Tabla maestro Bickram Ghosh teamed up with Grammy award-winning composer Ricky Kej for a special Republic Day parade score - Vande Mataram.
Written by Sugata Guha, the special song also brings on board a host of talented musicians, including the legendary Tejendranarayan Majumdar, Purbayan Chatterjee and Rajesh Vaidhya.
Talking about his maiden collaboration with the US-based composer, the percussionist said, “When I heard Ricky’s Grammy-winning project Winds of Samsara, I was floored. Ricky as a composer has a wonderful facet - he has a system’s view, a very rare quality in a composer.”
Shedding more light on the process, Ghosh adds, “Being located at different places, we didn’t have the luxury of discussing things face to face. However, in spite of that, we worked wonderfully well. We kept an eye on the patriotic fervour that was required to come through the song. Also, we wanted to showcase the depth and variety of Indian music and yet make them sound powerful, exciting and connecting with the youth.”
Calling it an honour to collaborate with Ghosh, Ricky shares, “I have heard Bickram's music for many years and have been a fan. He effortlessly collaborates in various genres and even though he is a classical musician, he is a fantastic producer of contemporary genres. It was an honour working with him, and learning from him in the process. He is superfast with ideas and equally fast at executing them.”
The song will be played at the 73rd Republic Day parade in New Delhi.