Fusion of a different kind

As part of the ‘Orion World Music Fest’, the Carnatic progressive rock band Agam recently performed at Orion Mall.

With Harish on vocals and violin, Praveen on guitar, Swamy on keyboard, Vignesh on bass and Shiva on percussions, the band gave a memorable performance. 

They played a long set with songs like Brahma’s Dance, Swans of Saraswati, Malhar Jam, Rudra, Dhanashree Thillana, ‘Path of Aspirations’ and ‘The Boat Song’ among others, taking audience through each of the compositions.

Since the concert was in a mall, there were people of all age groups who enjoyed watching the band perform. Shruthi, a student, says that it was a lovely experience hearing their music for the first time.

 “It was really good. I’ve not heard this kind of fusion and I liked how heavy it sounded compared to the classical concerts I attend in school.”

Even the old people were seen sitting beside the youth and absorbed the melodic tunes and energetic beats. “I could not relate to some of their songs. But it is a unique way of exposing the youth to their roots,” shares Vinayaka, an attendee. 

What was unfortunate was that the attention of audience members was often caught by other distractions in the mall. Because of this, there were only a few faces in the crowd that had been there from the start. But the band viewed this as an interesting challenge. 

“The ‘moving crowd’ is always a challenge at a mall. But it’s still good exposure for us, especially if people who are there to watch a movie or eat at the food court stay for even a few songs,” shares Vignesh, who plays bass for the band.

 “One thing that really surprised us was how well the event was managed, considering malls aren’t usually associated with music. It was one of our best mall gigs — it had a fantastic vibe and the crowd was really good,” he adds.