Band members | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Which city is close to his heart? ‘Hyderabad!’ is the quick answer from Mumbai’s Aditya Kashyap. The musician (bass) from contemporary Carnatic music band Aagam, along with his bandmates Harish Sivaramakrishnan (vocals), T Praveen Kumar (guitar), Swamy Sitaraman (keyboard), Siva Nagarajan (multi-percussionist), Jagadeesh Natrajan (rhythm guitar) and Yadunandan Nagaraj (drums), will be performing live in the city over the weekend.
The musician celebrates Hyderabad and enjoys the musical experience here, as ‘the listeners are very appreciative of the music played by Agam.’
During a demonstration | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Bengaluru-based Carnatic progressive rock band, which has been performing in Hyderabad for over a decade, has seen a steady rise in interest in its music. Aditya says that playing live music at perhaps two venues in the beginning and now having multiple venues to perform at is proof that Hyderabadis welcome different music genres.
New and old hits
Agam’s playlists are inspired by cities; in Hyderabad, his curated list always includes Telugu compositions ‘Manavyaalkincharadathe’ and ‘Bantu Reethi Kolu’. The 90-minute programme also features his other hit songs including ‘Rangapura Viharaya’, ‘Kooth (Koothu) Over Coffee’ and other compositions. Capricorn Mist And Sarasvati’s Swans album. Aditya says the number of songs performed by the band does not matter, as some of their songs are a mix of several songs. “We hope the audience will be moved when they hear the new songs and their favourites.”
Curated Playlists
During a demonstration | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Though the seven musicians live in different cities – Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai – they have been working together for several years. The group members connect with each other remotely, discuss playlists, practice compositions with a twist and do a sound check before every show.
The Bengaluru-born band loves Hyderabadi biryani and Irani chai and Aditya believes the traffic in Hyderabad is far better than Mumbai. With the release of the third album in a few months, Aditya recalls a memorable experience at Agam when the band played ‘Mists of Capricorn (Manavyaalkinchara)’ thrice during a show. “The audience sang it twice and we played and sang along with them the third time. Playing to the ever-knowing crowd in Hyderabad is a very humbling experience.”
AGAM – Live at Odium by Prism in Hyderabad on September 21; 8 pm onwards; tickets bookmyshow.com
Published – September 21, 2024 01:28 PM IST
