Varijashree Venugopal

Born in Bengaluru in 1991, Varijashree Venugopal received early training rooted in Carnatic music, first from her father H. S. Venugopal and later from several teachers of this South Indian tradition. A vocalist and flautist, she brings together classical repertoire, vocal improvisation, jazz and contemporary music forms in an approach that treats the voice as a full-fledged instrument. Varijashree Venugopal has also developed the concept of a “Carnatic scat singing,” a way of integrating Carnatic melodic and rhythmic principles into a scat-like vocabulary. Active on India’s independent scene, she is a member of Chakrafonics, a Bengaluru-based ensemble focused on the intersection of Indian classical music and other aesthetics, and has collaborated with EYM Trio, Snarky Puppy and Hamilton de Holanda. Her first album, Vari (2024), continues this writing situated between Carnatic music, jazz and global influences. In 2024 Varijashree Venugopal also received a Grammy nomination for her contribution to Jacob Collier’s “A Rock Somewhere,” alongside Anoushka Shankar.