Sundara Karma

Sundara Karma
Origin Reading, Berkshire, England
Genres Indie pop, alternative rock, indie rock, art rock[1]
Years active 2011 (2011)–present
Labels Chess Club/RCA
Website www.sundara-karma.co.uk
Members Oscar Pollock
Dom Cordell
Ally Baty
Haydn Evans

Sundara Karma are an English indie pop/indie rock/art rock[1] band from Reading, Berkshire, England. The band consists of singer/guitarist Oscar "Lulu" Pollock, lead guitarist Ally Baty, bassist Dom Cordell and drummer Haydn Evans.[2] The Guardian has likened the band to the likes of Arcade Fire and U2.[1]

History

Formation and early beginnings

Pollock and Evans had been friends since childhood and formed a few bands together before starting secondary school. However, nothing materialized as they moved to different schools. Pollock met Baty and Cordell at the Oratory School.[3] The pair had been in bands together at their old school so the three decided to form a new band together. Evans rejoined the band on drums.[4] The band's name is derived from Sanskrit words, meaning "Beautiful Karma".

In July 2013, they released their debut single, "Freshbloom", via SoundCloud.[5] In September 2013, along with Wolf Alice, they supported Swim Deep for their UK tour.[6]

They made their debut performance at Reading Festival in 2013.

2014–2015: EP I and EP II

On 17 March 2014, they released their second single, "Cold Heaven", via Chess Club Records.[7] In September 2014, their third single, Indigo Puff, was released in promotional CDr format, featuring b-side, "Hustle". The song "Indigo Puff" was used in Mercedes-Benz Australia's 2015 TV ad.[8]

On 23 February 2015, they released debut EP, EP I.[9][10] The band signed to Chess Club Records in June 2015.[11] The follow-up EP, EP II, was released in November 2015. It featured English singer-songwriter, Marika Hackman, in the song "Prisons to Purify". NME said that both EPs have "likened to Arcade Fire, Foals and The Maccabees".[12] Throughout the year, the band have toured with Circa Waves and the Wombats.

2016–present: Loveblood EP and Youth is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect

In August 2016, the band announced their debut album titled Youth is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect to release in early 2017 via Twitter and their Facebook page.[13] As their promotion for the upcoming album, they released third EP, Loveblood, on 4 November 2016.

The album was then released on 6 January 2017, including the five tracks from the Loveblood EP. It peaked at number 24 on the UK Albums Chart.[14] The band have performed as the support act for Two Door Cinema Club[15] and Bastille. In March 2017, they performed at SXSW 2017.

From September to October 2017, they did their first UK headline tour, supported by The Magic Gang, including a show at London's Brixton Academy.[16]

In October 2017, the band were announced as the support act for the band Everything Everything for their Alexandra Palace show on 10 March 2018 exclusively on the band's UK tour. They opened the set with a (presumably new) unreleased song "Eternity",[17] which is, as of July 2018, still unreleased and has not been played since.

On May 9, 2018, the band announced they had almost finished new music via their official Twitter.[18]

Following this, on 29th May 2018, they announced on their official Instagram page that they were soon to start recording their second album. [19] They later announced on the 30th July 2018 that they had finished recording the album. [20] In September 2018, they performed their upcoming new song titled "One Last Night" for the first time in Jakarta, Indonesia.[21]

Members

  • Oscar "Lulu" Pollock – vocals, guitar, keyboard, synthesizer (2011–present)
  • Dom Cordell – bass, backing vocals (2011–present)
  • Ally Baty – guitar, cowbell, backing vocals (2011–present)
  • Haydn Evans – drums (2011–present)

Discography

Albums

Year Title UK Albums Chart[22]
2017 Youth is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect
  • Released: 6 January 2017
  • Format: CD, LP, and Digital Download
 24

EPs

Year Title
2015 EP I
  • Released: 23 February 2015
  • Format: 10", Digital Download
EP II
  • Released: 27 November 2015
  • Format: 10", Digital Download
2016 Loveblood EP
  • Released: 4 November 2016
  • Format: 7", Digital Download

Singles

Year Title
2014 "Cold Heaven"
  • Released: 17 March 2014
  • Includes b-side "The Night"
"Indigo Puff"
  • Released: 20 October 2014
  • Includes b-side "Hustle"
2015 "Loveblood"
  • Released: 23 February 2015
"Flame"
  • Released: 4 June 2015
2016 "A Young Understanding"
  • Released: 10 February 2016
"She Said"
  • Released: 23 August 2016
"Olympia"
  • Released: 20 October 2016
"Happy Family"
  • Released: 16 December 2016
2017 "Explore"
  • Released: 11 May 2017
2018 "Illusions"
  • Released: 9 Oct 2018

Notes on Singles

Two singles were re-released in the buildup towards their debut album. These were "Loveblood" and "Flame". These singles both gained notable traction after their respective re-releases.

The single "Explore" was released two months prior to the release of the deluxe version of Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect, which included three new songs (one of which was "Explore"). This served as the final single from the album.

"Illusions" is the first single from their upcoming second album.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "New band of the week: Sundara Karma (No 65)". Retrieved 2017-01-22.
  2. ↑ "Sundara Karma". Retrieved 2017-01-22.
  3. ↑ "Introducing: Sundara Karma face 'Hannah Montana syndrome'". Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  4. ↑ "Young Musicians Of The Moment: Sundara Karma. They're 18 And Yep, They've Already Played Reading Festival". Retrieved 2017-01-22.
  5. ↑ ""Freshbloom" [Premiere]". Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  6. ↑ "Live: Swim Deep/Wolf Alice/Sundara Karma, Cardiff 22/09/2013". Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  7. ↑ "Sundara Karma Announce New Single". Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  8. ↑ "Sundara Karma". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  9. ↑ "Sundara Karma – EPI". Discogs. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  10. ↑ "Premiere: Sundara Karma – 'EP1'". Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  11. ↑ "Chess Club Records – sundara karma sign". chessclub-records.co.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "Premiere: Sundara Karma". Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  13. ↑ "Sundara Karma". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  14. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/32093/sundara-karma/
  15. ↑ "Two Door Cinema Club". Honne. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  16. ↑ http://diymag.com/2017/06/05/sundara-karma-uk-tour-2017-youth-is-only-ever-fun-in-retrospect
  17. ↑ https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/sundara-karma/2018/alexandra-palace-london-england-43efef2f.html
  18. ↑ https://twitter.com/sundarakarma/status/994262363426709504
  19. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BjX_pm4AhWV/?taken-by=sundarakarma
  20. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl4A6IvAi32/?hl=en&taken-by=sundarakarma. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ↑ "Rintik Hujan Iringi Aksi Sundara Karma di Hodgepodge Superfest 2018". kumparan.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  22. ↑ "Sundara Karma | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
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