‘Burning Up’ by Karma Glider | New EP, ‘Future Fiction’
Exclusive video premiere of ‘Burning Up’ by Karma Glider, taken from the upcoming EP, ‘Future Fiction,’ out July 7th.
As the title suggests, the content of ‘Burning Up’ is highly flammable, Karma Glider (Montréal, QC) hammering on every single eighth note with fierce conviction. This modern post-punk rock & roller about having “One foot on the pedal / And the other in the grave/” extends heartfelt empathy for the end of a binge. Though entangled in themes such as excess, distress and confusion, ‘Future Fiction’s’ second chapter feels somewhat like a light at the end of the tunnel, perhaps stemming from bright keyboard lines (from guest musician Edwin de Goeij) amidst the fuzzy guitar, crushed-out bass and driving drums.
“It’s about going full-tilt on substances and ‘burning up’ your life. I did this a lot in my twenties, but I try to find healthier ways to express that internal abandon these days. The production is really influenced by Primal Scream’s XTRMNTR, particularly the song ‘Accelerator,’ which I’ve listened to a million times and still gives me amphetamine flashbacks.”
“I wanted to do something a little more interesting than a typical lyric video and, even though I’ve never played Zelda, I love the SNES aesthetic. Naively, I thought it would be a pretty simple process but it actually took forever. As it were, the song “Burning Up” is about dissociative amphetamine episodes and the fragmented reality of a video game might be the perfect representation of that.” – Susil Sharma from Karma Glider
Karma Glider’s ‘Future Fiction’ EP reflects on friendship, finding a spiritual path in the face of the unknown, and the importance of being carried by – and carrying – your loved ones. To convey their all-loving ethos, Susil Sharma and co have fuzzed-out guitars roaring to an ever-veering rhythm section, the sum amplified by heavy, yet highly soothing arrangements that see the outfit engage with brute mechanics and cerebral processing. Employing raw materials from Britpop or 90s alternative as well as hip-hop-inspired sampling methods, the outfit crafts uplifting tracks infused with a low-key punk attitude.
Karma Glider’s debut release was printed by co-producers Adrien Popovich and Joseph Donovan at Mountain City Studios, the pair known for their involvement in projects such as Sam Roberts Band, Tricky Woo and The Dears. Sharma handles vocals, guitar, loops and sampling duties on the 5-track collection that also features astute musicianship from bassist Jean-Philippe Bourgeois (Adam Strangler, Fefe Dobson) and drummer Jean-Philippe Godbout (Laurence-Anne, Gazoline) as well as guest appearances from new bandmate Charlie Neufeld (Heat, Reversing Falls), vocalist Cam Maclean and keyboardist Edwin de Goeij (U.S. Girls, Martha Wainwright). The resulting 19 minutes of new wave-tinged motorik rock & roll should strike a chord with fans of Parquet Courts, Alvvays, Diiv, Primal Scream or The Strokes.
“The initial writing phase was really inspired by lo-fi music (The Radio Dept., Swirlies, etc.) and early hip-hop (Public Enemy, LL Cool J, etc.). Every song started as a beat using homemade loops and really archaically-constructed samples.
“The next step was playing the shit out of the songs in the rehearsal room, and the inspiration pivoted to big sounding rock bands like Primal Scream and Oasis. As soon as you throw walls of distorted guitars onto something, it becomes a different beast and we spent a long time balancing those two elements, finessing the grooves with the noise.
“’In Deep Ocean,’ ‘Taste Of Cherry’ and ‘FHS Punks’ are all about reconciling loss and finding a deeper connection to the universe. ‘Burning Up’ is about taking drugs. I don’t know what ‘Shortwave Drifter’ is about. Sonically, the EP reminds me of the knife fight at the end of The Outsiders, but between the rosters of Creation and Factory Records.”
– Susil Sharma from Karma Glider
Headline photo: Stacy Lee
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