Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with S.KARMA

When S.Karma was little, he heard someone say, “Music makes the people come together.” So now, he’s giving it a shot.

What is your earliest memory connected to music?

My dad had this casio keyboard when I was probably 5 years or so. He used to play popular music on them and entertain me and distract me from the ruckus I was causing.

How did your passion for creating music begin?

I started playing guitar at 12 as a part of a music club at my school and quickly fell in love with it. Took me another few years after that to start writing my own songs, of course it was about a girl I liked. Haha.

What’s the story behind your current music project?

I have been working on my second LP for a couple years now. Thematically, the album is about journey through the human condition, exploring the tension between inner turmoil, and the fleeting nature of time. It is a product of introspection on personal turmoil, deconstructing the turmoil to understand basic human behavior and then applying that in a more broader context to understand the workings of the world and find resolution for turmoil through love and understanding.

How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?

It’s quite tricky to say who I sound like, I haven’t paid much attention to that but my influences are broad, some songs draw from pop punk and others from indie pop. So think 2000s pop punk like blink 182, paramore, then on the indie side, maggie rogers, courtney barnett. And the strokes, listened to a lot of strokes growing up so I’m sure they seep into my creative conscience.

What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?

I have never been a guitar pedal guy as you can hear in my music, I just use an overdrive pedal and that’s it but I have been writing some new materials for the 3rd album with lots of guitar pedals that are pretty much dictating the structure and vibe of the songs. So I am giving up some creative power to these pedals and let the chance dictate where the song ends up going.

What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?

Just the standard stuff, bass, guitars, I am using a Jazzmaster for the second album. Sometimes I use software bass to accompany real bass to make it sound richer.

Synths, wurli, organs, etc. I use a combination of hardware and software synths (softube, arturia, etc) to get those sounds.

For drums, I have just started using superior drummer 3 since drum plugins have gotten really good now and are much less hassle compared to recording live drums.

A voice recording app on my phone to note down all the ideas is a must.

Here’s a weird one, a warm shower. I know. A good chunk of my melodies are written during the showers. Not that I don’t write melodies other times, but something about showers, puts my brain into the flow state needed to come up with melodies.

Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?

Not sure if they are indie but punkrocker by teddybears and iggypop is my bop right now. The new superman movie put me on that song.

Other than that, The crux by Djo is fantastic.

I discovered death cab for cutie like a year ago and finally listening to transatlanticism now. I feel like they are influencing my next batch of songs. We’ll see.

How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?

The first album was about being able to get back on my feet after a debilitating back injury I sustained during a weight lifting session back in 2019. That set me on a path to start writing introspectively and not be afraid to be vulnerable in my writings.

What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?

Nobody is perfect, Everyone has deep insecurities and flaws. So don’t be too hard on yourselves. Do your best. Kids are a product of their environment which they have no control over. So be empathetic and understanding, let’s band together on our similarities and work together to make the world a little more livable for the next generation. I feel like a good chunk of my songs revolve around these messages.

What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?

Inner peace is just as important as food or water.

What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?

Could be anywhere as long as the connection with the audience is genuine. It could be an open mic with 2 people in Steinway street bar or with 20,000 people in Madison square garden.

If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?

I would love to work with Ed Sheeran. Seems like a genuinely good person and ofcourse massively talented.

Where can our listeners follow and support your music?

I am available in all the music streaming services.

Spotify: s.karma (https://open.spotify.com/artist/1n17bVlPOyQcUDXOrDYgyx?si=JEhjBpIiRyiCrymSqeHLzA)

Apple music: s.karma

(https://music.apple.com/us/artist/s-karma/1478881699)

IG: s.karma_music (https://www.instagram.com/s.karma_music?igsh=MXBjazRqeXNxcTh4Zw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr)

Youtube: s.karmamusic (https://youtube.com/@s.karmamusic?si=Mx_T_uI1Tby_bTRq)

Bandcamp: s.karma

(https://s-karma.bandcamp.com)

Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?