It’s indeed a proud moment for India as musician Ricky Kej won his third Grammy Award on February 6, 2023 for the album ‘Divine Tides’ with rock legend Stewart Copeland.
The Bengaluru-based Indian music composer and producer won the award for ‘Divine Tides’ as he was nominated in the Best Immersive Audio Album category. The result was announced at the live ceremony held at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles, USA.
This song was Kej’s collaborative project with Copeland and they bagged another Grammy for Best New Age Album in 2022. The composer also won for his 2015 album, ‘Winds of Samsara.’
Featuring artists from around the world, ‘Divine Tides’ is a tribute to the magnificence of our natural world. This critically acclaimed album contains 9 songs and 8 music videos that were filmed around the world from the exquisite beauty of the Indian Himalayas to the icy forests of Spain.
At the time of his nomination, Kej had said, “It is an absolute honour to be nominated a second time for a Grammy Award for our album ‘Divine Tides’. Although my music is cross-cultural, it has always had strong Indian roots and I am extremely proud that Indian music has been recognized and shortlisted for this prestigious award by The Recording Academy. This nomination encourages me further and solidifies my belief to continue making music that can inspire positive social impact.”
Ricky is the youngest person from India to have won a Grammy Award, and only the 4th Indian. Meanwhile, Stewart Copeland is a 5-time Grammy Award-winning American musician and composer. He is the founder and drummer of the British rock group ‘The Police’ who have sold over 75 million albums worldwide.
Union minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur congratulated Ricky Kej him for winning the Grammy Award for the third time. He tweeted, Thrilled to hear that you have won your 3rd GRAMMY -Congratulations on becoming the only living Indian with a hattrick! Your music captivated audiences during India @ 75th Cannes last year & your work spreads the message of living in harmony with our environment.
Ricky is the youngest person from India to have won a Grammy Award, and only the 4th Indian. Meanwhile, Stewart Copeland is a 5-time Grammy Award-winning American musician and composer. He is the founder and drummer of the British rock group ‘The Police’ who have sold over 75 million albums worldwide.
Ricky won his second Grammy on April 4, 2022 for Best New Age Album for his album Divine Tides. He won his first Grammy in 2015 for his album Winds of Samsara in the Best New Age Album category.
Rickey Kej was born in the United States of America (USA) in the city of North Carolina. He is half Marwari and half Punjabi. He lived in the city since he was eight.
He was educated at the Bishop Cotton School in Bengaluru and completed his dentistry at Oxford Dental College, located in Bengaluru.
Most of his family members are in the medical profession. His father and grandfathers were doctors. He got married to his girlfriend Varsha in 2014. He struck a middle-class Faustian deal with his parents to let him try his hand at music after finishing his degree.
He kick started his career as a keyboardist with the progressive rock band called Angel Dust before becoming a music composer.
In 2010, he was nominated for an award at Cannes for his jingle on Nike. He has created music for 3000 jingles and even Kannada Films.
Additionally, he has won 100 music awards in over 20 countries.
