'Always Wanted to Create an Album on Gandhi'

Three-time Grammy winner Ricky Kej on collaborating with Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi and the challenges of working with 200 musicians across 40 countries

- By KUNAL PURANDARE

Three-time Grammy Award-winning musician and Padma Shri Ricky Kej describes his latest album, Gandhi-Mantras of Compassion, as a passion project. The 44-year-old has collaborated with Nobel Peace Prizewinner and activist Kailash Satyarthi for the musical and spiritual tribute to the life and philosophy of the Mahatma. The self-funded album saw him join hands with 200 musicians across more than 40 countries, including friends Tina Guo, a Chinese-American virtuoso cellist, and Masa Takumi, a Grammy Award-winning shamisen player from Japan.

The album has 11 songs and four spoken-word passages by Satyarthi. Kej says it blends melodies loved by Gandhi with original compositions inspired by his ideals. For the ‘Raghupati Raghava’ video, the musician spent two years visiting religious places across the country—from Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi to ancient churches in Kolkata and Bengaluru as well as the Ajmer Dargah and Jama Masjid.

In an interview with Forbes India, Kej speaks about Satyarthi's inputs and role, the challenges of dealing with a diverse set of musicians worldwide, why he stayed away from major labels, and why he doesn't compose music for Hindi films. Edited excerpts:

Q You call Gandhi-Mantras of Compassion your most epic and ambitious project. What makes it so special?