BENGALURU: You’d think that with every nomination or win, the excitement might lessen, but that’s not the case for me at all,” says Ricky Kej, reflecting on the Grammy nomination for his latest album, ‘Break of Dawn’ — his fourth in ten years. “Every piece of music I create isn’t something that’s commissioned, like for a film or specific project. I feel that with each album, I’ve grown not only as a musician but also as a person… this nomination feels like validation for something that I truly love.”
Known for his espousal of environmental causes, the city-based musician turns his musical efforts toward exploring how music can support mental wellness with ‘Break of Dawn.’ The album is based on nine Indian classical ragas, each carefully chosen to promote calm, balance, and introspection. To bring this vision to life, he collaborated with scientists and wellness experts from institutions worldwide.
“Stanford University’s Global Health department gave me a beautiful citation,” he shares, “We all know music has a calming influence and can transport us, but I wanted to quantify this effect. The vision is that doctors might one day prescribe this music to patients, just as they would prescribe medicine or physiotherapy.”
This focus on creating wellness music is a departure from Kej’s previous collaborative works, including ‘Divine Tides,’ his Grammy-winning project with American composer Stewart Copeland. For ‘Break of Dawn,’ Kej returns to his roots as a solo artiste, drawing from his early years of self-directed compositions. “My first few albums, from around 1999 to 2010, were solo efforts,” he recalls. With ‘Break of Dawn,’ Kej aimed for a “personal and deeply connected” album, one that allowed him to explore wellness in a profoundly introspective way.
At the heart of ‘Break of Dawn’ are Indian instruments like the bansuri, veena, and sitar, all known for their expressive sounds that evoke the natural rhythms of breath and life. “The bansuri has the ability to glide between notes, adding dynamics and an emotional resonance,” he explains. Unlike many recordings that edit out the breath sounds, Kej embraces them, saying they add intimacy and authenticity to the listening experience that reflects the personal nature of the album.
For Kej, the Grammy nomination also represents the appeal of indigenous music on the world stage. “There’s a huge misconception that to achieve global recognition, one has to perform music that is Western in style or somehow ‘neutral,’” he notes, pointing to a long legacy of musicians who have taken Indian music to international audiences, like Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Zakir Hussain. “Ask yourself what makes you uniquely Indian, or uniquely yourself, and create music from that foundation,” Kej advises aspiring musicians, encouraging them to seek authenticity over conformity.
Beyond personal creativity, Kej hopes his Grammy nomination will spark broader conversations around mental health and the therapeutic potential of music. “Every award provides a platform to achieve bigger, better things and to spread awareness,” he says, emphasising his desire to dismantle stigma around mental wellness. He believes that music’s purpose can extend beyond entertainment, inspiring both inner peace and positive social change.