Kula Shaker
The stars of post-britpop, between neo-psychedelia and Raga-Rock
Crispian Mills was born a quarter of a century too late, but that has never been a problem for him. He has had two muses in his life: psychedelic rock and India, the destination of a pilgrimage that left a deep impression on him at the age of 20 in 1993 and led him to name his band Kula Shaker after an Indian holy man. Their blend of Beatles, Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix entered the commercial explosion of Brit-pop in the mid-1990s with little effort or philology. Kula Shaker made a name for themselves with such enthralling raga-rock numbers as Govinda and Tattva, preludes to the consecration of Hush, a cover that came thirty years after the Deep Purple hit. And while critics have never forgiven them for their success, the band has moved on, regardless of the charts, with admirable consistency and enviable live showmanship. Which are really the only things that matter.
