South Indian band Agam on Carnatic-progressive rock and their love for Chennai

Agam at a 2018 concert in Chennai
| Photo Credit: VEDHAN M

Agam’s music can be best described as brilliantly seamless. Even though the popular South Indian band’s iterations are characterised by contrasting genres, in layman terms, nothing ever sticks out. Their almost 12-years-long repertoire flits between familiar Carnatic verses, ragas and thalams, while effortlessly gliding through the wild abandon of progressive rock. Contemporary, for sure, but without the dilution the process sometimes falls prey to.

This weekend, Agam will perform in Chennai — familiar turf and a happy space to the band comprising seven musicians, all of whom know Tamil despite living across the country. 

For this group of friends who have known each other since their student days at BITS Pilani, much before Agam came to be, the Carnatic-progressive rock identity of the band is sacrosanct. “Our goal from when we started was simple: to say that there is a way to contemporarise Classical music. This has stayed through the last 11-odd years. It has taken us these many years of staying true to what we believe in, to work the cause,” says bassist and backing vocalist Aditya Kashyap. He adds that there have been instances where parents among the audience tell them that their children want to learn Carnatic music simply because they are hearing it in different formats. You don’t often see the audience singing along in a Carnatic concert.       

Says frontrunner and vocalist Harish Sivaramakrishnan, “Have we tried to learn more from our own art and art from outside the axils? Yes. But have we ever considered playing outside of this style? No. Because we still think that this style of music is what we enjoy playing. We also believe that there is still a lot more to be done with the sub-genre.”

Perhaps what steers this common curiosity is the fact that the band members have been friends for longer than they were a band. “Over the years, we also understand what inspires each of us and that rubs off on all. I would do this all over again for another 50 years if I can,” adds Harish.  

“Chennai for us, is truly homecoming in a sense. Carnatic music as a concept — if you were to look at the Trimurthis, all of them were from Thiruvaiyaru — they chose to compose in different directions but it’s fundamentally Tamil Nadu,” says Aditya, adding that when they were kids,  learning Carnatic music was considered the sure path to knowledge. So it comes as no surprise that the Chennai audience is musically inclined, if not evolved.   

“It’s got something to do with how the city has been for so many years,” says Harish. It is a melting pot where people have a culture of going for concerts. Through the years, Chennai has also become very diverse with respect to the concerts they go to. People have also started embracing multiple genres and sounds of music and we are beneficiaries of that as well.” An audience that understands the nuances of what an artiste is trying to do, says Harish.  

Though the musicians are settled in different parts of the country, they take a month in a year, where every weekend is for live practice in a particular city. “The second way is to collaborate online: this hybrid working model is more widespread since the pandemic.”   

Agam
| Photo Credit:
special arrangement

This weekend, the band promises a new take on their own songs and on how raagas and talams are interpreted. Chennai is also where the band usually takes an improvisational route. 

“That’s how we work. Even for people who listen to us regularly, this will be a new experience,” says Aditya. Harish adds to this: “These are songs that we have grown up listening to, and have the flavour of what we try to bring into Carnatic music.” 

Apart from an upcoming Australia tour, the year 2023, is a significant one for Agam. “Our third album will be released this year,” says Kashyap.

They started work on the album in 2020. “We are releasing six new songs, some are based on Carnatic compositions while the others are entirely our own. Most of what we create in this genre requires a lot of work, re-work, iterations and re-listening. We are halfway through and we are going fairly large in our production aspirations this time,” says Harish.       

Agam will perform at Music Academy, TTK Road on March 4 at 7pm as part of AIKYA 2023: Tribute to Tamil Nadu. The Hindu is the media partner for the event. Donor Passes can be purchased from 7305503888 or insider.in for ₹10,000, ₹5000, ₹2000, ₹1000 and ₹500.