I just heard the news that James finally succumbed to the rare cancer that he had been suffering with. It was sad news indeed and my thoughts go out to his wife, sons, family and friends. He was not only a great songwriter and musician but also a warm and generous human being.
James was an exceptional musician who produced a brilliant debut album with ‘Hunger’, full of passion, energy and great songs, that put him at the forefront of new singer/songwriters but sadly he did not follow it up until much later. The time passed. His next two albums were gentler and more pastoral with lilting melodic songs and rural imagery. They were good but it was with his final album ‘Chance and Time’ that he reached his apotheosis. The onset of his illness sparked a creative avalanche as James crafted song after song with honesty, verve and touching emotion to delve into the scope of life and imminent death. He dealt with his illness in a way that shone a light on the majesty of life. If only we could live our moments with the intensity he brought to bear and face our futures with such courage. Instead of languishing in despair he created an artistic statement that not only dealt with death and illness but reached up to the heights of celebration for a life lived and the beauty all that is good and of the joy of being aware of this wonderful world and the miracle of our lives. He shone a light on the simple things of nature that we are surrounded with and should cherish. It was as though he wanted to reach out and embrace all that was good and hold it up for us to value, so we could see the potential around us, the wonder and awe.
James pulled all the creative forces and skills into one album that he knew would be his legacy and so must encapsulate all that he needed to say about how he felt. He was a lucky man who had known love, contentment and fulfilment. It was there in the music and will be for ever.
This album is his legacy to his family and us. We are fortunate that he was able to do justice to such a personal tragedy. But that is what he did. He made it into a masterpiece of sensitive beauty. I will play it often and think of the man I glimpsed through such brief meetings and through the mirror of his music which illuminated his thoughts and feelings. It was such a positive force at work, such a gentle, creative man.
I shall miss him.
This is the press release:
JAMES VARDA: PRESS RELEASE
Small Things Records are sad to announce the death of James Varda, one of the most distinctive singer songwriters of his generation, at his home in Sheringham, Norfolk on 12 June, 2015.
James had lived and worked with a rare form of cancer for some time. He had known this day would come and until a few weeks ago was reading and listening to music, as always inspired and inspiring in equal measure. On 2014’s astonishing album, Chance And Time, James turned his songwriting talent to chronicling the experience of confronting illness and death, and in doing so, created a unique language and music of love and pain, family, landscape and loss. It is undoubtedly his best work.
James was the rarest of musicians, always and only making records on his own terms. His 1988 debut, Hunger, marked him out as the original indie acoustic outsider. His gigs in those days were an electric experience and led to invitations to appear on Channel 4’s Night Network, appearances at the Reading and Cambridge Folk Festivals, and a support slot on tour with Roy Harper.
His later work, the stripped down acoustic In The Valley (2004); and The River And The Stars (2013) showed a writer at peace with the landscape, and with an instinctive feel for nature. With his gifts as writer and guitar player to the fore, he aimed for perfection and, on Chance And Time(2014), he knew he had made a record which could not be bettered.
And let my place be a sound, the colour of a church With windows lit in deep blue light, flooding sky and earth And let my place be a rhythm, supple and assured On which a melody can build and rise and words can find their worth Let my place be a chord, that echoes through the years Let my place be an affirmation, a handshake, a ‘Yes!’
Let My Place – James Varda 2014
There will be fuller tributes in due course and, if there’s any justice, his work will find long-overdue wider recognition in the weeks, months and years to come. But for the moment our thoughts are with James’s wife and sons, family and friends. We will all miss him terribly. For further information, contact: Will Harris on will.harris@pias.com
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