Flautist, composer and singer Varijashree Venugopal in Bangalore. Photo: @lpvive/@andresuribenaranjo/@idartes
Fusion artist Varijashree Venugopal released her debut album less than a year Varishe returns with a new live album that includes a reimagining of songs played with the band. vari (on-site meeting), Originally scheduled to be released via ground music on June 20, 2025, it features an eight-minute live version of “Jaathre”.
Since earlier this year, Venugopal was nominated for the song “AA Rock Whose” by British multi-instrumentalist and singer Jacob Collier and song “AA Rock Whose” by Sitarist-Composer-Composer-Composer Anoushka Shankar, her first release of solo music.
Originally made to represent the atmosphere of the local country festival, “Jaathre” has a spontaneous, improvised energy that feels familiar to those who have announced Venugopal’s promotion of Vari over the past year. The artist is in Bengaluru Vari), percussionist Pramath Kiran (also co-producer), violinist Apoorva Krishna, Mridangam artist Jayachandra, keyboardist and synth artist Vivek Santhosh.
Except for “jaathre”, vari (on-site meeting) Includes a total of seven songs from the original 2024 album. “The whole process of bringing these songs into the form of live performance is exciting and rich. You’ll see us sharing a lot of fun in listening to each other, playing together, finding our own freedom, and being able to blend our freedom into an evolving sound space,” Venugopal added.
Michael League[It] It’s not actually as difficult as I thought. In some cases, the record performed over 20 musicians in a song, so we had to think about how to convey the essence of composition with one fifth of the instruments on the album. But since every member of the Varijashree group is so universal, it’s quick to build characters and find new stories to tell the same story. The violin lives not only with a unique melody sound, but also acts as a harmonious singer. By using samples and unconventional percussion settings, a wide variety of grooves can be made in real time without the need for pre-recorded tracks. Ultimately, I think the live experience is its own business and I love the record. ”
Watch the video of “jaathre(live)” below.
