Karma

Listen Up!

by George Rabbeth on 9.10.09

Karma are a five piece Northern band who began life in early 2001, when the original members met and began to play together at music college. So far, they have released three singles and two live DVDs and, with an upcoming release of a live performance at Cutting Rooms recording studio on their MySpace page, Karma remain as focussed and determined as ever.

4Q meets up with Mark O`Donoughue (Drums), Joe Walker (Guitar), Mike Banfield (Guitar), Pete Harrop (Bass) and Tom Lannon (Vocals) to find out what’s next.

Each member of the band has previous experience with other groups and, since joining forces, have been a mainstay in the Manchester music scene for years. When quizzed about the name, the response is simple. “It’s what we’re about, what you do is what you get. It rolls off the tongue, and it’s not something stupid like the Pigeon Detectives.”

Drawing on different genres like rock, jazz, soul and Motown, and citing an eclectic mix of influences like Kula Shaker, Hendrix and Cream, they are able to draw upon a great catalogue of musical know how. “We play songs; anything – funk, soul, rock, heavy metal – we can do it all because we never say that’s not our sound.”

What is instantly apparent about Karma is their determination to be better, to stand out from other bands by making every song as good as the last. “Other big bands, it’s all just singles, like The Strokes – they were the next big thing. Two tracks on that album were good, the rest was all just the same, same beat, everything! Often you can’t even remember the song that came before, it’s all the same.”

Keen to stick in their listeners minds, the band certainly give the fans a lot to think about, particularly on songs like ‘Keep It Moving’, Lannon’s haunting calls punctuating a soulful Cream wagon train in a vocal blend of Paul Rodgers and Jack Bruce spiked by resonating distortion.

Having built their fan base upon their trend-defying, genre-blending sound, the band have an instinctive approach toward writing and refining new material: “We all turn up to rehearsals, and start playing and if people buzz off it, we keep playing. We might play something others like and suddenly it’s like – that’s the next song! If we lived in a studio for a month we’d come out with about five albums.”

Evidence of a band in perfect, hypnotic harmony, ‘Climbing The Wall’ opens in a slow, floral Chili Peppers doorway leading to a smooth bass carpet for Lannon’s wandering introspective vocals; all lit from above by a shimmering, paranoid Peter Green style guitar.

Never afraid to take risks in their approach toward their music, the band are only too happy to take the gigging scene head on. “We’re not interested in playing half hour sets long term, like a band that has one good tune they’ve had on the radio, but all the rest just aren’t as good. We’re like old school rock bands, like The Who or The Stones – seven nights a week twice a night, bashing it out and taking stick every night.”

In regards to many of the bands that can be found playing for In the City, Karma consider themselves to be a bit of a one-off. “We’re not a flash in the pan, ‘cool’ band with only one song.”

Confident in their work, Karma have begun to promote themselves to their established fans. “We started to do our own gigs in places like Dry Bar, basically just working with Manchester promoters in pay as you play kind of scheme. We’ve decided now that we have got a big enough fan base to do venues like Night and Day and Academy 3, and we’ve had some great bands on with us.”

Evidence of their refined, muscular blues is a readily apparent in ‘Devils Eyes, Angels Face’, the archetypal four bar metronome kick smoothed by a bubbling bassline. It’s the grittier Northern cousin of Chicken Shack, Lannon’s lamenting voice turning from gravel to sugar in time with punchy blues chords.

As well as putting on stunning live shows, the band is committed to professionalism in their desire to match bands across the pond. “American and Australian bands, they come over here and they’re brilliant, much more professional, because they have to be, they need good material. We normally consider ourselves one of the best bands playing on any particular night, but after hearing those bands we knew we needed to step our game up. You can tell bands that play a lot, the second they come on they’ve just got it.”

All this practice makes current single ‘Do What You Do’ a flawless ride; an alchemic blend of choppy drums punctured by gruff, self assured lyrics that hold the key to the freewheeling guitar all effortlessly underpinned by a rock-steady bass line. As the band themselves say “Whatever we play, it’s Karma’s sound, we play it our own way.”

So with all their wealth of experience playing around Manchester, what has been their favourite venue? “Definitely Night and Day and the Academy, you’ve got a separate sound guy and a lights guy, it’s like doing a real gig! You aren’t just turning up to a bunch of sound engineers who don’t know who you are or what to expect. Sometimes the sound can be really bad that way.”

Not content with leaving anything to chance, the band tirelessly continues to promote itself, even running their own “Devils Records” label. “Through Devils Records, running our own label, we packed the Academy 3 for the live DVD. We’ve got to do something on our own terms, we’ve got to get out there. It puts a lot of pressure on us, but you’ve got to have the bottle to do it; aiming to get into bigger venues. We’re not playing at being a part time band.”

With singles, live DVD’s and headlining their own nights at their back, Karma are keeping their eyes firmly fixed on future. ”Soon we’re playing ‘Mozfest’ but the next big thing is us headlining the Academy 3 on Sunday October18th, then soon after we’ll release the next single.”

An unmatched work ethic, effortless Muddy Waters style gravitas and an overwhelming sense of enjoyment make Karma the real thing. They love to play and rehearse and know each other’s game inside out, giving their more distorted, prismatic moments an unshakable musical foundation. Willie Dixon once said “Blues is the roots, the rest are just fruits”. If Karma continue to evolve, they might just be both.

For more info about Karma and their upcoming gigs, www.myspace.com/karmainfo , www.overplay.co.uk/karma and Facebook-karma fan club