New Delhi:
The nominations for the 67th Grammy Awards were announced on Friday, bringing both familiar and new Indian and Indian-origin names to the forefront. Artists like Ricky Kej, Anoushka Shankar, Varijashree Venugopal, Radhika Vekaria, and Chandrika Tandon are among those recognised this year.
Ricky Kej, a two-time Grammy winner, earned a nomination in the Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album category for his album Break of Dawn. Also in this category are the album Chapter II: How Dark It Is Before Dawn by sitarist, singer-songwriter and composer Anoushka Shankar, Warriors of Light by Indian-origin artist Radhika Vekaria and Triveni by entrepreneur and artist Chandrika Tandon, created with flautist Wouter Kellerman and cellist Eru Matsumoto.
Anoushka Shankar’s recognition goes further, as she picks up a second nomination for her collaboration with British multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier on the song A Rock Somewhere, which is up for Best Global Music Performance. This track also features Bengaluru-based vocalist, flautist and composer Varijashree Venugopal, who is nominated for her first Grammy. Venugopal also contributed to Ricky Kej’s Break of Dawn album.
Ricky Kej, who won his first Grammy in 2015 for Winds of Samsara with Wouter Kellerman, earned his second Grammy in 2022 for Divine Tides, his album with The Police’s Stewart Copeland. Both were honoured in the Best New Age Album category and Kej’s third Grammy came in 2023 for the immersive audio version of Divine Tides, which won Best Immersive Audio Album.
While Indian artists are absent from the Best Global Music Album category this year, there is notable representation from the subcontinent through Pakistani-origin, US-based artist Arooj Aftab, who received two Grammy nominations. Aftab is up for Best Alternative Jazz Album for Night Reign and Best Global Music Performance for her song Raat Ki Rani, joining Collier’s A Rock Somewhere among the nominees.
The Grammy Awards will take place on February 2, 2025, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
