We’ve presented a lot of psychedelic offerings since launching this magazine and we’re not about to stop doing so anytime soon. So let’s get on with a solid offering for today, shall we? Our sights and radars turn towards Britain, the homebase of Black Market Karma whenever they are not touring (we assume that would be since just before the Covid pandemic began).
We have the pleasure of previewing the first taste of their upcoming long-awaited album – ‘Dead Trajectory’ is a fabulous single that is not only engaging but fun! This music is akin to a journey that chooses its destination and the route it’s taking without overloading on the psychedelic factor. With musical influences including numerous genres, their psychedelic vision goes well beyond the influential underpinnings of 60s rock, presenting a kaleidoscopic array of sonic threads woven together into the fabulous tapestry we hear on ‘Dead Trajectory’.
Live footage in the accompanying video was filmed by Jenn Cliff-Wilcock in October 2021 during Black Market Karma’s UK tour. It also recalls the very cool sound and relaxed vibe of some of their familiar peers – Spacemen 3, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Asteroid No.4.
Hailing from London and now residing on the South coast of England, the band are back with a colourful carousel of jingle jangle and distorted wobble, following up the 2021 long-player ‘The Technicolour Liquid Audio Machine’, a lo-fi instrumental, nostalgic, beat driven opus concocted during the 2020 lockdown.
Their tenth album ‘Aped Flair & Hijacked Ideas’, a loaded 11-track offering with a fluid texture of beach-soaked instrumentation., will be released in late September via UK boutique label Flower Power Records. The themes explored in these songs range from observations of the sycophantic circles that leach from the arts, desperately trying to stay spiritually close to a geographically distant love, Japanese folklore and the deep connection between man and beast.
“I like to think of the sound of this record as Aquatica. It’s like a psychedelic carousel of syrupy melody and liquid audio. Fat, baggy, saturated bass and drums, shimmering jangly guitars, wobbling fuzz, drunken keyboards and telephonic vocals. Imagine something along the lines of The Velvet Underground and The Troggs making tunes together but underwater, performing on marine life instead of instruments and routing the whole thing through a UFO,” says Stanley Belton.
“The album’s title is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the idea that nothing is truly original. Influence is an infinite web connecting all art and I think that’s a beautiful thing that should be embraced. I often see people getting too hung up on the pursuit of some kind of idea of total originality that doesn’t exist. It’s all in the blend.”
To date, the band has released nine albums, eight of which were released between 2012 and 2016 and entirely written, performed, recorded and produced by multi-instrumentalist Stanley Belton while living in London at the band’s own ‘Cocoon’ studio. On the new album, Stan has broken the trend of doing everything himself by co-writing and performing two tracks on the album (‘Kong’ and ‘A Crying Shame’) together with his brother Finley Belton.
More recently, Stan has been working on collaborations with Pete Kember (a.k.a. Sonic Boom) of Spacemen 3, Joakim Ahlund of Cesars & Les Big Byrd, Tess Parks and The Underground Youth.
‘Dead Trajectory’ is out now digitally, including Apple Music and Spotify. The ‘Aped Flair & Hijacked Ideas’ LP – a double album – will be released on September 29 and features 180-gram coloured vinyl with a gatefold sleeve. It can be pre-ordered on vinyl at https://bit.ly/3QNCBjE. It will also be available for digital download via Bandcamp at https://flowerpowerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/black-market-karma-aped-flair-and-hijacked-ideas
CREDITS
All songs written by Stanley Belton except for ‘Kong’ & ‘A Crying Shame’ co-written with Finley Belton
Stanley Belton – all instruments
Finley Belton – additional guitar.
Recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Stanley Belton at the Cocoon Studio (London)
Video filmed in October 2021 during the band’s UK tour
Live footage captured by Jenn Cliff-Wilcock
Artist photo by Astroboy Photo
TRACK LIST
1 Dead Trajectory
2 In My Child Mind (E To A)
3 Foresight For Hindsight
4 Kodama
5 Jumble Jumble
6 Cadet #2187
7 The Sunshine Maker
8 Urchin
9 Kong
10 A Crying Shame
11 Ace’s Trip Through The Cosmic Ether
Tune in, kick up and drop out with Black Market Karma
Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter | Instagram | Apple Music | Spotify
