Nature has always been an important element of Ricky Cage's creations. The American-Indian artist, who is also an environmentalist, chose music as his medium to communicate with the world. His latest album 'Divine Tides', curated in collaboration with rock legend Stewart Copeland, won a Grammy Award in the Best New Age Album category. This is Ricky's second Grammy, when his 'Winds of Sansar' won a Grammy in the same category in 2015.
Divine Tides includes traditional artists from around the world, whose "sounds and melodies meet pulsating rhythms amidst the texture of lush surroundings, transporting the senses to a realm of spiritual solitude, where the spirit is free".
It was Ricky who approached Stewart Copeland and assembled an amazing collection of foreign musicians to turn them into an album. The result was nine extraordinary songs - Wonders of Life, Himalaya, Our Home, Art of Devotion, Dehati Bharat, I Am Change - 2021 Remastered, A Prayer, Gandhi and Mother Earth.
Unlike what we'd expect from the title, with Gandhi, Ricky shows sightings of frogs from India's Western Ghats. “When we talk about the environment, we often mean something that is alienated from the human race. We need to remember that our existence is an integral part of coexistence with wild and wild life, The composer told EdexLive. This is why the song was named Gandhi, who has said that "there is enough in the world for everyone's needs, but not everyone's greed".
Ricky, who has performed at venues in more than 30 countries, including the United Nations Headquarters in New York and Geneva, is also a noted eco-activist. He was elected as ambassador to UNCCD COP 14 (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) to raise awareness about land degradation, desertification and drought.
"... I consider every award to be a stage, and important to an artist's career. But if awards are used just for vanity, it is pointless. Awards for the greater good and Using their platforms means to me. Winning the Grammy Award was a major catalyst in advancing causes that I strongly believe in, such as climate action, children's rights, refugee rights, etc.," Ricky said in an interview after receiving his first Grammy Award.
Following the announcement of the awards, Ricky greeted the audience of the 64th Grammy Awards with a hello at the MGM Grand Marquee Ballroom in Las Vegas. She shared the stage with fellow musician Stewart Copeland and later wrote an Instagram post, "So grateful for winning a Grammy Award for our album Divine Tides. Absolutely love this living-legend standing next to me - Stewart Copeland. Love you all too! It's my second Grammy Award and Stewart's sixth."
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1. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar's fanboy
Ricky says that he has always liked the musical styles of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar, who did not let the boundaries of the genre define them. “He only created music he believed strongly in, and collaborated with some of the best musicians and individuals from around the world. He never lost his artistic personality,” he told Rolling Stone.
2. Bachelor of Dentistry
Ricky was born in North Carolina as the son of a Punjabi and a Marwari. When he was eight years old, his family shifted to Bangalore. After schooling, he took admission in a dental course at Oxford Dental College in the city. Even though Ricky completed the course, he did not pursue a career in it and instead took up music.
3. Keyboardist to Full-time Musician
Ricky was the keyboardist for a Bangalore-based rock band called Angel Dust. Two years later, he set up his own studio and got into composing. This self-taught musician composed music for over 3,000 ad jingles and Kannada films. His favorite genres are Hindustani classical music and Carnatic music. After the age of 24, he started studying classical music.
4. Anti Piracy Advocacy
Ricky has also been an advocate of anti-piracy laws in India. In an interview with Hindustan Times, he said, "In India, there is a culture of piracy; nobody wants to buy music. And I blame Bollywood for that. They only care about their film and that artist. There's nothing in me who composed the music for it. They don't care about its revenue. No one will buy my CDs, so I'll sell my album in the US, not India." Ricky also said that he wants the PM to take an interest in the Indian music industry.
5. Birth of Shanti Sansara
Shanti Sansar or World Music for Environmental Consciousness was one of his albums which was released in 2015. The album was jointly launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then French President Francois Hollande, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Ahead of its launch, Ricky traveled and talked about conservation and the environment. During his visit to the Republic of Kiribati, he interviewed and composed music with three-time former President Anot Tong.
Additionally, Ricky is the music composer for the 2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony held in Dhaka on 17 February 2011.
To make children aware of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), she created My Earth Songs, a collection of 27 children's rhymes based on 17 SDGs. These songs were launched by UNICEF and have been published in over five million textbooks in several languages.
In an interview with Rolling Stone India, Cage said, "I have always believed that we only protect what we love and I want to achieve that by showcasing the magnificence of our natural world through my music. Am."