Ricky Kej ‘felt honoured’ recording National Anthem with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios

The three-time Grammy-winning musician talks about conducting the 100-member Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on August 7. The National Anthem will be released on Independence Day. He shares exclusive pictures with Hindustan Times.

Three-time Grammy Award-winning musician Ricky Kej is set to release a new version of the Indian National Anthem on the eve of Independence Day (August 15). To record it, he conducted the 100-member Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London (UK) on August 7.

Ricky Kej conducting the 100-member Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios

Ricky Kej conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios

“I have worked on many versions of the Indian National Anthem because I love the melody. I’d worked with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016 and 2019. They were also part of my Grammy-winning album, Divine Tides. Each time I have recorded with them, I have recorded at the Abbey Road Studios. It is the largest symphony orchestra to ever record the Indian National Anthem. It is also a huge honour for me, as an Indian, to conduct our Indian National Anthem with a British Orchestra and release it on our Independence Day,” says Kej, who wishes to “make this version free for anyone to use as long as they use it without any modifications”.

Ricky Kej at Abbey Road Studios

Ask why he recorded the National Anthem in the UK, and the 42-year-old says, “I wanted to record with a large orchestra, and Britain has some of the biggest ensembles in the world. Also, it feels good to get a British orchestra play the Indian National Anthem since Britain ruled us for more than a century (laughs).”

Ricky Kej during the recording at Abbey Road Studios

Having recorded at the Abbey Road Studios a couple of times, Kej says recording there always feels like a dream. “It is one of the most iconic studios in the world, which is definitely the best-sounding one. I have been a huge fan of The Beatles and they recorded there. Some of the biggest composers in the history of music like John Williams and Han Zimmer recorded there too. So, just entering the venue with so much history feels like an honour, let alone recording my own music,” the musician, who had writer Amish Tripathi for company during the recording, signs off.