Music lovers at the Hard Rock Café were witness to the magical hues of the classical violin and Carnatic melodies blending with rhythmic fingerwork on guitars and percussionin — a concert unlike any other. Agam (meaning inner self), a Bangalore-based contemporary Carnatic Rock act had the crowd grooving to their eclectic soundscape.
The all-techie band comprises Harish Sivaramakrishnan on the violin and vocals; Ganesh Ram at the drums; Praveen Kumar and Suraj Satheesh on the guitar; Swamy Seetharaman on the keyboard; Vignesh Lakshminarayanan plucking the bass guitar; and Shiva Nagarajan on the percussion.
Known widely for their experimental style and contemporary musicality, Agam showed what it was made of.
“We reckon we're at the right place at the right time. The very fact that we are here at HRC and number 2 in Bangalore on ‘Reverbnation' speaks a lot of where our music has taken us,” said Harish before the gig.
Making music on a melody-first basis, most of Agam's songs carry a concoction of their varied influences with originality. “We love to explore, depict and contemplate over human aspirations and sentiments of the inner self in our music. That's what defines us the best,” explained Ganesh. With lyrics diverse in texture and language, Agam power-packed an energetic compilation of songs that had the audience on their feet.
The crowd favourite was an anthemic ‘Saramathi Blues' with mellifluous keyboard work and superlative vocals.
‘Kooth over Coffee' was a peppy dance freestyle of traditional Indian street music, creating a perfect semblance for the audience to step up and dance away.
