Exclusive: To win a Grammy with my childhood idol was a great experience: Ricky Kej

Bengaluru-based musician Ricky Kej has secured his second Grammy win when his collaborative album Divine Tides -- in which he worked alongside his childhood idol Stewart Copeland of The Police -- won the Best New Age Album. We caught up with Ricky post his win...


What was the winning experience this time around?
It was amazing to receive this award because this was a collaborative album with Stewart. We worked on this album for over a year, with hundreds of Zoom and Skype calls and WhatsApp messages. I finally got to meet him in person for the first time seven days ago. It was quite amazing, as this was pretty much a pandemic album. We worked together and became such close friends during this period that we never realised that we haven't met in person. Yet, it was an exciting moment to meet him. We spent a lot of time across three cities prior to the ceremony. Winning the album together was a surreal experience as I have grown up on his music and with his posters on my wall. To win a Grammy with my childhood idol was a great experience.

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How did you get in touch with Stewart for this album?
We had collaborated briefly in 2016, through artiste managers and agents. We never got to interact with each other. Back then, I sent him the music, he recorded the drums and sent it back to me. I always wanted to make a follow up to Winds of Samsara, which won me my first Grammy. During the pandemic, I found the time to sit down on that. When I began work on the album, I realised I wanted to collaborate with Stewart and I managed to get in touch with him directly. He loved the music and said, 'Yeah, let's do this album together'. It happened over just a couple of conversations. We then spent the next year interacting for this album online.

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Unlike Winds of Samsara, Divine Tides saw greater buzz, didn't it?
Yes, you're right, there was a lot more buzz. Even though Winds of Samsara was No 1 on the Billboard charts in the USA, Divine Tides had far more critical acclaim. Also, with Stewart's involvement, it was being written about by everyone.


Did this add to some extra jitters ahead of the ceremony?
Fortunately, I have been busy for the past month and I am very grateful for that. I did a nine-city tour in America and that kept me busy. So, I did not have the time to get nervous, and I am very happy about that.


You've have two Grammy wins. The obvious question is what's the plan for a third?
The thing about being an independent musician is that whenever I finish a project, the first thought is 'What next?' I already have many ideas in my mind, but the problem with this is that when I move on, the earlier album immediately gets killed, as I stop promoting it. So, I am not going to get into that right now and am going to concentrate wholly on continuing to promote Divine Tides before I put my creative energies into a new project.


You bring an essence of India in all your music. Is this done consciously or does it come innately?
It is bit of both, actually. Sometimes, it is conscious and sometimes it is subconscious. For me, my sensibilities are Indian so no matter what that will be a part of what I do.