indian music can transcend barriers if one stays true to their roots thereby inspiring social change as well. In this exclusive chat with IndiaToday.in, Ricky Kej talks about winning the prestigious Grammys, the music scene in India and more.

Excerpts from the interview:

QThree-time Grammy Award-winner and the youngest Indian to win a Grammy. How does it feel?

AWinning a third Grammy has been an absolutely surreal experience. There is no other way to describe it. Growing up in India as an independent musician, I created music from the heart, on my own philosophies and beliefs that I feel strongly about. Through my music, I could bring about positive social impact about the environment and not being part of the glitz, glamour and the mainstream movie industry.

Winning an award which is considered to be the biggest music award in the world was an unattainable dream. Even attending the Grammys, in my mind, was a completely unattainable dream. One could not even dream about it. But to actually win a Grammy in 2015 and being called the youngest Indian to win a Grammy and then winning my third Grammy this year feels amazing to be recognised for all the hard work that I have put in and for the message I am trying to spread through my music, it feels nice to have this platform. Every award can be looked at in two ways – one is through vanity which doesn’t excite me at all. The second is being given a huge platform to spread a message through music. And for me, it’s a way of spreading my message further and wider and getting more people to listen to my music and collaborate with different cultures, traditions and musicians from all over the world.

Q. India has so many talented musicians. Why do you think they are not able to make it on the international music scene?

A: It’s true that India has got many talented musicians. Firstly, I feel that Indian musicians actually don’t need to crave Western recognition because, with 1.4 billion people in India and millions of Indians across the globe, if they cater to Indian people around the world, that’s enough. If you look at Bollywood, for example, whenever they do shows outside India, they fill up stadiums with Indians living there. But if Indian musicians hope to break cultural barriers and reach out to people from around the world, then I believe there’s a huge misconception in India that one needs to create music in English.

I’ve seen a lot of popular Indian artists when they want international recognition, they feel the sound and concept needs to be Western, sing in English, wear Western clothes in music videos, and so on. I believe this is not true. When you look at those who have been successful in breaking barriers, like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Anoushka Shankar and other classical musicians, the demographic of the audience was representative of the city they played in. The way that we can get Western recognition is to dig deep into your roots and figure out what it is that makes you an Indian and performing that music around the world. People will appreciate it. My music is fusion music but it is primarily Indian and people appreciate my music because I am honest in my music to who I am as a person.

QDo you think there are challenges for Indian musicians on the international scene?

AThe biggest challenge for Indian musicians is the thought that they have to wait for someone to pay them money to make music. It’s sort of ingrained into everyone here that once they become a musician they aspire to get into Bollywood or into advertising, where they are paid to make music. When I tell people in India I’m a composer, the first question they ask is which movie. I feel that needs to change and that’s the biggest challenge for musicians.

The right way to go about music when it comes to the international scene is to make music from the heart and then find your audience for it. In my opinion, make music that stays true to your heart, you yourself truly love and then find an audience for it. The audience could be a niche audience which is sometimes better than the mainstream audience because they are more loyal and waiting for you to put out your music. That’s the kind of audience I have. I prefer to be in that space of a niche audience because they will stick with me as long as I make music.

QYou have taken a stand on the environment through your music…

AI have been two things my whole life – a musician and an environmentalist. These two pillars have dictated my life decisions. Even as a child, environmental issues bothered me. The environment ended up becoming a strong part of my music and, nowadays, the only kind of music I make is about the environment and the one that creates a positive social impact around those areas. Both these worlds of mine have blended into one. We’ve got a lot of issues like climate change, species extinction, deforestation, plastic and air pollution, and social issues are linked to this, like poverty, education, gender inequality, gender violence, sanitation and water issues.

I believe the biggest threat to the human species is not these problems but the thought that somebody else will make a difference. The truth is that the only way we can bring about a change is if we change our own behaviour. We need to be the change we want to see in the world. We haven’t empowered ourselves to believe that even tiny incremental changes we make in our own lives can make a difference. I believe that music can play an important role in creating behavioural change and changing mindsets. You can show scientific data to people, but it won’t inspire change. Musicians need to take complex ideas and thoughts and simplify it through the emotional language of music so you reach the hearts and souls of people and inspire them to bring about change within their own lives.

QWhat is next for you in terms of music?

ALots of things actually! I am making another album with Stewart Copeland which will be the biggest album I’ve ever made in my life. I’m very excited about that. It’s going to be really huge! I’m working on a single – a pan-India song – a song which features the whole of India practically. (Smiles) That’s close to my heart. In 2022, I did about 60 concerts in 15 countries and this year will be more than that. Looking forward to all these concerts and reaching out to people directly around the world!