Vari

Innovation born of mastery of tradition is a central tenet of GroundUP, the record label founded by Michael League. And nowhere is this better exemplified on their roster than by Vari, the debut from prodigiously talented Carnatic singer/flautist Varijashree Venugopal, who as a toddler could allegedly recognise over 100 Carnatic ragas, and was performing in concert aged four. The flawlessness of her vocals – with their precise melody and rhythm and wide-ranging emotional expression – astound from the off, framed by a Carnatic ensemble on violin, keys, tambura drone and percussion instruments including mridangam, with League playing bass and a bass synth that wheel and soar. Still in her early 30s, Bangalore-born Venugopal has previously collaborated with the musically adventurous likes of Bobby McFerrin, and it’s her willingness to venture outside the classical Carnatic form, pulling in threads from other musics, improvising even more, that gives Vari its wings. Any barrier leaping is elegantly done; League, co-producing with percussionist Pramath Kiran, adds impressionistic effects enhancing Venugopal’s unhurried, perfectly pitched vocals. Opener ‘Dream’ is float-on-a-cloud gorgeous, a vulnerable, undulating flow of ascending and descending scales; ‘Harivaa Jhari’ is a sure-fire hit with clever tempo changes and impassioned delivery that warrants repeated listening.