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Agam (Tamil:அகம்) is a Bangalore-based contemporary Carnatic progressive rock band. A pioneer in this genre, Agam was formed in the year 2003. The current lineup features Harish Sivaramakrishnan (vocals and violin), Ganesh Ram Nagarajan (drummer), Swamy Seetharaman (keyboards, also the lyricist), T Praveen Kumar (lead guitar), Vignesh Lakshminarayanan (bass guitar and backing vocals), Sivakumar Nagarajan (ethnic percussions), and Jagadish Natarajan (rhythm guitar). The band has retained the same lineup all these years, except for Jagadish’s replacing Suraj Satheesh as the rhythm guitarist in 2012.

The BITS Pilani Days
All the band members are from South India, and a majority of them studied in the prestigious Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani. This is where the vocalist Harish, and the percussionist Ganesh met each other and started off with short jamming sessions as a way to pursue their passion for music. The duo stuck to the tradition that started out in college even after graduation.

“Ooh la la la” - the Big Break
Agam received its big break in the year 2007 when it participated in a band hunt called “Ooh la la la,” hosted by the Tamil television channel Sun TV. The judge of the contest was the Indian music maestro and recipient of two Oscar Awards – A. R. Rahman. Rahman was impressed by the band’s potential and adjudged them one of the winners of the contest.

Agam’s success in “Ooh la la la” brought them to the mainstream, and the band, thus, started performing in concerts and music festivals in South India’s three major cities: Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad.

Agam’s Music Style
Agam's musical style is Carnatic rock. Their music is a holistic blend of both Carnatic music and rock that gives birth to a completely new kind of sound.

The fact that the band is based out of the culturally rich and highly receptive Bangalore works in their favour. Agam is currently ranked third on the Bangalore chart for rock musicians (next to Thermal and a Quarter, and Nathaniel School of Music), and twenty third on the Indian chart on the exclusive site for independent musicians, on Reverbnation.

Logo
Agam’s logo is inspired by the Theyyam face, part of an important form of worship in Kerala.

Concerts
Post-2010, Agam started gaining more popularity nationwide and started playing in many popular and high profile music festivals such as the Chennai Sangamam, the MAD Festival (where they played alongside several music giants such as The Raghu Dixit Project, Indian Ocean, Avial, Motherjane, Soulmate, Swarathma and many more noted bands), the Fireflies Festival, Octoberfest, and the Storm Festival among others. The band is also a favorite with venues like Hard Rock Café, Hyderabad and Bangalore  and Kyra, Bangalore

Apart from these, Agam has also performed in many charitable events.

Collaborations
Agam has collaborated with many individual musicians over the course of 5 years. However, the most-acclaimed collaboration of all time would be the one with National Award-winning Indian playback singer Shreya Ghoshal for the song titled “Live Again.” Aimed at raising public awareness for breast cancer, the song was well-received by all.

Agam has also collaborated with the Karnataka flautist Sandeep Vasishta for one of its tracks “More Balama.” Another noteworthy collaboration of the band is with flautist Annada Prasanna Pattanaik, popularly known as Butto, for the tracks “Live Again,” and “Searching for Heavens.”

Recognitions / Awards
Winner of “Ooh la la la” – Music reality show hosted by Sun TV, and judged by A. R. Rahman Featured in Music of contemporary India commissioned by the Ministry of External Affairs, India Winner of Bite My Music Global awards (the largest independent music awards of south Asia) – for Best Collaboration (Live Again feat. Shreya Ghoshal), and Best Instrumental (Brahma's Dance) Collaboration with Shreya Ghoshal to raise awareness on breast cancer

Television Appearances
Progressing from “Ooh la la la”, Agam has been featured in other television channels too. One of their well-known performances includes the one for the entertainment channel Rosebowl.

Agam’s leap into mainstream television comes with its performance in the second season of Coke Studio (India) which started on July 7, 2012. The band performed in the final episode of the season, which has only the performances of independent music producers.

Track List
Brahma’s Dance Lakshiya Paadhai (Path of Aspirations) Rudra Live Again ft. Shreya Ghoshal Malhar Jam Raag Dhanashree The Boat Song More Balama ft. Sandeep Vasishta on the flute Swans of Saraswati Saramathi Blues

Debut Album
The band is currently working on its debut album which is expected to release in October, 2012.

Official Social Media Links

 * Website
 * Blog
 * Facebook Profile
 * Youtube Channel
 * Twitter Profile

Other Links

 * http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/article1102304.ece
 * http://www.firstpost.com/topic/place/bangalore-agam-the-band-infy-bangalore-video-4k5sQkftc_o-3826-9.html
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rock
 * http://www.indianexpress.com/news/opening-act/653905/0
 * http://www.sparkthemagazine.com/?p=4207
 * http://www.sparkthemagazine.com/?p=1143