Praveen Kumar: When we got together and created music the way we liked, all one could hear was ‘Agam’

A band hunt in South India in 2007 brought together this group of friends who started playing in 2010. This seven-member Bengaluru-based band comprises Harish Sivaramakrishnan (vocalist), Praveen Kumar (guitarist), Swaminathan Seetharaman (keyboardist and lyricist), Aditya Kasyap (bassist), Jagadis Natarajan (guitarist), Sivakumar Nagarajan (Indian percussions) and Yadhunandhan Nagaraj (drummer).
The band’s name ‘Agam’ is a Tamil derivation of the Sanskrit word ‘Aham’, which means inner-self. Elaborating on it, Praveen says, “Our band’s sounds are largely a-coming together of seven different musicians with their own musical interests. When we got together and created music the way we liked, all one could hear was ‘Agam’.” Fans of American progressive metal band and artists like Dream Theater, Bob Marley, Hariharan, Rush, Ghulam Ali, AR Rahman among others, their compositions are a blend of unabashed Carnatic/ Hindustani music over heavy progressive mixed meters. Their endeavour is to keep the Carnatic part as authentic as possible as they experiment with the arrangements and composition. Agam’s compositions ‘Oru Vanchi Paattu’ and ‘Thaalolam’ have been dramatically picturised as songs for Bejoy Nambiar directorial, ‘Solo’. “We have also had two studio albums. However, the kind of response we get at international venues is something we are very proud of. We had a full house in Singapore last year at a popular venue… all of this has been the highlight of our career,” shares Praveen.
Ask them about the one thing the Indian music scene could really do with, and Harish says, “Be genuine about making music. One needs to believe in the journey and find the balance between what is commercial and what one really likes doing.” Currently in the middle of releasing the last few songs of their second album, they will soon kick-start the second leg of their tour in Malaysia and London in June.