Ricky Kej and Wouter Kellerman’s Winds of Samsara, which won a Grammy under the Best New Age Album category, has a connection to Belagavi.
Keerthy Narayan, music arranger for the album, has made Belagavi city home for the last seven years. Mr. Narayan, who is from Kochi, Kerala, settled here after he married Sujatha, daughter of R.K. Torvi, retired Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, a resident of the city.
He also played the keyboard on the album, which was a coordinated effort of 120 musicians from five continents.
“Herald Anthony, Francis T.S., Francis Xavier and Jose Kutty formed the strings section; Krishna Kumar played the sitar; Biju was on the veena; Gopi played nadaswaram; and Gayathri Suresh and Gopi Krishnan were the classical vocalists. My role was that of a multi-instrumentalist and arranger,” Mr. Narayan told The Hindu on Monday.
He said the album entered the Billboard charts in just two weeks. “This was mainly because of the sales of the album and user reviews. It’s a dream come true. Over 10 years of hard work has been rewarded so wonderfully,” Mr. Narayan said.
He recalled his association with Kej who composed the music for the opening ceremony of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, which was heard in 200 countries and was widely appreciated. The other albums he worked on with Kej include Fiery Drums , Indian Zen , Café Goa , Chillout Flute , Indian Spirit , Krishna Lounge , Urban Grooves , Fusion Ganesha , Kamasutra Lounge , Mesmerising Santoor , Party Drums , Punjabi In the Club , Communicative Art , and Incredible India – North and South . The instruments he is familiar with are the piano, guitar, bass and drums.
He is also an expert in hardware and recording equipment.
