Agam, a city-based Carnatic progressive rock band, needs no introduction — the big boys have amassed fans by the hordes, by striking an intelligent balance between Carnatic and progressive rock, ever since they began rustling up some soulful tracks on the side in the year 2007. But, looks like, this year, its all about crossing milestones. With their second album launch and some music tours on the anvil, there’s quite a handful to wait and watch out for. In a candid chat, the band tells us more...
Clearing the air about the common myth surrounding their music, Harish begins, “We don’t play any form of fusion. There have been speculations about the same, and it’s untrue. Our music is and will always be a melange of Carnatic and progressive rock. Our second album has more Indian elements put together. We’re sort of brought in a revival of the 13th century non mainstream traditional (south Indian) music. The material has a strong traditional South Indian Carnatic music influence. There are going to be 8 songs out of which three are our own compositions.”
The band name, which means the ‘inner self’ in Tamil, has been quite particular about one aspect— that their music is real. “ We started out to be able to create and play honest and real music. We continue to do so. The need to put up a good show is what actually matters,” states Praveen. The band comprises Harish( lead vocalist and violinist), Swamy on the keyboard, while Praveen and Jagadish play the guitars, Kasyap on bass, Ganesh on drums and Shiva on percussion.
While the musicians, armed with steady day jobs, have carved a niche, the decade old journey, which has been challenging and immensely rewarding at the same time, are optimistic about the thriving music scene in the city. “As far as people like what we create, and there’s meaningful music being produced, we believe the burgeoning music scene is the way forward. Every accolade that has come out way has been a result of unrelenting determination. Also, art has no room for competition.” Adding to the same, Praveen adds,”We have collaborated with Indian musicians in the past, and we’d love to continue with it. Our music has always been about resonating with the listener, so as far as that remains, we are open to collabs and newer ideas.”
A much-talked about album launch aside, the band has a couple of music tours. Clearly, it is an exciting phase ahead. “We will be playing in Malaysia, on September 9 at the Malaysian Independent live fusion festival. It’s exciting as it’s going to be our first time there. We will also be travelling to Europe at the start of the next year. Our fingers are crossed!” signs Harish.
