www.jamesvarda.com
James Varda was born and grew up in London and it was in London in the 1980’s that James began writing songs and playing live. A frequent performer at Bunjies and other London folk clubs, it was during a performance at Clapham Folk Club that James was spotted by Roy Harper. Following this James recorded his first album, Hunger, which was produced by John Leckie. The record was recorded in Roy Harper’s Lincolnshire studio. Released in 1988, the record garnered excellent reviews and established James’ distinctive and individual songwriting and guitar style. The album drew on a diverse range of influences. As the Irish News wrote at the time; "This man with an acoustic guitar bridges many gaps and is not easily categorised. You could call him anything from country to punk and you'd probably be wrong at the end of the day."
During this period James performed extensively both in his own right and also supporting other artists (he supported Roy Harper on his 1988 tour). Other appearances included the Cambridge Folk Festival (1989), Reading Festival (1990) and various TV and radio performances. He also performed to 'lifers' at Wormwood Scrubs Prison.
Moving to Suffolk in the 90’s James took a break from performing but continued to write. Some of this material was finally heard when James re-emerged in 2004 with a new album In the Valley. An almost entirely solo record, the album is different in sound and feel to Hunger but the distinctive songwriting is still very much in evidence. Ross Fortune writing in Time Out commented; "This album is a quietly wonderful return. Its tender and introspective, consummately unassuming, and achingly affecting." James supported the album with a number of live dates.
Still resident in Suffolk, James continues to write and occasionally performs live. He is currently working on a new record.