Environment activist and Grammy award winner Ricky Kej did not pause during the lockdown. He’s releasing his music album EK of 12 songs that carry the message of environmental consciousness. Since the first song ‘Jaago’ released on August 5, six songs have been released.
The songs have been sung by popular artistes like Grammy winners Wouter Kellerman, Baaba Maal, Senegal, Grammy nominee Lonnie Park, Shankar Mahadevan, Kailash Kher, Udit Narayan, Aditya Narayan, Salim Merchant, Benny Dayal, Jonita Gandhi, Neeti Mohan, Anushka Manchanda, Andrea Jeremiah, Khatija AR Rahman, and a few others.
Excerpts from an interview with Ricky Kej who shares about collaborating with the greats of the music industry and his environmental activism:
How did EK come about?
I have always been a strong conservationist and environmentalist, along with being a musician. It was through music that I fell in love with our natural world and I find a deep connection between music and Nature. I do all I can to create awareness about the environment and positive social impact through my music. All the songs in EK are entertaining, fun, and yet drive home an important message. Mainstream artistes have the power to make a massive difference through their immense talent and reach, and this album will bring the topic of environmental sustainability to the forefront.
Ricky Kej’s ‘EK’
I am a huge fan of all of the artistes featured, and I was thrilled to have an opportunity to work with them. The experience of creating the album was definitely not what we are used to, all of us recorded our portions in our own homes and everything was done virtually because of the lockdown. However, the album has turned out much more beautiful than I could ever imagine, and I enjoyed this experience thoroughly.
Twelve songs and nearly 25 artistes — how did the process happen?
All the vocalists on this album are on the top of their game; legends like Shankar Mahadevan, Udit Narayan and Kailash Kher have been in the industry for decades. Most of the songs were written in Hindi by my friend IP Singh and we wrote them keeping our ‘Dream Singers’ in mind. With the help of our artist manager Nazeef Mohamed and his production team BToS, we managed to get the exact same singers we had in mind to record the song!
Although all the songs are about the environment, every one of the vocalists on this album have brought their unique artistry and emotions to powerfully convey what our planet means to us. It comes across beautifully in all of these songs. I actually did not have to do any guiding. Each of these artists cares deeply about the environment and their fellow human beings. They were filled with talent and soul to convey these messages through their voice.
Do you voice your thoughts on environment outside music as well?
My life is about the environment and sustainability, musically and otherwise. I work closely with global organisations and serve as an ambassador and supporter for UNCCD, UNESCO - MGIEP, UNICEF India, Earth Day Network etc. I am a strong advocate of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. I am also a professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (at IISC Bangalore). Only when people start acknowledging an issue and start a dialogue to solve it, a solution will come.
Ricky Kej in concert
My aim is to inspire this dialogue through my music and advocacy. I have worked with multiple state governments. For eg, I worked with the Government of Andhra Pradesh (AP) to promote ‘Zero Budget Natural Farming’ (ZBNF). I made several trips to the most remote parts of AP to learn first-hand about the ZBNF technique from the tribal farmers there. This technique does not use any pesticides, chemicals, no GMOs and is 100% natural. I noticed the massive difference that this technique is making to the lives of the natives. I musically collaborated with the tribal farmers for the song ‘Jai Kisaan’ in EK .
Also, I prefer to lead by example — I do not own a car and use only public transportation, I do not subscribe to fast fashion and own only 11 sets of clothes at a time, and buy clothes that last a long time and I am a vegetarian. I also have my carbon footprint audited every quarter and offset by planting trees and investing in renewable energy.
Musically, I have performed for audiences consisting of world leaders, decision-makers and prominent dignitaries to urge them to create stronger policies to tackle environmental issues and health issues. I also perform for the general public to raise awareness about these issues. I will continue to use my creativity to inspire dialogue and action.
After the Grammy (for Winds of Samsara in 2015), were you under pressure to raise the bar for your later compositions?
I have always made music from the heart. Awards and accolades are a by-product, and essential too. In order to make a tangible difference in the world through my music and address global issues like climate change and air pollution, I cannot rest on my laurels. I consider every award to be a recognition, and super important.
If awards are used just for vanity, it’s pointless. Using awards for a greater good is what matters to me. I try and use the platform that these awards give me to do bigger and better things.
Is this a good time for independent musicians?
The independent music scene in India is extremely vibrant and promising. Unfortunately, the movie industry still holds a vice-like grip on the entire music industry and a lot of independent artistes who are extremely talented seek validation from Bollywood or just give up. Most of the independent music is created with the intention of hopefully making it into a Bollywood film.
There are several artistes that I am a huge fan of and record labels in India need to step up and actively seek and promote talent. There is so much more to Indian music than film music and independent/folk/classical artistes in India deserve the spotlight. I believe that only when musicians stop seeking validation from Bollywood, independent music will rise.
Wouter Kellerman has been a constant in your projects — tell us about your association with him.
It was around 2012 when I met South African flute player Wouter Kellerman. I was a huge fan of his music, he was a fan of my music. We wanted to work together. We finally met in Los Angeles, and while discussing ideas for a potential collaboration, I mentioned that I had just composed a piece of music based on the ideals of peace by Mahatma Gandhi.
By coincidence, Wouter was working on a piece of music inspired by Nelson Mandela. Through our discussions we realised that there was a whole lot of cross-pollination here — Mahatma Gandhi spent his formative years in South Africa, so he has a bit of South Africa in him. Nelson Mandela was heavily inspired by Mahatma Gandhi so he has a bit of India in him.
So I began adding Indianness to his music, and he added South African'ness to my music. While collaborating musically, both of us became the best of friends, travelled across the globe and in two and a half years we had an album ready ‘Winds of Samsara’ which went to the top of the US Billboard charts, and eventually won us the Grammy. It is always exciting to perform my music live in concert with a close friend, and we collaborate on every project or idea possible.
Most of your music is about the cultural fabric of India… but it’s paradoxical that you do not speak any of the Indian languages.
I have a learning disorder, which makes it difficult for me to pick up languages and spellings. There were some things that I was great at, and some that I just could never understand or imbibe. English was the language that was first spoken to me by my parents and my classmates (since I was born in the US), and the language I know best.
Since then it has been a constant struggle to pick up other languages, but I now realise that language of my soul, is the language of music, especially Indian music. That’s all that I need to know. All spoken languages are secondary to me. As long as I can express myself through music, I am happy and satisfied.
