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]

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 king 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 of 2022, which preceded a UK tour.[14]