Interview: Sundara Karma

Two weeks ago, Sundara Karma opened for The Wombats in La Cigale, Paris. Cameron already told you about the twenty-year-old band, and their song "Loveblood".  I took the opportunity to meet Oscar (singer), Ally (bass), Dom (guitar) and Haydn (drums) in order to discover more about the band. To do this interview, I've teamed up with my friend Margaux, and to get familiar with the band while reading this, you can stream their track "The Night" in our JukeFox.

Margaux: As to introduce the band, could you tell us where does the name of the band come from?

Oscar: It means « Beautiful Karma » in Hindi, it’s the language used in Hinduism and Buddhism.

Noémie: Why did you choose that name?

Oscar: I think it resonates within all of us, to be honest it. We won’t call ourselves Buddhists, but we definitely have an affiliation with the Buddhist philosophy. We were called really bad names before like Band Jaxx, Skully Wax.. some really really weird ones that we we won’t mention [laugh]. It just seemed better than the rest, we’d been called Sundara Karma since we’re 14 so it been a long time and we are not sick and tired of it... yet. [laugh]

Noémie: When did you start playing all together?

Together: When we were 14.

Oscar: Well, Haydn and I met when we were 8/9 years old, and we started a band - even then. Then we went to different schools, and I met Ally and Dom. At school we started a band and began to desperately need a good drummer and we go and get Haydn. The rest is history…  

Margaux: You’re quite young, when did music appear to be essential for you - as to live from it?

Oscar: That’s a good question, maybe we should answer separately.

Dom: I wanted to live a life that was different, out of ordinary, going to some unfamiliar territories, do something that nobody else would be able to do and try doing your best doing that.

Ally: Music opens a lot of other things. It’s like doors open itself, I mean it’s like a gateway to different experiences.

Oscar: I think we’re just simply living FOR the love of music- straight out of that instant.   

Margaux: If I understood right, you have started your career with BBC Music. Could you tell us more about it? How did it contribute to building your career?

Oscar: Pretty massively. I mean being played on Radio One isn’t the biggest thing in the world, but it’s still quite emaculated to have this opportunity. The exposure is huge: it’s still national radio and all of our friends listen to Radio One. We are so grateful for the support they have given us and we wouldn’t really be in this position if we hadn’t the nice support of Radio One and BBC have given us. So yes it has made a huge difference to our success at the moment. It’s nice to hear ourselves on the radio, but also to hear guitar music - cause there is not a lot of that.

Noémie: Random question: When I was listening to your EP I was thinking  - especially listening to a song like Loveblood - that could be a song featured in a movie or serie. Which kind of movie or serie would you want to be featured in?

Oscar:  That’s a cool question. We’re all fans of Breaking Bad [laugh], that could be something cool! But it’s too late, we missed that...

Ally: Better Call Saul

Oscar: or the Family Guy [laugh]

Haydn: Anything by Stanley Kubrick

Oscar: But something that could happen: I’d say Spike Jonze who did Her, that’d be crazy.

Noémie: What are your influences? When I have first listened to your music I thought “those guys are from California” because it’s really sunny, which is kind of surprising for a band coming from Reading.

Oscar: We have that quite a lot, a lot of people say that! Nothing had been forced, it’s just happened, really. I suppose the song is us, our logo as well. So that might influences you to say our music is about sunshine. I think it’s getting darker though, I never really saw this as sunshine music I don’t know I feel it’s slightly darker but you know music is ambiguous.

Noémie : Do you have any artists who have influenced you and with whom you want to work with?

Haydn: We’ve got artists that we all love like the Beach Boys, The War on Drugs, Future Island...

Ally: Arcade Fire

Oscar: We’ve got a reference to Bruce Springsteen a lot. I was a major Bruce Springsteen before that. Where has he been?!
And also  Pink Floyd, The Doors, Fleetwood Mac…

Margaux : About your EP, released on February, why do you have not included your first tracks like Hustle or Indigo Puff?

Oscar: I think the EP works just quite well because of the songs that are in there. I don’t know if it would have sounded as coherent if Indigo Puff or our other stuff where in there. We wanted to release something that was like a mini-album, one track leads nicely to the other. It would be easier to make an album with Indigo Puff or Hustle on it, because you have more space to put track together.

Noémie: Do you want to convey a certain message within your songs?

Oscar: I think there is a certain message within each track – but I don’t want to go into too much depth, because when you listen to a track you make a personal statement.  So take what you can from it. If it means something to you, it’s related to you – not necessarily what it was meant to be.

Margaux: What do you listen to on the road?

Haydn: Straight Outta Compton by NWA. A lot of late 80s-90s American hip hop. A lot of Public Enemy.

Oscar: I was listening to a lot of Neil Young, and the Blade Runner soundtrack. I’m really into that at the moment.

Noémie : Speaking about touring, if you had an unlimited choice of festival to perform at this summer, which ones would you chose?

Oscar: Glastonbury, Coachella would be nice

Dom: Benicassim

Ally: Fuji Rock

Haydn : Something crazy!

Oscar: Our first band holiday was when we were 15/16 to Majorca, and everyone went to a dodgy club. It was quite fun, so it’d be pretty cool to do Majorca on the Rocks.

Noémie : Which countries do you want to visit – as a band or as tourist?

Oscar: Paris! Paris is wicked! We’ve only been here for a little bit, but Paris is a gorgeous place I wanted to come to. And now we’re here. More places like Japan will be amazing too, China…  Asia in general. And of course to America would be a dream come true!

Margaux : Do you have a crazy location you want to play to? Like an opera house perhaps or the top of the Eiffel Tower?

Oscar: Guys, what do you reckon - for our best gig ever?

Ally: By like a waterfall! Just in front of a waterfall.

Oscar: Maybe on a boat, with dolphins.

Haydn: On top of Mount Everest!

Margaux : Do you plan to release an album anytime soon?

Oscar: Yes, we’re in the process of trying to get one together. It would be an album for next year probably, but we don't have much information yet.

Noémie : If you had to do an unbelievable collaboration, which artist would you choose?

Oscar: Kanye! Kany West – why not… like anyone I suppose. I don’t know… I would love to collaborate with… Why not Taylor Swift ? – Hook me up, Taylor! [laugh]
Among the dead artists? I'd say Tupac!

Anything to add?

Live Life, Be Happy!

You can catch the guys with Circa Wave as they will tour together in April and May.