Second album of Agnee band

Very few Indian bands, especially rock bands, have managed to create a name for themselves in the mainstream arena.It is especially difficult boasting of cult followings and performing abroad, in a country obsessed with Bollywood music. One such band is Agnee, who created a stir with their music - rooted in Indian sensibility combined with rock - through their self-titled debut album in 2007. This group is spearheaded by Koco and K Mohan on the guitar and vocals, who also write songs and compose together. They are accompanied by Michael Pereira on the keyboard, Hrishikesh Datar on the drums, and Jamir on bass. Some of their biggest hits include Sandho Re, Kabira, Ujaale Baaz and Aahatein.And fans of the band can now rejoice as Agnee will be releasing their second album after four years (they did release singles in between though).The album, featuring 10 songs including a compilation of their previous singles, will in all probability be titled Create With Agnee, which will release on May 15, 2012. Speaking about the album, Mohan explains that the title 'Create With Agnee' is inspired by a series of contests the band conducted to rope in new talent in the form of a lyricist and singer in 2009 and 2010 respectively.Interestingly, Agnee has also collaborated with various artists in the making of this album.Their single Jee Lay Abhi, a peppy number about having fun and enjoying the present, is a duet sung by Mohan and Anushka Manchanda, while Sadaa is a classical song which has Mohan singing along with his sister Sreevidya, while their mother Vasantha Kannan accompanies them on the violin.Kaise Ho Tum is love song about two lovers meeting again after many years and going their separate ways again, and has Mohan crooning along with Shilpa Rao.The lyrics have been written by Prashant Narayanan. I Believe is Agnee's first Hinglish song, and has them collaborating with Parikrama and Shilpa Rao on the vocals, with lyrics written by Rachna B. "There's something different about the songs. In terms of sounds, we've included the tabla, dhol, trumpets, etc.," says Mohan, who has his roots in Indian classical music, especially the Carnatic genre. Commenting on the various collaborations Agnee has done in this album, Mohan says simply, "We love doing collaborations."His wishlist of artists to collaborate with includes the late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, however, he's keeping his hopes up to collaborate with the Pakistani band Strings, Sufi legend Abida Parveen and former Genesis bandmember Peter Gabriel.Besides making their music, the band thoroughly enjoys playing live gigs, as Mohan says, "Playing live is the biggest high."Unlike most indie bands who like to stick to their own music and stay away from venturing into other arenas like films, Koco and Mohan have turned music directors for an upcoming release Aalap, and a recently released Marathi movie titled Shala.The duo has no qualms about foraying into Bollywood as they are happy to receive recognition on the country's biggest music platform. They are confident that it will not compromise their creativity. They clarify that "we do not go asking for work, people come to us with work." The band has also been roped in to to compose the theme song for the India release of the superhero flick, 'The Avengers'.