James Varnish
General Info
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Genre: Electro / New Wave / Pop
Location Melbourne, Au
Profile Views: 51578
Last Login: 2/24/2013
Member Since 12/20/2006
Website www.jamesvarnish.com
Record Label www.enamelentertainment.com
Type of Label Indie
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Bio
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Members
JAMES VARNISH -
Influences
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Sounds Like
Click these links for more James Varnish on Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud.
Stream
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James Varnish
Having some Random Access Memories of my own. http://t.co/FVSLMhv2kH
via Twitter
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James Varnish
Dreamt that Giorgio Moroder brought out his own orange juice which had his face on the bottle in the supermarket. #wtf #crazydreams
via Twitter
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James Varnish
Omg I never stop working, need to eattttttttt 🍜🍱
via Twitter
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James Varnish
Dreamt I was at a celeb birthday bash and I was playing with a certain singer's yo-yo. Why they had a yo-yo I do not know.
via Twitter
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James Varnish
Just before I get in bed, it's raining and I love it.
via Twitter
Bio
Strong words from a man who believes he is up for the job. But then, Melbourne’s James Varnish does have the tunes to back up his absolute self-belief.
The first, teasing taste of his talents is the single 'Compare', born of a collaboration with German artist Johannes Kuenzel but since reshaped by Varnish’s fellow Melburnian producer, Murder One. It’s a devastating opening blow: a darkly romantic marriage of suave synths, insistent beats and Varnish’s distinctive, emotive vocals that owes a debt to the classic sounds of ’80s electro-pop titans Depeche Mode and Giorgio Moroder but that firmly belongs in tomorrow’s charts.
Varnish’s independently produced and released music is the result of several years of hard work that took him to the other side of the world and back in his quest to find his vocation. When he did find it, his fresh take on one of Australia’s most popular musical styles in recent years – ask anyone from Sneaky Sound System to the Presets – followed.
“I left high school and studied graphic design because I wasn’t ready to do music,” Varnish says. “I kind of felt like I wanted to make mum and dad happy and go and study something at uni. So I guess the time from then up until now has been about learning, experimenting and growing and really finding myself.”
So, what’s so special about what he ultimately found?
“I honestly don’t believe that there has been an artist like me that has come from Australia,” he says. “I’m not interested in copying a trend or being an impersonator. I just wanna be me and I just wanna create a unique sound that stands alone.”
'Compare', for one, has already won over peers from here to Paris via the US. Showing impressive restraint, Varnish turned down an offer by an American company to include an early version of the track on a compilation because “I felt like it wasn’t ready. I felt like I wanted to hold onto it for the right moment.”
That moment is undoubtedly now. Alongside the gleaming Murder One mix, on the single release of 'Compare' are versions by the acclaimed Gallic producer Lifelike – who rates his pulsating reconstruction of the track so highly he has put it on his showreel (alongside his remixes of the likes of La Roux and Moby) – and one by another Frenchman, Nicolas Chenard, which Varnish describes as “more house, minimalist, melodic and French-sounding. Each version stands up in its own right,” he adds proudly.
Live performances will take place in the future but for now Varnish is concentrating on the aspects he feels are most important: “It’s about the songs, it’s about my attitude … It’s about putting a warm, sincere vocal over the top of something kind of cold and electro-y. I’m a genuine person, I’m a sincere person and that’s how I want to represent myself. No secrets, heart on the sleeve, here I am.”