John P. Varkey

John P. Varkey was a well-known Indian guitarist, songwriter, and composer who composed music for Malayalam films and other music albums. He was born on 27th October 1970, in Thrissur, Kerala, India. He was a gifted, self-taught guitarist. He studied music (classical guitar) at Trinity College of Music in London. He began his music career as a session guitarist in the 1990s as a member of the rock band ‘Mother Jane.’ He is popularly known for his association with the rock music band ‘Jigsaw Puzzle’ which later evolved into another one called ‘Avial,’ which was the first Malayalam band to feature on MTV. He was the guitarist and songwriter for the Thrissur-based band, Slowpedalers. In addition to his work as a celebrated independent musician, John P. Varkey was also a music producer and sound engineer. He has won several awards for his immense contributions and efforts to the music industry.

He was awarded the Kerala State Film Award for Best Background Score, Keli Award for Best Music Director, Vanitha Film Award for Best Music Director, MACTA Award for Best Background Score, and Kalabhavan Award for Best Music Director for the movie “Annayum Rasoolum” in 2013. His work in the film ‘ Frozen Click to look into! >> Read More... ’ in 2007 got him the best music award at the Madrid Imagine India Film Festival. One of the most popular Malayalam rock songs, ‘Nada Nada,’ originally came out of a track made by John P. Varkey for Jigsaw Puzzle. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Indian rock music scene and has influenced the music culture in Kerala. He passed away on 29th August, 2022 following a cardiac arrest at his residence at Mannuthy near Thrissur. His contributions to Indian music is widely recognized, and today, he is highly regarded as a prominent figure in the Indian music industry.