Started in 2005 by bassist Matthias “Matte” Vandeven, guitarist Seppi, drummer Steffen Weigand, and keyboard player 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 truly 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. If you want to read the transcript (for free, without any need to subscribe!) you can read it on our substack. Of course, we’d love it if you subscribe, regardless if it’s for a paid or free subscription! 🙂