Ahead of the release of the new album ‘Cruel Intentions’ we got the chance to sit down with Henry Gottelier from The Karma Effect
Hi Henry. How did the band come about and how did the writing process go?
Some songs, which were originally going to be from just myself, they just ended up lending themselves to the sound and we got some guys together and we created three singles and we put them out and we just tapped into something early on and people post-Covid wanted something new, which was really cool. And then since then we’ve kind of grown and been on this big sort of journey. We’ve had some lineup changes and things like that. But now we’re three albums in. We’re definitely at the place that we’ve always wanted to kind of get to. We’ve got there with this third album and yeah, we’re just incredibly proud of it.
Yeah, you should be, it’s a very good album. The sound is incredible. I’ve loved everything about it. Not every track is the same, but it’s the same vibe. And it is a it’s definitely a bit of me from when I was a teenager, sneaking into clubs to watch bands that I was too young to go and see.
I totally understand that. I think for us we definitely try to write songs that connect with people and give them a little bit of a kind of escape. I would say it’s fun, it’s uplifting, groovy rock and roll. We’re very much inspired by the 70s.
You can definitely feel that and the retro aspect of it.
We also think that there’s a lot of bands that want to be this kind of super retro thing, and everything has to be recorded on something that is from that period of time and decided that we didn’t want to do that and it to sound too on the nose. We wanted to make it a little bit more modern. And so we kind of coined this term, kind of like modern retro, which is essentially what the sound of the record is. It’s like transporting an old record and rerecording it in today’s studios and equipment. So the songs are very of that time, but the sound of it is a bit more what you would expect it to sound like today.
It’s nice because there’s not a lot of people doing what you’re doing. We’re not flooded by it. It’s not just like another thing that’s the same sound and I think that’s really nice to hear something different.
Absolutely. I think one of the things that I think I really pride myself on with The Karma Effect is the songs. There are some incredible classic rock sounding bands out there, many of which are our friends, and a lot of the bands that we love, there’s not a lot of funk element to the music. We really pride ourselves on the fact that we have a real funk, funk and soul vibe to this band. If it comes from the groove or the keys or the chord, whatever riff we’re playing on the guitar. A big thing for us is that kind of Aerosmith funk that we absolutely adore in our songs and I think that that gives us a little bit of a USP over some people as well.
Definitely. I think the sound is really good. So have you been in other bands as well and like doing different stuff, or has this been the thing you wanted?
I’ve done other things in the past, before The Karma Effect, I was in a band for a long time and it was very different. It was very alternative rock and it was a bit electronic and we got really into that and it just got more and more not who I was. I’ve been the session guy. I’ve done a lot of session work. I’ve done a lot of function work. I’ve done a lot of music. It’s what I do full time. But The Karma Effect has been my most important thing. It is the most important thing I do and it is the thing that is my main focus. If we’re off doing something else, it’s still the mothership.
Yeah, you can definitely hear the passion there. It’s not like, oh, I’m just doing this because it’s a job. You can definitely hear it. And when you are singing the lyrics, it feels like it’s from the heart. It feels like this is something you were feeling and you wanted to write about it and wanted to share it. I really felt that when I was listening to it.
Oh, well, that’s really kind. Thank you. I mean, as a writer, you know, I’m the primary writer in the band. I definitely feel like I wear my heart on my sleeve. A lot of my emotions go into the songs. I’m happy and I’m sad. And I guess that what you hear on the record is probably a bit of a time stamp of how I was feeling at whatever time. The uplifting songs are probably where I was feeling pretty good and really up and writing a killer of a rock tune. And then, the softer stuff is probably tapping into something that is maybe a little bit more personal or something along those lines, but I’ve always just tried to think about where I’m at at that time and also maybe where I’m at or maybe where the world is at. Not that we are a political band in any way, but you know, this all feeds into your life and then that feeds into your music.
Exactly. When I was listening, you can tell that this is how someone is feeling and as you sing, you can hear that you’re feeling it. It didn’t feel like just this is manufactured or for the sake of it, it really felt like it was important.
I think you’re right. But when it comes to performance, especially in the studio, it’s very hard to reconfigure. We can play those emotions and you have to try and really tap into something with your performance in order to make it seem to the listener like you are pouring your heart and soul out. You know, you take a song like Cryin by Aerosmith, and that song has these epic vocals by Steven Tyler and by the end of it, he’s just screaming bloody murder and you feel the passion and that’s what you have to try and do with everything. If it’s happy or sad, you’ve got to really try and make it feel like they know that you’re passionate about.
Is there a particular standout or favorite for yourself there?
I love, I mean, I love all the singles. The first single we would put out was ‘Waiting on a Miracle’ and for me, I feel like that really encapsulates the sound of this band. It’s ‘Exile on Main Street’ by The Rolling Stones with the horns. It’s got all of the elements of rock and roll that I love with big hooks and melodies and, and so I love that song, but I love the kind of country rock ballad ‘Closest Thing to Crazy’. I think that is a real standout on this record and I also love the dynamic shift and slightly different tact that we took with the title track, which is probably ‘Cruel Intentions’. I think that that song for us is stylistically a little bit outside of where we’ve been before. A lot more of an 80s flavour rather than the 70s flavour to it. At first I was a bit concerned about how that was going to sound. But then you record it and you realize it just sounds like your band, but it’s, I think that song is quite a dark, mysterious song, and I think that that’s a real standout track on this album as well.
How was the process for writing? Did you write them and then go straight into the studio or did you play them live first?
We didn’t play a single one live until it was all recorded. And then we started toying with what we were going to play. Then as we started putting songs out, we started playing them. So in the set at the moment, we’ve got the three singles that we’ve had, which was ‘Waiting on a Miracle’, ‘Dangerous Love’ and ‘Ride or Die’. So they’re all in the set and then we started. We started sneaking in little songs here and there as well. So yeah, it’s been fun to try and see which ones work really well, which ones are harder. We’re very much a band that sets out to play songs live. So we don’t want to be a band that feels like we can’t convey that song in a live setting.
So are there songs still on there now that haven’t been heard yet that you’ve not played live?
Yeah, we haven’t played a good half of them. We start pre-production in the next week or so for our upcoming shows and tours and then we get to kind of dig in and see which ones we want to do. So I’m really looking forward to that.
I was looking at the tour dates, it starts in October doesn’t it? There’s some really iconic venues on there, which will be fun to get to play them.
It starts in Hastings and goes all the way up to Edinburgh and all the way down again, we’re all over the place, which is fun because we love being on the road. We love touring. So being able to get out and hit the road and go to all of these fantastic cities and towns is a real breath of fresh air for us. We love playing at KK’s Steel mill. We’ve always had a fantastic reception at Leo’s Red Lion. Obviously The Corporation in Sheffield is one of our favorites as well. We love getting out and seeing different people and seeing their reaction to things. We love the process of touring and just being out on the road and traveling. I love traveling and I can’t wait to get out and do more of that.
Any festivals in the summer or are you just focussing on the album release?
We are doing a smattering of smaller ones this time and then we’re doing some in Europe as well. We’re going to France. We’re in the album cycle, so we will hopefully have some announced and hopefully be on some great billings next summer. But you know, we’re so excited with the ones we have got. They may be a bit smaller and a bit more intimate. But getting out there and still pushing the record and then also the European market. Late last year we started touring out there, and now we want to be able to go back and play over there again, because we’ve got a lot of fans over in Europe. So to be able to go and play for them finally is something that we’re really proud of. To be able to get over there and we are really looking forward to that one.
Yeah because now when you can look on say Spotify and see where people are listening to you, Whereas if you were there in the 80s, you’d just be taking a massive gamble. Whereas now you can say, Crikey, we’re big in Peru or something.
Yeah, you’re not wrong. It is really and we do like it and we do use it to our advantage because it does help you figure out where you’re going to be. We have to stop ourselves getting too bogged down in data and start remembering why we do what we do. We’re not a numbers band, we’re a people’s band and we want to focus on the people and not the numbers. The numbers and the sales and all of that stuff is very important, and it allows us to do what we’re doing, which is why we do all the press and all the promo and which is why we sell and make records. But, you know, it comes down to just being out in front of an audience and doing that.
There’s nothing quite like connecting with a band. When I’m stood there as a fan listening to and seeing the band and then the opportunity to have a chat to them, to me is quite magical because as someone that went to gigs in the 80s and the 90s. It was almost like the band were some sort of magical presence that you could never speak to. They were just away. They were in Kerrang! They were somewhere else.
We are definitely a lot more accessible to fans and I think that’s really humbling. I say this as a fan as well, I can now send a message to, I don’t know, Glenn Hughes on his Instagram, and there’s a chance that he’s going to read that and reply. Once upon a time, that would have been impossible. I think that we are accessible and we are a people’s band. I want to be able to be that character for our fans and our friends that they know that they get a piece of me which is a little bit deeper and a little bit more human than just being a figure on stage, because I give it, you know, the Full Beans frontman, when I’m playing on stage. But, I’m just another human being, you know, put my socks on one at a time like everybody else. What I’m saying is, I guess I feel like it’s nice to be a bit more humble and down to earth for people in 2026.
Oh, definitely. I think that when you’re spending your money to go to see a band and you want to support them. To get that back is always such an absolute treat. So it’s always nice to speak to bands that do think that way. Sometimes you go to some festivals and you’ll be just walking around and you’ll see members of bands that have played or are about to play just milling around the crowd because they also want to go and see the bands.
It’s always lovely and I think that happens even at the highest level, there was a video that went round. There was that festival in the desert in America called Power Trip Festival, where they had like Guns N Roses and Metallica and Judas Priest and AC, DC play and there’s a video of James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett from Metallica standing in the crowd, like probably in the photography pit or whatever, but they’re just there and they’re just air guitaring to Judas Priest and they’re just fans. Yeah, just music, you know? And it’s like I said, we’re all human beings. If you love music, it doesn’t matter how cool you are, if you’re in Metallica or you’re in The Karma Effect or whatever, like we’re all still just rock fans, you know?
I’m really looking forward to seeing you live. When I listen to the album, the passion comes through and having spoken to you for a little while, I can’t imagine that you’re just going to just stand there and just sing and play. You’re going to feel every word and every note, and I’m really, really looking forward to that.
We promise not to disappoint because I assure you our live show is so important to us. It’s the most important part of it. It’s why we make these records is to go out and do those gigs. So we make sure that when you come and see it, it will be on the money. That its always good.
It’s great when you can do these things as a job where it’s not like just a hobby because that’s how finances work these days. So it’s always good when it can become your job. And it must be so satisfying to be able to actually do that.
Yeah, absolutely. I’m fortunate enough that I work full time in music and The Karma Effect is pretty much nearly my full time job. We just work as incredibly hard as we can. We don’t take any money from this band. It all gets pumped back in so that we can do what we’re doing and one day, hopefully, it’ll be that we can all take something from it. But until then, it’s all about making sure that we get out there in front of people, have enough money for the fuel in the van and everything like that.
It’s been so lovely to speak to you. So thank you so much. Good luck with everything this summer because I’m sure it’s going to be very, very busy for you.
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