The Story Of… Sundara Karma

Translated to mean Beautiful Karma, Sundara Karma’s name is only a snippet of the band’s ethos. A band since the age of 14, this Reading four-piece are at the top of the alt-rock game.

Gaining a breakthrough moment in 2016 after submitting their track ‘Loveblood’ to the BBC Introducing Uploader, Sundara Karma subsequently secured a spot on the BBC Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds Festival. The band quickly transformed from a fresh out of school group of friends to a legit indie band winning over more fans by the day.

Having started off covering Thin Lizzy and The Doors during their early days, the band openly admit that they might have ‘ballsed up’ some their earliest shows. Thankfully that’s now far behind them as they’ve gone on to tour the world with the likes of Wolf Alice, Swim Deep and Community headliners Two Door Cinema Club. They also played their first headline tour, including a date a London’s iconic O2 Academy Brixton, which the boys have said was a huge deal.

The band released their debut single ‘Freshbloom’ back in 2013 and immediately ignited an internet frenzy. Following it up with the equally ethereal ‘Cold Heaven’, Sundara Karma quickly set themselves apart with frontman Oscar Pollock’s unabashed lyrics, which delved into the disparities of post-adolescent existence and confronted the bigger questions in life. Matched with a blend of up-tempo melodies and heart on your sleeve attitude, it was irresistible combination.

The perfectly titled ‘EP I’ and ‘EP II’ released in 2015 allowed fans to deep dive further into Sundara Karma’s universe. The fizzy indie-pop of ‘EP I’ was likened to the dreaminess of Arcade Fire mixed with a touch of The Maccabees’ charm. ‘EP II’ featuring Marika Hackman on ‘Prisons To Purify’ left behind the dreamscapes of the previous EP for bigger, bolder choruses and hooky melodies.

Skip to 2017 and the band dropped their eagerly-anticipated debut album – the aptly named ‘Youth is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect’. Opening with the rip-roaring ‘A Young Understanding’, the 15-track record featured fan favourites ‘She Said’ and ‘Vivienne’ and a slew of stadium-ready new tunes to cement the band’s already stellar back catalogue.

Don’t miss Sundara Karma performance at Community Festival 2018 this July.