<p class="bodytext">For close to two decades, Bengaluru-based band Agam have been redefining what is expected of Karnatik music. The seven-member Karnatik-progressive rock group’s latest track ‘Flight to the summer sky’ from the album ‘Arrival of the Ethereal’ was recently accepted by the 2026 Grammy selection committee for a possible nomination in the ‘Best global music performance’ category. </p>.<p class="bodytext">In ‘Flight to the summer sky’, Agam has explored the nagumomu kriti and similar ragas from Karnatik and Hindustani music, such as abheri and bhimpalasi. “It starts off evocative, like many of our other songs and then elements of progressive rock are introduced,” <br />says Harish Sivaramakrishnan, the lead vocalist. </p>.Where world music meets universal stories.<p class="bodytext">The song boasts a large brass section and features musicians from Argentina, the USA, and Cuba. “Though there are different elements and genres, we have stuck to our roots in terms of the sound,” he adds. The track also features Grammy winner Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, who invented and popularised the Mohan veena. About 60 people were involved in the making of the track, which begins with rudram chanting by 15 temple priests. “We submitted this song for the Grammy’s because we wanted our music to reach a wider audience. Even if we do not get a nomination, we are glad to know that more people have heard it,” says Swaminathan Seetharaman, keyboardist and lyricist.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Most of the other tracks in the album are also similar in their production, with one boasting a total of 150 artistes. Totally, the album features over 300 musicians from across the world with influences from orchestral music, progressive rock, jazz, and funk. Other highlights include a chenda melam ensemble, nadaswaram, tavil, and pakhawaj. The album has been eight years in the making. Some of the other tracks in the album include ‘Walk of the bride’ (their rendition of popular Karnatik song ‘Sita kalyana vaibhogame’), which is seven minutes long, and ‘The silence that remains’ (‘Mokashamu galada’), which runs to over eight minutes. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The Karnatik rock band was formed in 2003 by a group of college students. Apart from Sivaramakrishnan and Seetharaman, the band comprises Praveen Kumar Thiyagarajan (lead guitar), Sivakumar Nagarajan (Indian percussion), Yadunandan Nagarajan (drums), Jagdeesh Natarajan (rhythm guitar), and Aditya Kasyap (bass guitar).</p>.<p class="bodytext">The group has had a packed year so far, but is already working on a new album, which will be out in 2026. </p>
<p class="bodytext">For close to two decades, Bengaluru-based band Agam have been redefining what is expected of Karnatik music. The seven-member Karnatik-progressive rock group’s latest track ‘Flight to the summer sky’ from the album ‘Arrival of the Ethereal’ was recently accepted by the 2026 Grammy selection committee for a possible nomination in the ‘Best global music performance’ category. </p>.<p class="bodytext">In ‘Flight to the summer sky’, Agam has explored the nagumomu kriti and similar ragas from Karnatik and Hindustani music, such as abheri and bhimpalasi. “It starts off evocative, like many of our other songs and then elements of progressive rock are introduced,” <br />says Harish Sivaramakrishnan, the lead vocalist. </p>.Where world music meets universal stories.<p class="bodytext">The song boasts a large brass section and features musicians from Argentina, the USA, and Cuba. “Though there are different elements and genres, we have stuck to our roots in terms of the sound,” he adds. The track also features Grammy winner Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, who invented and popularised the Mohan veena. About 60 people were involved in the making of the track, which begins with rudram chanting by 15 temple priests. “We submitted this song for the Grammy’s because we wanted our music to reach a wider audience. Even if we do not get a nomination, we are glad to know that more people have heard it,” says Swaminathan Seetharaman, keyboardist and lyricist.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Most of the other tracks in the album are also similar in their production, with one boasting a total of 150 artistes. Totally, the album features over 300 musicians from across the world with influences from orchestral music, progressive rock, jazz, and funk. Other highlights include a chenda melam ensemble, nadaswaram, tavil, and pakhawaj. The album has been eight years in the making. Some of the other tracks in the album include ‘Walk of the bride’ (their rendition of popular Karnatik song ‘Sita kalyana vaibhogame’), which is seven minutes long, and ‘The silence that remains’ (‘Mokashamu galada’), which runs to over eight minutes. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The Karnatik rock band was formed in 2003 by a group of college students. Apart from Sivaramakrishnan and Seetharaman, the band comprises Praveen Kumar Thiyagarajan (lead guitar), Sivakumar Nagarajan (Indian percussion), Yadunandan Nagarajan (drums), Jagdeesh Natarajan (rhythm guitar), and Aditya Kasyap (bass guitar).</p>.<p class="bodytext">The group has had a packed year so far, but is already working on a new album, which will be out in 2026. </p>