BENGALURU: Art reflects the times, they say. This holds good with musician Ricky Kej who is working on something that is in sync with today’s realities. As a follow up to his Grammy-winning album Winds of Samsara, Kej will be releasing a new album – Divine Tides – in collaboration with Stewart Copeland, founder and drummer of The Police band. Divine Tides, as Kej puts it, represents a world that is changing with new realities and challenges. “The human race has survived many pandemics.
We are going through a lot of change. This album represents the cyclical change in nature and gives a bird’s eye view of the current situation,” says Kej, whose album consists of nine songs and eight music videos which will be released individually from July 7. The entire album will come together on various platforms on July 21. From Leh to Spain, Thanjavur to the Western Ghats, the music videos display a scenic beauty that plays along to the western classical combination by Kej and Copeland. Driven by percussion-intensive instruments, the non-lyrical music contains a blend of sargams, alaaps and scatting vocals. “The first video titled Himalayas was filmed in Leh at the end of July 2019, just a week before the abrogation of the special status in Jammu and Kashmir.
Another video filmed in Spain, captures the relationship between mankind and nature. This was filmed by Spanish filmmakers Andrey and Vera, who are known for their unique storytelling,” says Kej. Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district, known for its temple architecture, feature in Art of Devotion. This is a tribute to the 2,000-year-old tradition carried by craftsmen in Thanjavur’s Swamimalai who create statues of deities in bronze. Shots from David Attenborough’s documentary on Wild Karnataka for which Kej scored music, will feature in Mother Earth.
Copeland, who adds a western touch to the music, claims he is less known for performing for a ‘spiritual ambience’. However, he got the trade right with Kej’s collection of music ideas. “He (Kej) had assembled a collection of exotic musicians, or perhaps I should say deeply traditional musicians,” he says. However, Kej feels not many people tune into such musical fusions with interest lacking, especially among the Indian audience. “TV and radio focus only on mainstream music. Other countries have dedicated radio stations for rock, pop and jazz. This model is absent in India. If Indians are exposed to musical fusions, I am sure they would love it,” says Kej (The first five videos will release on Lahari music and the rest will be out on Kej’s and Copeland’s YouTube channel