Contemporary Carnatic music band Agam gears up for a live gig

Members of Agam band
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

A city close to their heart? ‘Hyderabad!’ Mumbai-based Aditya Kashyap gives a quick reply. The musician (bass) of contemporary Carnatic music band Agam will be in the city for the weekend with his bandmates Harish Sivaramakrishnan (vocals), T Praveen Kumar (guitars), Swamy Seetharaman (keyboards), Shiva Nagarajan (multi-percussionist), Jagadish Natarajan (rhythm guitars) and Yadhunandan Nagaraj (drums) for a live gig.

The musicians celebrate Hyderabad and cherish the music experience here because ‘the audience has a great appreciation for the kind of music Agam plays.’

During a performance
| Photo Credit:
special arrangement

Having performed in Hyderabad for over a decade, the Bengaluru-based Carnatic progressive rock band has seen interest in their music grow steadily. Aditya says that playing Live music in maybe two venues initially to now having many places to perform is proof of Hyderabadis welcoming different musical styles.

New and old hits

Agam’s playlists are inspired by cities; in Hyderabad, their curated list invariably includes Telugu compositions ‘Manavyalakincharadate’ and ‘Bantu Reethi Kolu’. The 90-minute gig also features their other hits including ‘Rangapura Vihara’‘, ‘Kooth (Koothu) over Coffee’ and other compositions from Mist of Capricorn and Swans of Saraswati albums. The number of songs the band presents doesn’t count, says Aditya as some of their songs are medleys of multiple songs. “We expect the audience to be full to their heart’s content when they listen to new songs and their favourites.”

Curated playlist

Members of Agam during a performance
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

Though The seven musicians are settled in different cities — Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai — but t have beenplaying together for many years. The group members connect remotely, discuss the playlist, rehearse compositions with twists and do a sound check before each show.

The Bengaluru-born band are fans of Hyderabadi biryani and Irani chai, and Aditya believes traffic is much better in Hyderabad than Mumbai. With a third album due for release in a couple of months, Aditya recounts Agam’s memorable experience when the band played ‘Mist of Capricon (Manavyalakinchara)‘ three times during a show. “ The audience sang it twice and we played and sang with them for the third time. It’s such a humbling experience to play for a knowledgeable crowd that Hyderabad always provides us.”

AGAM – Live in Hyderabad at Odeum by Prism on September 21; 8 pm onwards; Tickets bookmyshow.com