Kula Shaker

Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker (original lineup) live at Glasgow in 2024
Kula Shaker's founding members in 2024
Left to Right: Jay Darlington, Paul Winterhart, Crispian Mills, Alonza Bevan
Background information
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Years active1995–1999, 2004–present
Labels
Members
Past membersHarry Broadbent
Websitekulashaker.co.uk

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]

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 some 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.

  1. ^ a b c d "Kula Shaker Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  2. ^ "Crispian Mills: Big Mouth Strikes Again". The Independent. London. 24 September 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  3. ^ a b Brown, Tony. (2000). The Complete Book of the British Charts. Omnibus Press. p. 484. ISBN 0-7119-7670-8.
  4. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 270. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  5. ^ Hyder, Rehan. (2004). Brimful of Asia: Negotiating Ethnicity on the UK Music Scene. Ashgate Publishing Limited. p. 62. ISBN 0-7546-4064-7.
  6. ^ Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 143.
  7. ^ a b c "The Legend of the King". Kulashaker.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  8. ^ Gardner, Elysa (18 November 1996). "Play That Funky Sanskrit Music, Brit Boys". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  9. ^ Price, Simon (9 March 2014). "Temples review – cosmic rock straight from the 60s". The Observer. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  10. ^ "Last Shake". NME. 30 September 1999. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  11. ^ "Kula Shaker Reform". NME. 9 January 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  12. ^ "Strangefolk review". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  13. ^ "Last Shake". NME. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  14. ^ "Kula Shaker announce new album and first UK tour in six years". NME. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.