"Emotive, tender and nostalgic...It's an intriguing and evocative release that effortlessly demonstrates Stan Belton's spectacular composing skills" ~ Clash Magazine
"A trip you don't want to miss out on... there is nothing ‘extra’ here that is not needed, that doesn’t serve to create a better, more addictive song. This album is bravely and perfectly executed" ~ The Spill Magazine
"Impressive and singular, yet filled with easy and accessible appeal... making music without following fad or fashion or the need to satisfy public expectation" ~ The Record Stache
"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" ~ Amplify Music Magazine
UK-based artist Black Market Karma presents their tenth full-length album ‘Aped Flair & Hijacked Ideas', released via London boutique label Flower Power Records.
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.
Beautifully foreshadowed by the singles 'Dead Trajectory' and 'In My Child Mind (E to A)', a groovy laid-back single with accompanying created by film director Louisa Pili and edited by BMK mastermind Stanley Belton, following him through a blissful trip around the magical realm of Tokyo.
'Aped Flair & Hijacked Ideas' is a loaded 11-track offering with a fluid texture of beach-soaked instrumentation. Themes 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.”
With broader flavours of psychedelia, fuzzed out tones and thumping grooves, Black Market Karma's thick and colourful sound is shaped by the use of a lot of vintage equipment. Rooted in 60's guitar and pop music, other influences range from folk and blues through to lo-fi electronica, traditional Indian music, shoegaze, hip hop, soul and Motown.
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 broke his tendency to do 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.
As of September 29, 'Aped Flair & Hijacked Ideas' will be available everywhere digitally, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. The The double album, pressed on 180-gram coloured vinyl with a gatefold sleeve, can also be ordered athttps://bit.ly/3QNCBjE. For additional feel-good factor, Act Cool Records also released a live session with Stanley Belton.
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)
Live footage for 'Dead Trajectory' video filmed by Jenn Cliff-Wilcock
'In My Child Mind' video filmed by Louisa Pili & edited by Stanley Belton
Publicity by Shauna McLarnon at Shameless Promotion PR
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