Chilling out of Pain

An Interview with My Sleeping Karma

“Dave Wyndorf, singer of Monster Magnet, said that "My Sleeping Karma is art."
…Maybe that’s the point. “

Started in 2005 by bassist Matthias "Matte" Vandeven, guitarist Seppi, drummer Steffen Weigand, and keyboardist Norman Mehren, and with 5 studio albums already under their belt, My Sleeping Karma are a force to be reckoned with in the stoner world.

They are a German band that plays a hypnotic form of stoner rock influenced by the aesthetics sounds of Hindu and Buddhist traditions. It sounds bizarre, I know, but it's pretty damn good. And if their positive reviews and well-attended concerts are anything to go by, I'm clearly not alone in that assessment.

Although they pride themselves in being a rather "positive" band, the last couple of years really put that positivity to the test. Facing COVID restrictions, catastrophic health news for one of the band members, and even personal tragedies, the band nevertheless got together and created a fantastic new album, Atma, to be released next week by Napalm Records.

I met with Matte Vandeven to discuss the process and tragedies that lead to Atma, and to try to understand more about this fascinating band. You can watch our chat below, or read the transcript (edited for clarity) under the video.