Dear friends,

In what has turned out to be an interesting year, ie. 2009 was supposed to be the year that Karmakult was making it's long awaited comeback to the stage, it is not to occur... yet. What's left of Karmakult has made some decisions on the future of Karmakult. We have agreed that our main aim is to record a new album and play festivals and with this in mind we have made the decision to become an acoustic "live" show. Don't worry - we won't hold back on the recordings! We also find our fans really relish our acoustic performances.  The acoustic feel will also appeal to more cultural events - which means more performances for us - eventually. We have had two more members move on recently and now will be recruiting a second percussionist, female vocalist and harmonium player to complete the line-up. I am confident it will sound amazing once we have our act together.

On another note, I have been "off the road" for far too long and have recently decided to perform solo again, paying tribute to many wonderful artists that have inspired me and singing some of my favourite songs, just me and a guitar or two.

See you on the road.

Namaste
RW

This is a copy of the blog on the Karmakult myspace.

Dear friends

It has taken some time, but I am very excited to announce our new 2009 line-up of Karmakult:

Rendall Wagner: Vox, flute, 12-string guitar, & baglama.
Paul Carruthers: A thousand drums & percussion, vox.
Tim Parsons: Bass, harmonium, tanpura, vox.
Damon Gardener: Percussion & sundry devices
Diego Ramirez: Blistering guitar

The band is sounding totally hot!

We are now in rehearsals for live gigs in August and continuing to record the new CD for release later this year.  Though a date has not yet been set, I'm sure that our premiere performance will be well received.  Damon joined us in February this year and you will have seen Damon at the previous 2009 gigs already, however we can't wait to initiate our newest members, Diego and Tim, into the group at our next live gig.

Those who saw our last few acoustic gigs this year think we were sounding better than ever - now we have Tim and Diego on board - prepare to be totally blown away!

If you have been following our line-up news you will have seen that there have been some tough shoes to fill.  I personally think the band is stronger than ever and I'm very humbled and excited about what we are doing in the studio and the new live show.

I think there will be a few surprises when we get back on the stage!

Namaste
RW

Dear friends

In November 2008 a young girl of 13 was stoned to death in Somalia, according to their distorted Islamic beliefs, for the crime of being raped - by three men. Her name was Asha. The gravity of this human rights abuse and the irony that Asha was the name of the first wife of Islam..s prophet, struck something within me. I felt a strong injustice and an immense saddness and it brought tears to my eyes. I wrote the song God Bless Somalia that afternoon, the twist in the name, referencing the US..s God Bless America - I wish that God would bless everyone with the same freedoms.

We have been working on this very moving song and I hope we can get it out on myspace soon.

Namaste
RW

Dear friends

At the end of 2008, our long time friend and guitarist of Karmakult, James Overend Jr left Karmakult to persue music in his other Newcastle-based bands and our tabla player, Pratham Ravi left due to study commitments.  Not long after this, our bassist, Garon Staines, who was with us throughout 2008, gave notice that he would be leaving after our Brackets & Jam gig in Feb 2009 to persue his solo recording projects.  Since then, we have auditioned several amazing guitarists, with an announcement due soon.  We have also been auditioning bassists, but have needed to start advertising for a new bassist.

Recording is still going ahead and James Beech (our original bassist) may join us for recordings if needed.  James is still part of Karmakult production, however his permanent job as a sound engineer, prevents him from touring with the group.

A new member joined Karmakult at the end of 2008, on percussion, Damon Gardener, who has performed with many acts in the past, including Matt Finish.  A Latin percussionist, Damon has filled the place of Pratham and is doing a fantastic job.  Also we have had several guest performances from world musician, Mike Burns.  I am sure we will perform and most likely record again with Mike in the future.

The bottom line is this: we have the ability to record a new album at this point in time, however not the ability to perform live right now until our bassist position is filled. This will change in the very near future and we are sure you will see us out there again soon - as well as launching the new album.  Clear as mud.

Namaste
RW

What is a rock star?
What does it mean to be one?
What do they stand for?

I think that rock stars are a media/commercial marketing construction. They are simply successful entertainers. They are not world leaders, or political figures (unless they desire to be). They are sometimes artists, whose art usually reflect their society.

To be an artist though, is in itself satisfying. Artists perform their art because that..s who they are. It is part of their MO, their soul, their being. An artist that does not explore their art are not fulfilled, whole human beings. There will always be something missing. You cannot put a price tag on someones soul. You cannot put a value on creativity. Rock stars are not necessarily artists. Art by definition has never been produced for commercial purposes, but for the aesthetic beauty of the art itself. I think, therefore I am - or in an artists case; I create, therefore I am.

RW

Dear friends,

In spite of my utmost desire to have the stable group (like Queen, U2 or Midnight Oil), whose members met when they were still at school and stay together for what seems to be life, it hasn..t happened for me. There are various reasons for this, however it..s probably suffice to say that musicians are very talented people with a plethora of human frailties that sometimes prevent them from making that sort of long-term commitment.

Committing to a group can be seen as a threat to their great dream of stardom. It..s true. You can easily lose sight of the goals of the group, have little empathy for what other..s in the group may be going through at a particular point in time or can..t be bothered to do the work that needs to be done to keep the group going as they don..t see the point. Young people, myself included, sometimes think that others should know what they are doing and how this impacts on themselves. However, I haven..t met a convincing mind-reader yet and I am not qualified for the job either.

If you are in a group, with talented people that you have recognised early on in the piece - you really need to commit for the long term. Actually forming a group is hard - getting through each milestone like rehearsing, playing live and recording are HUGE achievements in themselves. Do not undervalue those things. The music business is arguably the hardest, so with this in mind, resolve to get through the tough times together. Build friendships with your group, so that you can rely on each other through the good AND bad times the group will inevitably have. Everyone in Karmakult, past and present is not simply a musician to me, but are personal and close friends. They have been part of a very intimate process with me, my songwriting, and therefore have shared a very special place in my head.

Karmakult is not immune to people coming and going. I tend to view this now as a blessing rather than a curse. With each new member, comes new talent, vision and ideas that bear amazing new fruit. Of course our previous material is so good and the standard so high, each new musician that joins must meet these standards and then raise the bar some. Consequently our live performance is constantly evolving.

Karmakult now has reached a plateau of stability in the group. Our catalogue of songs are there. Gigs are easily available. Recordings are happening. Public interest is there. Networks have been established. Videos are in the pipeline. A new album is coming and so is our live shows.

Although I and others in the group are personally sad that some previous members cannot be with us any longer (and we really do miss them), I think that they will wish us well and be glad they have set us free to reach new heights.

RW

The chorus to the catchy new Karmakult song "Beneath the Veil"

"Let me - beneath the veil, I want to know you....
Take me - to your promised land of riches in your arms..."

Instrumentation: Electric guitar, flute, harmonium, Indian tabla, electric bass, tabla, vocals.

Dear friends
We..ve been extremely busy with other stuff, so have been away for a while. I am about to begin recording some new material to demo for the band. It..s just been so hectic with some other jobs taking a bit of priority, but they are now coming to an end and I am finding the time to write and record. Dust off the old Fostex and away we go!

Stay tuned for some new demos being posted exclusively on myspace.

Namaste
Ren

Dear friends

After a wonderful send-off for us last night at The Cambo, we will begin the recording of our new CD in July.  Why July and not immediately I hear you ask?  Well, we sort of need to plan this stuff out around eking out a living...  As far as finances go, we ain't full-time musicians yet!  But it doesn't matter - 2 years ago I said we would produce an amazing CD called THE ART OF ILLUSION and WE DID. It is something we are all incredibly proud of and we love performing the songs live - and the fans keep coming! We are about to embark on another adventure even greater than that, and you can rest assured IT WILL HAPPEN.

So my official announcement is this to those people in the MUSIC INDUSTRY WHO STILL CHOOSE TO IGNORE US and/or deny us opportunities:
OUR NEW CD:
This will be our 3rd CD - how many groups stay around long enough for that?
We will keep developing our unique brand of prog rock meets Indian/Turkish world music.
The cerebral and heartfelt LYRICS are BETTER THAN EVER!
The initial musical ideas that have come out for this CD are INCREDIBLE and BETTER THAN EVER.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT - There is a lot more where this came from!
So if you liked Aum and THE ART OF ILLUSION - prepare to have your MIND BLOWN with our new CD.

YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPOINTED.