Following his act at the WHO conference on air pollution in Geneva, Ricky Kej discusses why he dedicated his life to the environment
Ricky Kej
A South Pacific country by the name of Kiribati is reportedly set to go underwater in the next 30 years owing to climate change. The "environmentally conscious" country, as musician Ricky Kej highlights, has no emission or pollution, and is merely "suffering the consequences of our action". The Grammy Award-winning artiste doesn't spare a minute before making his plea for the environment at the onset of this interview. Only last month, Kej performed at a special WHO Global Conference that was held to discuss air pollution.
Revealing that he has performed at events in New York, Kej says this opportunity to play for dignitaries at the UN headquarters in Geneva, was his first. "I had created music that could showcase how air pollution affected children. Climate change doesn't know boundaries. Music moves people towards action, because it stirs them at an emotional level," says the musician, adding that he included artistes from across the globe to include different music sensibilities into the act.
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"Most of my music has an Indian influence. For this set, we had a Peruvian guitar player, a Äu00c2u0090àn bau player from Vietnam, a Ghanian regge singer, a French Violin player and singers from America." Having created jingles for an array of brands early on in his career, Kej realised the power that his music had if it was being employed by corporate bigwigs to make sales. "I eventually dedicated my career to further environmental causes," he says, asserting that the decision did not hamper his creative freedom. "I have been dedicated to environmental [causes] since childhood. When I think about nature, I think about music. Hence, the environmentalist and musician in me are not two distinct people. It is the same identity."
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