Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great 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". In addition, the band's debut album, K, reached #1 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming the fastest selling debut album in Britain since Oasis' Definitely Maybe and eventually being certified 2×Platinum by the BPI in January 1997. 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 the Hindu sacred language, Sanskrit. The name Kula Shaker was itself inspired by King Kulasekhara, an Indian emperor from the 8th century. 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. While the band's interest in all things Indian was partly inspired by a pilgrimage to India that Mills undertook in the early 1990s, it was also born out of a love for the Indian influences present in the music of The Beatles and other late 1960s acts.
