For Varijshree Venugopal, the stage has been a second home from the age of four. “The music moves in my blood,” says the grammy-namine musician. With the release of its first single ‘Jathre (Live)’ from the album Vari (live session)Varijshree still reflects her music journey.
“This album is a spin-off for my previous album VaryWhich was released last year. This was my first original music album, “She says.” After playing some live concerts, we decided to record and film the sound and energy of the performance. ,
Above the crop
The upcoming album is a live performance of seven selected songs VaryOrganized for a six-tukra band, with ‘Jathre’ is the seventh track. “The song is very dear to the team,” she says. “We received a lot of lovely reactions, especially for this song.”
On the choice of the word JathreWhich usually refers to a village carnival, Varjashri explains, “The song is a meeting between Carnatic Raga Hemavati and Indian grooves. We always enjoy playing it live.” The album, Varijashree says that there is more than a project. “This is a memory that is a whole journey document.”
Varajshree says that live energy is very different from which is produced and recorded. “It has to be condensed, reorganized and to be formed in a live group set.” The band was directed by the Grammy-winning artist Michael League and includes a stereotypical lineup of musicians, including Pramath Kiran (Perction and Co-Systems), Jayachandra Rao (Mridhajam), Apoorva Krishna (Violin), Vivek Santosh (Keys and CINTES), and Praveen Rao (Hormonium).
Firm foundation
Varijashree described his relationship with music as ‘organic’ and considered himself lucky that he was raised in an environment that turned his passion into a profession. “My parents are both musicians. This is the place where it started, and I am blessed to lay such a strong foundation in Karnataka music.”
Apparently, while responding to music, she was 18 months old, says Varijashree, “I am told that I would repeat the music phrases, even though I could not talk properly. By the age of four, I was giving a little stage performance.”
Varijashree, a curious student of music, says her desire to detect beyond boundaries has helped him to find his voice continuously. “I believe an artist’s growth lies on how strong and ready to experiment.”
This latest project is the result of that mentality, says Varijashree. “This is a way of expanding during our Indian classical structure.” Her discovery inspired her to Jazz and Vocal-AstroMantil styles, where the voice acts like a tool. “This fascinated me.”
Joint effort
When working with Michael League, she says, “I like passion like her child. Michael is contributing to the history of music development in many ways. When we met, we realized that we had a similar tendency. She is quite open to learn various music cultures.”
After honoring some of the most magnificent musicians of different cultures, Varijashree says they are associated with the same thread – our passion for music. Even if we are from different geographical places, we are all traveling on the same path. There is a beautiful way to bring people with equal ideology together in the universe. ,
Varijshree performed in Abu Dhabi for International Jazz Day, where he was the only Indian artist who was painted.
Being an independent artist in India is a challenge, says Varijshree. “It is a conflict for the construction of both the audience and a place, in addition to the requirement of financial and logical support. Finally, you don’t know how it will be achieved. Live concerts are one of the few methods that can be heard to independent artists.”
JAATHRE (LIVE) was released on 11 April, while the album Verry (The Live Sessions) is set to leave under the label groundup music on 20 June.
Published – May 02, 2025 07:16 pm IST
