From left: Kavoi Mutisya, Brody Gaura, Ramon Yusuf. Courtesy of goodkarma
A few weeks ago, I was doing my usual midnight TikTok doom scrolling when I came across a video of an absolutely beautiful riff session and I was led to the creator's band, goodkarma. I was lucky enough to be able to reach out and ask them some questions about them and their art.
goodkarma is comprised of three members: Ramon Yusuf, drummer; Brody Gaura, bassist; and Kavoi Mutisya, lead singer and guitarist.
Member’s Brody and Kavoi began playing together back in 2022 where they played alongside a different drummer until he left to study abroad. Luckily they were able to connect them to Ramon all before their first show back in January. The band is in its early stages with two released singles in their discography. As they told me, in the infancy stages, it’s all about finding an identity. I reached out and was able to pick their brains.
What art/media outside of music helps influence your sound and/or creative identity?
Kavoi: We are still trying to find our creative identity. I know Brody is big into anything horror-related whether it's horror books, movies, or shows. I'm more into Sci-Fi and fiction. How does this relate to our creative influences? I'm not sure either! However, we are the product of all that we consume so I'm sure the media and art we've consumed influence us as people, and in turn: influence our music.
goodkarma is playing at Massachusetts's own NICE, a fest this weekend. NICE, a fest is a relatively new music festival that started in 2021. Taking place in Somerville, MA, NICE showcases many of Boston’s best local bands. This performance for goodkarma marks one of their biggest acts so far.
How important is playing something, like NICE, a fest, for smaller musicians?
NICE, a fest gives a platform to small, local bands like us that we would not have otherwise so early in our careers. We were honored to receive an invitation to perform especially given our small musical catalog. An entire weekend of 80+ local acts is so important for the Boston band community. Whether you’re in a band or not, it’s for everyone. You’re guaranteed to find a new favorite band by attending.
Do you feel the current age of social media promotion/presence is a burden? Or do you see it as advantageous?
I see the current age of social media as a blessing and a curse. I think something we struggle with is having a consistent social media presence. We are people who enjoy being “unplugged” from daily social media life. We are really fortunate to have a few friends, Emily and Malik, who are social media savvy and help keep us consistent. That being said, social media today gives small bands like ours a unique opportunity that didn’t exist 10-15 years ago. We can upload a video to TikTok or Instagram and get an absurd amount of engagement. It’s really difficult to gain and maintain followers of your music, so being able to access the amount of people social media allows, has been a really big advantage. That being said, It'd be nice if the algorithm could bless us even though we post once every week...
When can we expect more music?
We have a new song, TV, that came out July 16th, and hope to have a music video to drop for it very soon. We have been consistently releasing a new single every 3 months and hope to figure out how to properly promote our releases sooner rather than later. Once we have a consistent promotion schedule, we hope to start writing an EP.
goodkarma looks to follow a long lineage of Boston bands (the likes of Aerosmith and the Pixies) and continue to build their following/establish their identity. Check them out on Instagram @goodkarma.wav for updates. And look out on Spotify or Apple Music to stream their three current singles "Your Name", “Easy” and now “TV”. Thank you again to the members of goodkarma, much love. Stay safe, and live VASH.
To stay in touch with goodkarma, stream their music, or buy tickets to the fest, click here.
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