Music Composer and three-time Grammy award winner Ricky Kej speaks exclusively to India.com about his record breaking largest music lesson, brand new rendition of the anthem and more.
The three-time Grammy Award winner, Ricky Kej has made a significant mark on the global music scene by representing Indian heritage on an international level time and again. Last year, Ricky released a remarkable version of the National Anthem by collaborating with the prestigious 100-member Royal Philharmonic Orchestra which was not only attributed to the nation but also a testament to the global presence of Indian music. This year, Ricky Kej has taken the celebration of Bharat to unprecedented heights by breaking the world record.
Ricky Kej has a tradition of releasing a brand new rendition of the National Anthem every year and this year also, Ricky Kej is coming up with a new version of the anthem while he was out promoting the new version, we at India.com got a chance to speak to him exclusively and we asked him about the making of the rendition of the national anthem, challenges conducting the music lesson and his take on Bollywood music versus niche genre.
RICKY KEJ ON BOLLYWOOD MUSIC VS NICHE MUSIC
Coming with an experience, Ricky has seen the industry evolve. Divulging more about the landscape of music industries and the boundary being blurred in the name of artistic freedom in rap songs, we asked Ricky’s take on artistic freedom in mainstream music. “I don’t do songs for the movie industry as I believe a lot of songs in the movie industry are misogynistic and objectify women”, he says. Ricky further shares that he believes that artists should understand that their music will leave a legacy behind, long after they are gone however, their art will remain so, it’s on them how they want to be remembered, whether it is by their art that includes derogatory music or something that is not harmful and has a positive social impact.
Talking further about niche music versus mainstream music, The three-time Grammy Award Winner shares that the major difference between the two is that mainstream artists make music to appeal to mass audiences however, a niche person makes music that they like henceforth, it shouldn’t be compared.
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RICKEY KEJ ON BREAKING THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORD
After conducting the largest-ever symphony with a 100-member Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to perform the National Anthem, Ricky Kej has elevated the celebration of Baharat to an extraordinary by breaking the Guinness World Record. This year, Ricky Kej conducted the largest music lesson by assembling 14,000 children and some legendary Indian musicians.
Talking about the challenges he faced in curating this music lesson, Ricky shared, “The easiest part was working with the children, they learned the rhythm and notes very easily”. However, they faced challenges in logistics as nobody has ever done it before hence, there hasn’t been a point of context. To record this masterpiece, they converted the entire stadium into a recording studio and got around 200 microphones with the best sound engineers.
Ricky Kej’s new rendition of the anthem will be available royalty-free for any purpose, as long as it is unedited and maintains the sanity of the National Anthem on Independence Eve. Further, the individual versions of the recording featuring each maestro performing the anthem from the end to the beginning will be available after 15th August.