Jayen Varma
Jayen Varma | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Kerala Varma Jaya Kumar |
| Born | 3 February 1961 |
| Origin | Tripunithura, Cochin Kerala, India |
| Genres | Ragazz, Funk, Fusion, Experimental |
| Occupation(s) | Bassist |
| Instrument(s) | Bass guitar, Mridangam, Drums |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Website | http://www.jayenvarma.net |
Jayen Varma (born 3 February 1961) is an Indian electric bass player.[1][2][3][4] He is known for developing tabla and mridangam style finger technique on bass guitar to play slap bass.[5][6][7] The style developed by him is widely known as Indian slap bass,[8][9][10] which won him fans around the globe and accolades from some of the great names in bass guitar like Jeff Berlin, Bootsy Collins, Victor Wooten etc. He belongs to the State of Kerala in India. He performs with the band Trinaad consisting of Indian classical vocalist Aparna Panshikar and French drummer Jean Davoisne.[11][12][13] He is also a member of the bands Afro Tala and Firefly.[14]
Film[edit]
He is also a playback singer. The single named 'The Country Song' in the Malayalam movie Koothara composed by Gopi Sundar was sung by him.[15]
Personal life[edit]
Jayen was born to Kerala Varma and Thankamani in 1961 in Ernakulam district, Kerala. He is married to Kala Varma and has two daughters: Athira Varma and Aswathy Varma. He was working as a gazetted officer in Cochin Devaswom Board and later he took voluntary retirement to pursue a full-time music career.[16]
Equipment[edit]
Jayen was using Indian hand made Stelsie bass guitar with Kent Armstrong pickups since 2008. In 2018, he switched to Sire bass guitars.[17] He is also an official artist endorser of Gruv Gear FretWraps[18][19] and Soundbrenner Archived 3 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine.
References[edit]
- ^ On the trail of a bass guitarist The Hindu
- ^ Top Bassists in India Radioandmusic.com
- ^ Slapping the guitar Daily News and Analysis
- ^ Interview For Bass Players Only
- ^ Interview "Welcome to nginx". Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Gibson guitars - ^ Teachings of the sensei The Hindu
- ^ Experimental Artiste "The experimental artiste". 19 February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Mid Day - ^ Slap Bass and Indian Slap Bass the Evolution Bass Musician Magazine
- ^ Unconventional slap bass "Watch: Jayen Varma's 'Unconventional Slap Bass' > NH7 | Discover new music from India and around the world". Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) NH7 Weekender - ^ Indian Slap Bass Technique TEDxTalks
- ^ An equal music The New Indian Express
- ^ L’Inde en invitée Sud-Ouest (newspaper)
- ^ Le duo inédit d'un Indien et d'un Armagnacais La Dépêche du Midi
- ^ Fireflies Reunite The New Indian Express
- ^ Film Music Review The Times of India
- ^ Thumbs up drummer Deccan Chronicle
- ^ Feature Sire Guitars
- ^ Feature Gruv Gear
- ^ Interview from NAMM show2016,CA Rock Street Journal