Rising Stars: Meet Varin Jaggi of Downtown LA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Varin Jaggi.

Hi Varin, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story starts in my bedroom in Delhi, where I first heard “You Make Me” by Avicii. I was always listening to new music whether it was Bollywood, Spanish pop or American hits. But this was different, the electronic sound resonated with me at a level that no other song had ever done. I was hooked instantly and became a huge fan of house music in the 2010s.

My first concert was Avicii at sunburn arena in New Delhi and that was the day my life changed. Aged 13, it was nothing like I had ever seen before, the lights, the music, the euphoria, I felt ecstatic. That was the day I knew I wanted to make music and one day be on that stage. I found a video of Avicii giving a walk-through of one of his remixes and downloaded the same software he was using – FL Studio.

It’s been about 11 years since that day and my music has been through a journey of its own. I learned to DJ along the way and now I have a steady catalogue of music that’s being released along with a growing fan base.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Ever since I moved to LA in 2019 to pursue Computer Engineering at USC, I was able to meet other creatives in the music industry who shared my love for music production. I even formed my own producer collective with my friends at USC. At this time, I had transitioned to making hip hop beats. I would be at studio sessions with rappers trying to showcase my beats alongside multiple other producers. The whole process just felt very uneasy and the music felt foreign. It was a tough time and I grew increasingly unsatisfied with the kind of music I was creating. It was lacking the emotional depth that I wanted to convey through my music.

Today, I can summarize the answer through a quote in Rick Rubin’s book – The Creative Act. “Look for what you notice, but no one else sees”.
I realised that the music I was making wasn’t personal to me. That is when I got the idea of going back to the initial inspiration for my production journey – house music. Taking it step a further, I could also blend in my connection with Bollywood music (Indian music). Out of this, came “Bolly Afrohouse”, a blend of African drums and grooves blended with the melodies of house underneath surreal Indian vocals. My latest Afrohouse remix of a popular Bollywood song with my friend Manan, is probably my favourite piece of music I’ve created till now and I would say I’m at a much happier place with the music I’m making.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Simply put, I make music. Specifically house, and I’ve made a few different genres but Afrohouse is the main genre that I make. I’ve recently started putting out my music on TikTok and I’ve been getting a pretty good response (check it out @varinjag)

I will be releasing a lot of new music in the upcoming months on Apple Music/spotify under the artist name “Varin”.

Apart from plugging in my work, I feel like what I’m most proud of is being able to create music that actually connects and resonates with people. I always say the most fun I have through a song is when I’m making it.

Any big plans?
The immediate future plan is to release the remix of fanaa I had mentioned. I’ve also released my remix of Define by Dom Dolla on soundcloud.

I have a steady bunch of releases coming out, I also plan on starting a monthly daytime Afrohouse event where my friends and I play sets.

For anyone interested, you can stay in tune by following my TikTok @varinjag

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tiktok.com/@varinjag?_r=1&_t=ZP-91SxTvf91Ti
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/varinjaggi?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@prod.byvarin4295?si=u6lz7A-WUyAFc2yb
• Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/qMKgyTOBFUUkjIPWJG
• Other: https://on.soundcloud.com/OYx765YX0SvdfdZ3I0

Image Credits
Photographer: @karan.joshi_