Sad news today from the camp of mostly-German instrumentalist meditative psych innovators My Sleeping Karma, who have announced the passing of drummer Steffen Weigand. The four-piece, of which Weigand was a founding member, put word out on social media as follows:

Dear MSK Family,

We are devastated to inform you that our brother Steffen has passed away this morning surrounded by his loved ones.

Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with his family.

We are heartbroken and have no more words right now.

Weigand’s death comes after a battle with a rare kind of cancer that consumed the final three-plus years of his life. In Dec. 2022, a GoFundMe was launched that exceeded its 50,000 Euro goal with the aim of supporting Weigand and his family as well as helping to pay for medical and other costs. His passing leaves an uncertain future for My Sleeping Karma, who have limited their live activity in the last year-plus as he struggled against the disease.

As a member of My Sleeping Karma alongside guitarist Seppi, soundboardist Norman Mehren and bassist Matte Vandeven, Weigand was an essential component in one of the last generation of heavy psychedelia’s most crucial and influential progressions. The shape of the genre would not be what it is today without their, and his, contributions to it, and his progressive style of drumming remained part of what allowed the band to remain consistently exploratory the time of their 2006 self-titled debut through their 2022 album, Atma.

Working with Elektrohasch Schallplatten, the Munich-based label run by Colour Haze guitarist/vocalist Stefan Koglek, My Sleeping Karma’s first three albums — the self-titled, 2008’s Satya and 2010’s Tri — found the band discovering the smoothness of sound and the spiritual themes that would guide them thereafter, honing an individualism of style and production that allowed for a heavy impact and a distinct, thoughtful resonance in melody complemented as always by rhythmic flow. As the drummer, Weigand was often the ground over which their guitar and keyboard, even bass, melodies floated, but his creativity in that was more than complement to the music. It was the heart, beating.

In 2012, My Sleeping Karma left Elektrohasch to release their fourth album, Soma, through Napalm Records via an imprint called Spinning Goblin Productions. That album would become a defining effort from the band as they toured and became regulars at festivals like Desertfest and Stoned From the Underground, Freak Valley and so on, and their influence spread accordingly to a new generation beginning to embrace both heavy psych rock and an instrumental approach for which My Sleeping Karma (not alone, but prominently) provided a ready guidepost. By the time Moksha arrived in 2015, My Sleeping Karma was signed to Napalm proper, and considered among Europe’s finest in the style. Their maturity was manifest throughout the album in a serene sound so much like water in its movement, and again, Weigand provided the undercurrent that carried the listener through.

The band’s only live album, Mela Ananda (Live), was issued in 2017, and for those like myself who were never fortunate enough to see My Sleeping Karma play, it reaffirmed just how much we were missing. The dynamic and chemistry between the band — who, remember, were more than a decade removed from their debut at the time — was on ready display, and new and old material was presented with vitality and palpable, infectious joy. The ‘show’ ended and one could only smile. By the time Atma arrived, Weigand’s illness was public, and the spirit of the music had grown melancholy and perhaps challenged by the pandemic, but still they harnessed the special musical conversation that has typified all their work and found a way to see light where many could find none. It was a beautiful album, and as Weigand’s last, it will remain a bittersweet landmark in their catalog.

On behalf of myself and this site, I offer sincere condolences to the remaining members of My Sleeping Karma, as well as Weigand’s family, friends and others who were touched by his work. I count myself in that number, and I am that much sadder for never having watched him play on stage. It is known that My Sleeping Karma began every set with a hug shared at centerstage by all four members of the band. To think of that embrace missing one of the four hurts in a way that tells you the magnitude of the loss. My Sleeping Karma were, are, a family, and they very much presented themselves in that light. That family has lost a loved one.

Rest in peace, Steffen Weigand, and thank you for the work you did. It is a thing to be all the more treasured, and a reminder to share your love with the world around you, as Weigand so clearly did.

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Tags: Aschaffenburg, Germany, My Sleeping Karma, Napalm Records, Sad shit

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 13th, 2023 at 12:37 pm and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.