Stewart Copeland, founder and drummer of The Police, is teaming with Indian musician Ricky Kej on “Police – Beyond Borders” where the legendary rock band’s classic songs are recreated in global languages.
The songs include “Every Breath You Take,” “Roxanne” and “Message in a Bottle.” Reinterpretations are in the Kannada, Zulu, Mandarin, Armenian, Pashto, Urdu and Hindi languages, among others.
The album follows Copeland’s “Police Deranged for Orchestra” BMG album, released in June, where the band’s hit tracks, arranged for full orchestra, are revisited.
Copeland and Kej previously collaborated on “Divine Tides,” which won two Grammys.
“It was Ricky Kej who suggested that we make an album out of The Police derangements and it was a lightbulb moment. The idea of hearing these songs in global languages was immediately inspiring and Ricky set about finding the magnificent talents on this record. The music that Sting, Andy [Summers] and I created with The Police essentially derives from Black culture and it was particularly spine-tingling to hear that culture arriving back in Africa with ‘Every Breath You Take’ sung in Zulu,” Copeland said.
“The flavors of all these amazing languages on ‘Police – Beyond Borders’ light up these tunes that are so familiar. The Police was always a global band and Sting wrote songs about the bigger picture of humanity. Music brings us together and my humble hope is that this record can contribute to that special human bonding experience that we need now more than ever,” Copeland added.
“It is a huge honor to collaborate with Stewart Copeland yet again. These are songs that I have grown up listening to and songs that have shaped my career. I have paid a lot of respect to their legacy,” Kej said. “We’ve collaborated with amazing orchestras, singers, choirs, instrumentalists and ensembles from around the world to recreate the magic of these timeless classics in global languages.”
“Police – Beyond Borders” will be released by BMG on Aug. 18.
