Singer-Flautist Varijashree Venugopal: 'It Makes Me Proud To Write Songs In Kannada...'

Queen oAfter the positive response to her 2024 album Vari, Bengaluru singer-flautist Varijashree Venugopal decided to take the project a step further. She shortlisted seven of the 12 songs, and put out live recordings on the album Vari (The Live Sessions).

The new album is released by GroundUp Music and produced by Grammy-winning artiste Michael League, leader of fusion band Snarky Puppy. It captures Varijashree’s live performance in Bengaluru last year, and is co-produced by percussionist Pramath Kiran.

Varijashree had earlier teamed up with singer-composer Jacob Collier and sitar exponent Anoushka Shankar on the song A Rock Somewhere, which was nominated for this year’s Grammys. She was also the only Indian to perform at the International Jazz Day show in Abu Dhabi in April, and later did a tour with EVM Trio of France.

Excerpts from the interview:

How did the idea of releasing the live album of Vari songs come about?

We were preparing for a live performance set of music from my album Vari. Michael League spent a few days with us in Bengaluru arranging the songs into a live six-piece band, which later played a few concerts in India. This led us to the idea of audio-video recording this presentation as a show-reel. The recording turned out so well, and we decided to release it as an album in itself. It was challenging to narrow down the list, but we chose our seven favourites. Nevertheless, we perform all the 12 tunes in our live concerts.

When did you first meet Michael, and how did the collaboration come about?

I met Michael for the first time in New York about nine years ago. I have been a fan and admirer of his work with Snarky Puppy. We had many enriching talks about each other’s musical cultures. He has encouraged me during my journey as a seeker of new sounds. Michael has produced and arranged music in both the studio and live albums, and has also played multiple instruments on the studio album, and bass and key bass on the live album. Pramath Kiran, one of the most versatile musicians of our country, has co-produced and co-arranged the album, besides playing percussion.

What has been the reaction of non-Kannada listeners to the Kannada songs?

It has been heart-warming to see the audience response to all the tunes, irrespective of the language or style of music. It also makes me proud to write songs in Kannada and perform them in front of a global audience, and see them enjoying it in their own ways.

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How did you get involved in collaborations with jazz musicians?

When I was a kid, there was also an exercise where I would take a piece of music and transcribe it into Indian notation and try singing. These were mainly compositions that are not in the Indian classical form. Aspects from the western system, such as harmonies, chords and the different ways of dealing with improvisation and rhythmic patterns fascinated me further. These experiments led me to figure out the different possibilities of the human voice as an instrument. The journey that began then continues till date. I tried adapting some of the jazz compositions into the Indian sargam system and put out videos. These gathered a lot of appreciation from around the world, and opened opportunities to meeting some of my heroes.

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How did you develop your own style of Carnatic jazz scatting?

Since my foundational training has been in Carnatic music, the solfege/ sargam Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa Da Ni has been my alphabet in approaching and understanding any new format. In the jazz context, legendary singers like Ella Fitzgerald and many others have done improvisational singing where they would essentially play the role of an instrument, singing syllables that would not necessarily build lyrics or words, but are gibberish. This voice instrumental approach is called scat singing. It inspired me to try this style, but with the usage of the Indian sargam. Since I adhere to the 16-note system of the Carnatic format most of the times, I fondly refer to it as ‘Carnatic scat’.

How did your collab with Jacob Collier and Anoushka on the Grammy-nominated A Rock Somewhere happen? It was nominated for the Grammy.

I have been a great fan of the genius and musicality of Jacob. We have both been in touch on social media and are aware of each other’s musical journeys. He invited me to be a part of this collaboration for the song A Rock Somewhere also featuring Anoushka Shankar. The ideation and discussion happened remotely, and I tracked my voice in Bengaluru. Getting a Grammy nomination as part of this collaboration just made the whole experience much more special.

You were the only Indian at the International Jazz Festival at Abu Dhabi. How did the choice of John Coltrane’s Giant Steps come about, and how did you work on the adaptation?

This festival is curated and conceptualised by jazz legend Herbie Hancock. Sharing the stage with him and many jazz greats such as guitarist John McLaughlin, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and pianist Danilo Perez reaffirms my belief in the power of music to unite diverse cultures. This moment is a testament to India's rich musical heritage and its growing influence on the world stage. This entire experience was made more special because of the song that was chosen for me - John Coltrane’s Giant Steps. I had earlier put out videos of my doing this song in my style. To be performing this live along with few of the most incredible musicians, such as bassist John Patitucci, pianist Emmet Cohen, drummer Kendrick Scott and saxophonist David Sanchez, was one of my most cherishable experiences.