About Jayan Gopinathan

Jayan Gopinathan is a genuinely passionate Carnatic musician, and is quickly establishing himself as one of the top vocalists in the field. His ardent pursuit of this art has led to the evolution of a truly remarkable, soulful musician.

Jayan was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia. His parents, Smt Geetha & Sri Gopinathan, noticed a talent in music from a young age, and encouraged him to pursue training. He had his initial formal tutelage in Carnatic Music under the guidance of Smt Jayalakshmi Raman from Perth, Western Australia. During schooling years, he deferred and spent a year in Thrissur, Kerala to learn more under late Smt Komattil Shanthakumari, a renowned disciple of late Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri GN Balasubramiam. For the last eight years, Jayan has been learning under Sri Vaikam T V Jayachandran, a notable disciple of late Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri T M Thyagarajan.

Furthermore, for the past year Jayan has been taking advanced Master Classes with Grammy award winner Shenkar (Dr L Shankar), as well as working with him on various projects. Jayan is very fortunate to be working closely with the legendary Shenkar (Dr L Shankar) over the past year, and ongoing currently. Sri Shenkar’s credentials include a PhD in music from USA, as well as his Guru lineage in Carnatic music which traces back to the Holy Trinity of Carnatic Music; Thyagaraja, Dikshitar and Syama Sastri. Upon meeting Jayan, Sri Shenkar was very impressed with Jayan’s music and immediately offered to work with him and mentor his music career, encouraging Jayan’s parents about the choice of career.

Jayan’s mesmerizing voice expresses a perfect balance of power and beauty, and never ceases to enthrall audiences worldwide, including devoted and knowledgeable rasikas as well as newcomers and younger audiences. His mastery over ragam and layam are evident in his advanced vocal techniques, making him one of the excelling young artistes to watch out for.

His sublime performances are characterised by his own distinct style, with highly traditional delivery and authentic renditions of krithis and all other compositions. His extensive handling of manodharma is spontaneous, creative and exciting, from stirring alapanas, to spellbinding niraval and kalpanaswaras. His stage presence exudes pure confidence in music, supplemented with respectful humility toward the art form. Through his dedication and rigorous, consistent training, his rise through the world of Carnatic music is absolutely inevitable.

Jayan has performed in many prestigious venues in India, notably in famous temples and sabhas, being accompanied by stalwarts in the field. He has also performed abroad in Australia, USA, and Malaysia.

Jayan has been accompanied in his concerts by leading musicians in the field such as Sri Vittal Ramamurthy, Sri Neyveli Narayanan, Sri Palakkad Mahesh, Prof Sri R Swaminathan, Sri Nanjil Arul, Sri R Raghul, Sri Palakkad Sajeev, Smt Sunita Harisankar, Sri Vayala Rajendran, Sri Guruvayur Sanoj, Sri Viju S Anand, Sri KMS Mani and many others.

Jayan has also received blessings and commendations from various other stalwarts such as

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri TK Murthy, Kalaimamani Sri Guruvayur Dorai, Sri Trichur R Mohan and many others.

Jayan has been featured in news articles in The Hindu, Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhumi.

To his credit, Jayan has worked on the audio production of albums both in Carnatic as well as other genres of music. He is also a professional guitarist, having worked on many live and studio productions in various genres including rock, heavy metal, hip-hop, Indian, bollywood, fusion etc.

Jayan Gopinathan founded and directs a nonprofit organisation, KWJ Music. The name pays respect to two of Jayan’s ancestral family names, ‘Karimpuzha Warriem’ and ‘Krishna Warrier’. With KWJ Music, Jayan plans to spread and increase the exposure of Carnatic music worldwide, while giving opportunities to many upcoming artists in the field.

“Carnatic music has always been the most powerful influence on my life; I had no choice but to follow it.”