"Emotive, tender and nostalgic...an intriguing and evocative release that effortlessly demonstrates Stan Belton's spectacular composing skills" ~ Clash Magazine
"A glorious scuzzy shoegaze blast that fuses a Jesus and Mary Chain insolence with a Velvet Underground drone, all wrapped up in a sixties sparkle. It swaggers, it prowls, it scowls with a black leather-jacketed sneer and yet scales immeasurable pop heights with a fuzzy bravado" ~ Backseat Mafia
"A delight, immediately pleasing the ears with catchy caresses of Belton’s guitar, warmly inviting the listener to soak in a magnetically psychedelic gaze... positively contagious" ~ The Spill Magazine
"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
London psychedelic pop artist Black Market Karma presents 'Wonky' featuring Craig Dyer of iconic psychedelic rock duo The Underground Youth, lifted from the band's eleventh full-length album 'Friends In Noise'. A collaborative album rooted in friendship, this record follows 2022's ‘Aped Flair & Hijacked Ideas' LP. Recorded over nine years, it was released via London boutique label Flower Power Records.
Revolving around songwriter Stanley Belton, Black Market Karma adds some much needed colour to this world with a carousel of jingle jangle and distorted wobble with flavours of psychedelia, fuzzed out tones and thumping grooves.
“Craig and I became pals during the nascent days of our bands. I remember that the kind of music we loved and wanted to make felt somewhat dead at the time, so it was special to come across groups like TUY and connect in that way. He’s a good dude and a wicked lyricist. We’ve both been at it for over a decade since those early beginnings and it’s really nice to have this collaboration out together. It really is a perfect blend of both our groups. I dunno why we didn’t do it sooner,” says Stanley Belton.
With a thick and colourful sound channelled through vintage equipment, Black Market Karma's music is rooted in 60's guitar and pop music, other influences include folk, blues, lo-fi electronica, alt pop and soul.
“In the hazy days during which I started my project, many years ago now, before live shows and a global following, I found like-minded individuals and bands in a small online community. One of those individuals was Stan and his band Black Market Karma," explains Craig Dyer.
"Fast forward to a different time, years have passed and the both of us are still creating music under our long since chosen monikers. In a perfect celebration of that, Stan approaches me with his idea to collaborate on a song. I dig into the vaults of myself to produce something reminiscent of the period in which our bands began and the music that inspired those beginnings. The result was ‘Wonky’, a perfect blend of 50% Black Market Karma and 50% The Underground Youth.”
This follows up the latest audio-visual offering from this album - the 'Heady Ideas'rework by Swedish cosmic mastermind Joakim Åhlund of Les Big Byrd, packed with slamming breakbeats, analogue filters and krauty synths. Earlier singles include 'The Sky Was All Diseased' with iconic vocalist Tess Parks and 'Aping Flair' with Ruari Meehan (Tess Parks & Anton Newcombe and Belakiss). This album also involves fellow Londoners The Confederate Dead.
'Friends In Noise' is out now, available digitally via Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp, and on 180-gram coloured vinyl, along with their latest 'Aped Flair & Hijacked Ideas' LP. In August, Black Market Karma will also release the output from the recent collaboration with Pete Kember (aka Sonic Boom) of Spacemen 3, which is now available for pre-order.
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