Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band.[1] Led by frontman Crispian Mills,[2] the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s.[1] The band enjoyed commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart, including "Tattva", "Hey Dude", "Govinda", "Hush", and "Sound of Drums".[3] The band's debut album, K, reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart.[3] It was voted number 879 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd Edition (2000).[4]
Kula Shaker
London, England
1995–1999, 2004–present
- Columbia
- Sony BMG
- Cooking Vinyl
- Strange F.O.L.K.
Harry Broadbent
The band are known for their interest in traditional Indian music, culture, and mysticism, with a number of their most famous songs, including "Tattva" and "Govinda", featuring lyrics written in Sanskrit.[1][5] The name Kula Shaker was itself inspired by Kulasekhara, an Indian king from the 9th century.[6][7] In addition, many of the band's songs feature traditional Indian instruments, such as the sitar, tamboura, and tabla, juxtaposed with guitar-heavy, Western rock instrumentation.[1][8] Despite achieving commercial success, Kula Shaker were unpopular with many critics, with The Observer's Simon Price describing them in 2014 as a "joke band".[9]
Kula Shaker disbanded in September 1999[10] but reformed in 2004 for sessions for the School of Braja compilation album.[7] This led to plans for a full comeback, although the reformation was not widely publicised until the beginning of 2006.[7][11] The band's third album, Strangefolk, was issued in 2007[12] and their fourth, Pilgrims Progress, was released in 2010. The band returned with a mostly sold out European tour and new album K 2.0 in 2016 which was well-received both by the media and the fans.[13]
After taking an extended hiatus, the band released their sixth album, 1st Congregational Church of Eternal Love and Free Hugs in June 2022[14] and their seventh album, Natural Magick, in 2024.
Band history[edit]
Formation (1988–1995)[edit]
The origin of Kula Shaker can be traced back to 1988 when Crispian Mills (grandson of Sir John Mills[15] and son of actress Hayley Mills and film director Roy Boulting)[1] met Alonza Bevan at Richmond upon Thames College in South-West London.[16] The two went on to play together in a band named Objects of Desire, formed later that year. The band's initial line-up consisted of Mills on lead guitar, Bevan on bass, Richard Cave on drums (until 1990) later Marcus French (aka Frog) on drums, Leigh Morris on rhythm guitar, and Marcus Maclaine (then Hayley Mills' boyfriend) on lead vocals. In 1991, Paul Winterhart joined the band, replacing French on drums. During this period, Crispian and Alonza were also responsible for running the Mantra Shack, a psychedelic nightclub at the back of Richmond ice rink,[1][16] and consequently, the Objects of Desire would often perform at the venue.
The Objects of Desire disbanded acrimoniously in early 1993, after which, Mills went on a spiritual pilgrimage, backpacking around India. The trip had a profound effect on the guitarist, fostering a deep interest in Indian culture and Hinduism. Upon returning to the UK he formed a new band named The Kays, with Bevan, Winterhart, and Mills' cousin Saul Dismont (son of the Bermudian politician Russell Dismont) on vocals. The band's debut live performance was at the 1993 Glastonbury Festival. Within a year, Dismont had left the band, only to be replaced by organist Jay Darlington, who had previously been a member of several mod revival bands. After two years of touring and recording, The Kays elected to change their name and musical direction.
In May 1995, Mills suggested that the band take the name Kula Shaker, in honour of one of the twelve Alvars (saints of south India), the ninth-century Indian emperor and holy man, King Kulashekhara.[7] In Indian culture, the name Kulashekhara is thought to be lucky or auspicious, and this appealed to the struggling band.[7] Mills also posited that Kula Shaker's music should follow a more spiritual and mystical direction in future, in line with his own growing interest in the philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. This new emphasis on Indian mysticism and instrumentation, dovetailed with the Beatlesque, 1960s derived influences already present in the band's music, to create a sound heavily indebted to 1960s psychedelia.[1][5]
Mainstream success (1995–1999)[edit]
In September 1995 Kula Shaker were joint winners of the In The City contest (along with Placebo), which quickly resulted in a record contract with Columbia Records, who were eager to sign another band that had the multi-platinum, crossover appeal of Oasis. A debut single, "Tattva (Lucky 13 Mix)" (later re-recorded for their debut album) was released on CD and limited 7" vinyl in January 1996, but it entered just outside the UK Top 75, at number 86. "Tattva" was followed quickly in April by the band's second single, "Grateful When You're Dead", a slice of Jimi Hendrix-esque rock which was to become their debut UK Top 40 single (entering at No. 35). Music press and public alike finally began to take notice of the band, and this sudden exposure propelled the re-released (and re-recorded) "Tattva" to No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart. The band's upward climb continued with their third single "Hey Dude", a more traditional rock song which was only kept off the top spot by the Spice Girls when it was released in August.
Musical style and media response[edit]
Although Kula Shaker's sound owes a lot to the classic rock bands of 1960s and 1970s, the songs often combine Eastern-influenced sonics ("Govinda") with lyrical themes of a universal spirituality quest, employing ideas of soul and devotion from diverse traditions such as Hinduism ("Tattva"), to Christianity ("Great Hosannah") and even Native American Indian ("Infinite Sun").
Noel Gallagher was an early champion of the band, inviting them to support at Oasis' historic Knebworth concerts, but from the outset of their career, Kula Shaker polarised UK media opinion. This arguably stemmed from age-old British preconceptions about class and race. Not only were they white youngsters singing about Krishna in Sanskrit, they were seen as coming from privileged middle class backgrounds. Speaking in an interview in 2016, Mills says "When I was in private schools, they called me 'common', and when I was in state schools they called me 'posh'. It made me very cynical about all these labels."[22] At the height of Britpop and 'lad culture', music publications like Melody Maker, Select, and NME often focused on the class angle and ridiculed the band's fascination with Indian culture. Mills commented in 2016, "The musical styles on K are mainstream now. [In 1996] people didn't know how to understand it or where to place it, so all that was left to do was deride it."[22]