Karma began exploring Jazz aesthetics with club music on their 1993 track High Priestess (written by Robert Nacken), which quickly gained cult status amongst the more discerning DJs and was played and charted by Francois K, Dimitri from Paris and David Mancuso. They were bootlegged on the Loft Classics series, sampled by acts like Detroits Three Chairs (Moodyman and Theo Parrish), toured Japan and, after three longplayers, kept themselves busy in the last few years with various movie soundtrack works and providing the theme music for acclaimed German ZDF TV show '37°'.
The last five years have been a journey into sound and personal changes for Karma, a.k.a head nodding audiophiles Lars Dorsch and Tom Dams. New recording techniques, new family members and the odd ear problems of DJs more than fifteen years behind the decks created new demands and outlooks on the production side for the German dynamic duo, that people like Jazzanova and Rainer Trüby quote as one of their main influences for picking up production. The ongoing quest to explore the X-factor in a perfect recording: its what drives musicians, cratediggers and producers alike. Karma have gone deeper than most, whether digging for vinyl in the gallerias of Sao Paulo, running one of Europes premier wax dealers (Groove Attack), or being the producer of choice ('Moonlake' album a.o.) for German electronic music legend Klaus Schulze. In the last twelve years they've amassed thousands of records and tried various approaches, having gone from a purely sample-based approach to a more organic, classic studio sound.
After careful assembly in a studio somewhere in the enchanting German Westerwald, their new album, Latenight Daydreaming, is to be released end of October 2006. It has been crafted with a little help from fine vocalists Michelle Amador, Oezlem Çetin and Jerome Stokes (based in San Francisco, Hamburg and Manchester respectively) and displays a new facet to their sonic explorations: Pop music with a certain deepness. After challenging the club music of the early to mid 90s combining club music with Jazz influences, making the transition via Drumn Bass and downtempo soundscapes, you hold a perfect Pop record in your hands that you can listen to with your mom under the Christmas tree. Taking the cue from cuts by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Carole King, Hall & Oates, Brian Wilson, Lovin Spoonful, Creed Taylor, Marcos Valle, the Zombies, Jay Dilla, Terry Callier, Linda Lewis and Soundtrack/Library music, amongst a host of others. Smooth orchestral elements, a nod to Neo Soul and Jazz instrumentation, earthy Folk elements and a curtsy to the waltz, recalling the virtuosity of classic Pop albums of the late 60s and early70s. These soaring tones will smooth out the edges of a rough day and add an extra crescendo to a sweet one.
Karma 'Latenight Daydreaming' CPT 228-1 / -2 - http://www.compost-rec.com
