Justin Pachen captivates audiences with his soulful compositions and versatile performances.
Justin Pachen’s passion for music could be well explained by the quote of the American jazz composer Miles Davis, “Music is an addiction”. A native of Guruvayur, Justin got addicted to music even as a teenager. Addiction results in habit formation that follows you even when you are getting old. And Justin’s life is a striking paradigm.
At 56, he is busy with his third album. Justin Pachen started his music education from Chavara Cultural Centre, Cochin at the age of 19 and later trained under the late violinist/guitarist Paul from Nellikunnu, Thrissur. An academic turned musician, Justin graduated from Government Engineering College, Thrissur when the band “Politician” was born under his leadership. The band included renowned musicians like music director Alphonse Joseph, Grammy winner Manoj George, and Avial band founder the late John P Varkey.
Politician staged performances in the major towns in Kerala and even in Mangaluru. Politician was active during 1988 – 1991. Thereafter, Justin and John P Varkey joined Nomads, the band that was famous in Thrissur those days. While Justin was a vocalist, Varkey was the lead guitarist. Justin continued his academic studies at Cochin University for M.Tech and the master’s degree landed him a job in the Polytechnic College, Alagappanagar from where he retired as Head of the Department only last year.
Still, music chased him all through these years. Though the Covid season prevented him from active performances, the musician in him could not sit idle. The hiatus served to create the debut album – Lockdown Vocal Expressions. Commented Dave Franklin, the online columnist, in his review of the album, “Lockdown Vocal Expressions is a celebration of the guitar and, although centered on a fairly rock sound, manages to push even those broad boundaries into blues and soul, jazz and even pop vibes, often creating a perfect balance of all of them”.
Released in 2021, all the tracks were written, composed, and performed by him. Each track was orchestrated, mixed, and mastered by various artists like Rajesh Dass, Syam Balakrishnan (Indian), S Arzmunov (Russian), Mike (Indonesian). Some other tracks were done by Argentine, Uruguayan, and Spanish musicians.
Vocal recordings were executed commendably by Tony Chiramel. Juke Box Time featured the album and observed, “Justin Pachen has a realistic vibe and rawness in his voice which is quite audible in all the songs. And the breathtaking guitars amplify the riveting vibe of the album”.
The release of the album earned him the honor of being recognized by The Indian Performing Right Society Ltd (IPRS). Even as he has plunged totally into all genres of Western Music, it is really worth mentioning that he adores the indigenous roots. The second album Nava Suprabhatam is quintessential of this approach.
Interestingly, he has used Edakka, the musical-percussion instrument of Kerala , in the songs of this album. This album has ten songs with an additional remastered song. Of the ten tracks, the title song Nava Suprabhatam has been appreciated by various channels due to its devotional rock vibe and the blend of Sanskrit chorus part.
Of course, the songs next to it like Unborn Father, Reborn father, Sunset Suite, On the Streets, and World Upside Down have lots of credits and followers across the globe. The two albums with twenty songs are available on major music channels like Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Stores, Apple Music, Jio Saavn, etc. Best of all are his vocals that have a stunning presence rising above the rest of the sound with so much confidence.
Instrumentation proves to be profound for the arrangements which show a true ear for melody. He continues his expressions through his thoughts and music. Further, he is planning to travel throughout India to spread the message One World One Human with possible associations.
