Joseph Lichy catches up with the Reading band’s lead singer Oscar Lulu in between festivals, gigs and a crotch obsessed fan

JL: What’s been your best festival to date?

O.L.Reading without a doubt. It was more terrifying than Glastonbury, more scary than walking down the street naked. It felt like we were watching ourselves on stage from above, it was bonkers. We came down from Glasgow and it felt like we were driving to war. An unspoken excitement and fear, all eye contact and smiles.

J.L.It was better than playing Glastonbury?

O.L.We’d never been there before, it was our first time and we were there playing. Just being there itself was an experience, we saw Beck which was great. [The band] Eagles of death metal were good to us, showed us around the site, but we really only saw the 1% tip of the festival.

J.L.You must have some interesting stories of fans by now… O.L.I saw someone had opened up an Instagram account called Oscar Lulu’s crotch, there were close up pictures of my crotch, it’s a bit strange. If I was a female singer, it might be considered be considered dodgy. We’re really close to our fans, try to get out after shows, meet people. J.L. So do you get recognized on the street?

O.L.That’s quite a weird thing – walking through Oracle [shopping centre] in Reading it happened once and another time on the underground in London, you don’t expect that stuff to happen.

J.L.Girls throwing themselves at you at gigs?

O.L.It isn’t the 70s dude.

J.L.How do you feel about being likened to Bruce Springsteen and U2 in the Guardian article?

O.L.It’s human nature to want to put people in categories, those musicians aren’t musical gods for us however maybe [U2’s] Joshua Tree.

J.L.Sundara is Sanskrit for ‘beautiful’, is the name of the band a nod towards Kurt Cobain and Nirvana?

O.L.No it has nothing to with Nirvana, we just seriously because belief in what it means, we’ve always been influenced by late 60s and 70s music, Hendrix and Joplin, that was a catalyst for the name. We also play a lot of Joy Division and Stone Roses.

J.L.What’s the best time of day to write songs – morning or evening? Do you write from dreams like Paul McCartney?

O.L.I used to come alive at night time when it was quieter, I felt like I had the world to myself. Recently I’ve been getting up earlier and I’ve been more productive. It’s best not to get stuck in a habit otherwise things can get stagnant. Drawing and painting opens you up.

J.L.Do you go to many art shows?

O.L.Yes, really I enjoyed Ai Weiwei, he’s one of my favourite artists. I also went to a recital of Oscar Wilde’s Ballad of Reading Gaol that meant a lot to me, I’m also named after Oscar Wilde.

J.L.Final question, what’s your advice for young bands who haven’t made it yet, and also for older bands who still haven’t made it?

O.L. For the younger band, get a clear idea of direction. Take time to think about that special spark of magic lurking in your guts. Don’t let it go or let anyone take it from you. For the older band there’s more at stake for sure, whether you should stick at it or not, listen to yourself. The more quiet time for introspection the better.

Sundara Karma are playing Oxford’s O2 Academy on Sunday. Youth is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect is their forthcoming album, due out in January 2017 on RCA Records.