Members of Voice of Aumeen and (above) Bikash, drummer of the band. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 7: Rock and fusion band Aumeen is gaining popularity with each episode of an ongoing Odia reality show. Aumeen, the name is a portmanteau combining ‘Om’ or ‘Aum’ of Hinduism and ‘Amen’ of Islam and Christianity.

The two-year-old band wants to infuse new life into the Odia music scene with their fresh compositions. Though the rock scenario is improving by leaps and bounds here, in 2006 very few rock bands were heard of.

Vocalist and composer Sudeep Prabhu had found a band then, called The Ragas, which disbanded owing to creative differences among members.

Under family pressure, Prabhu half-heartedly took up the job of a software engineer in Bangalore till one day when he decided to leave everything aside and only pursue music.

The singer, who never received formal training, then met percussionist Bikash, an alumnus of Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya here and Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta, through common friends and the two of them created Aumeen.

The group works under two names — Aumeen — the rock band, and Voice of Aumeen — the fusion band. While the former has five members, the latter has nine.

All the other members are aged between 25 and 30 except Laloo Jena, the bass guitarist and mentor of the group, who is about 50.

The band keeps doing shows in and around Odisha and also runs a training institute at Shastri Nagar in the capital city where the members jam. About 25-odd students are being trained at the institute at present.

The band is not leaving a single stone unturned to win the reality show.

They will soon come out with their album that will have seven songs in English and Odia. Some of their popular compositions are Aakhi mora kholi gala based on college life and Kebe bhabicha ki tame about heinous crimes against women.

“We will take part in national-level reality shows as well. We are very confident and proud about our original and innovative compositions,” said Sudeep, 30.

“Any one who listens to our songs will not find any resemblance to any ‘filmi’ or non-filmi songs. Our idea is to not only challenge but also break conventions of musical compositions,” said 28-year-old Bikash.

The members get their inspiration from Indian stalwarts such as R.D. Burman, Akshay Mohanty, A.R. Rahman to heavy metal rock bands such as Megadeth, Metallica and Iron Maiden.

In various shows, apart from their original Odia compositions, Aumeen also croons songs in English, Hindi and Bengali.

They do not follow a particular schedule for jamming. Being an all boys band, they often practice late in the night. The fusion group that is taking part in reality show Best Of Odisha is not singing full-fledged songs but only alaaps, taranas and sargams.

“We let our music do all the talking. The jury members who are veteran artistes of Odisha have always encouraged us. Today, a lot of people recognise us the moment they see us,” said Sudeep. As far as the awareness regarding rock bands are concerned the group feels that there is long way to go.

“Above everything else, a troupe like us needs a section of people who understand and appreciated the genre of rock,” he added.