Grammy winner Ricky Kej on bringing ancient Vedic music to the masses through Break of Dawn

Ricky Kej

Ricky Kej acknowledges that music, especially instrumental music, is considered a great companion for individuals going about mundane tasks. "A lot of people listen to it in the background, while doing chores like cooking or driving, or indulging in conversation. But it's important for a listener to actually surrender to the music. If someone could take time off, sit with closed eyes, and surrender to it for an hour, [they will benefit]. I guarantee that anyone who does that while listening to this album from the beginning to the end will be led on an introspective journey. They [will] come out far more joyous than they were before they heard it," says Kej, who brings ancient Vedic music to the masses with Break of Dawn.

In this interview, the multiple Grammy winner discusses turning his attention to the wellness music space, and drawing from his life's experiences to evoke emotions via the album.

Edited excerpts of the interview:

How did you arrive at the concept of creating an album on the ancient Indian musical heritage of the Vedas?
Throughout my entire career, I've made music [to spread awareness of being] environmentally conscious. There is a Buddhist saying that describes how the impurities and imbalances in the ecosystem are in direct relation to those in the mind. So, in order to purify the environment, we must first purify the mind.

That is something I have always been working towards. My past albums, too, have been about creating a better [sense of being] through music. When it comes to climate change, we [appear to be] curing things symptomatically.

It's important to go to the root cause, and that, in my opinion, is mental wellness. If we create a more compassionate society, all of these problems will not exist. It may seem far-fetched. But, at the end of the day, this is what it is.

What was your initial understanding of this genre?
The best way to express wellness music, which brings about a sense of calm and well-being, is through Indian classical raps. These have existed for a long time because they've gone through an evolutionary process. Indian classical drums are beautifully defined - you've got ascending and descending notes, and quarter tones. It gives [the genre] a beautiful framework that an artiste can improvise within. When you create a piece of music within a raag, you are improvising within it. That's the beauty of it, and that's also why, for this album, I worked with different raags for each track. Even though they are instrumental, each of the nine songs is based on a different life experience.

Can you describe the technicalities of creating such a sound? When you're not employing words, how do you showcase your experiences via music?
The idea is to evoke an emotion. The first song is called Blue dream. I travelled to this island nation called Kiribati, which is predicted to be the first country that's going to [be submerged] due to climate change. I watched the president give a speech at the climate change conference, and it was inspiring. [I wanted to] understand how the country that is facing the worst effects of climate change [is tackling it]. It is pristine, with beautiful beaches. It is also a primitive society; they do not have a movie theatre, or a western magazine. They are environmentally conscious; there is no industrialisation there either. So, they are not responsible for climate change. But they are the ones who are suffering the most. During these trips, I would travel with the locals on a boat. The locals would catch fresh fish
every day. When I was on that boat, surrounded by water, I recorded my melody. That melody became Blue dream. Every song has a similar story - it is a thought that was translated into a piece of music.