Biography: Jessy

“Music has always been my full time job. Everything else is part time.”

These words come to mind when one meets the enthralling Jessy (Kogilavani Narayanan) for the first time. No stranger to the thriving music industry in Malaysia, Jessy took everyone by storm a few years ago (2003)when she became first Indian female rock singer in the country to release a solo album, aptly titled Self-Titled Album. Her enthusiasm and love for music can be seen just by observing the way she speaks about it. Coming from a family of talented singers, Jessy’s early encounters with music were drawn from listening to her late father’s tapes. Back then, the late Mr Narayanan Ramakrishnan’s family was probably the only one from an Indian ethnicity. This allowed Jessy to be raised in a truly multiracial environment – possibly the contributing factor to her fluency in Tamil, English and Malay. Her passion for music proved to be a long but meaningful journey, as she transformed from singing in groups to finally releasing her very own solo album. Jessy first started out serenading with The Stevikans, a group that once brought fame to Hotel Istana, packing the Taipan Musictheque to the brim every session. She later joined the famous Lock Up band. Although the guys were impressed with her talents and vocals, it was just not her type of music. So she left, and joined an all-girl group called The Girls. A pretty unique group too, with 3 of their members being Malay – yet they sang Tamil songs. Before they knew it, The Girls had found themselves in the Malaysian Book of Records, bagging the title “First Tamil Girl’s Group in Malaysia.” Although the group was steaming with success, especially with their big hit album Manasekkul (Inside My Heart), Jessy knew in her heart that there was still more she wanted to do. Her gut instincts proved right when she was approached not long after with an offer for a solo album by Music Channel. The rest is history as we know it. Not many female singers have what it takes to explore such a heavy genre of music – rock. So what made Jessy decide to do it? “Rock music seems to be a very negative form of music to the older generation. But if you listen carefully, there are some very positive messages in these songs – like friendship, love, peace and life.” It was a challenge she couldn’t say no to – and the strong influence her late father had in her life has a lot to do with it. The last song in her album, titled Manmatha, is dedicated to him. “It simply means hero, and it’s for my father”. 8 years down the road, and Jessy is still as vivacious, confident and strong-willed as she was before. Her determination, courage and passion is one that many look up to, respect and wonder in amazement.