Kula Shaker’s evolution has changed the band for the better

The majority of the public is in agreement: Kula Shaker’s best material was written and released in the 90s. And there is no question about it: Kula Shaker’s past three albums are vastly different than the band we were introduced to in the 90s. With this major contrast, you would think frontman Crispian Mills should have changed the name when they got back together in 2005. But despite the drastic change from K to Strangefolk and beyond, Kula Shaker has evolved into a band of musicians that are more true to themselves than ever. Due to their falling out of the mainstream, Kula Shaker has come to a point in their career where they are experiencing less pressure, an increase in creative freedom, and the ability to take their time and not rush out new material.

K is seen by many fans and critics as the best album from the group, both now and when it was first released. Considering the likes of Oasis, Blur, and other bands around that time trying to be the new Beatles with their four-piece, young, adult male energy, it is no wonder Kula Shaker hit it off. As Mills put it, “We’re all feeding off the scraps from the table of the Sixties” (Cooper). Just as how every band in the 60s was feeding off the trends set by The Beatles, so were the Britpop staples of the 90s. Tracks from K were full of youth and energy, including the mass hit, “Hey Dude,” with lyrics about “money, gold, jewels…women,” and “Grateful When You’re Dead” with raw guitars and vocals paying tribute to the late Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. “And it’s an innocent album,” Mills described 20 years later. “It’s an album that’s asking questions, struggling with identity,” (Takru).

K certainly “achieved the impossible” with the band’s use of the ancient language of Sanskrit (Two Tube RTÉ), becoming the fastest selling debut album since Oasis’ Definitely Maybe (Scott). Naturally, the psychedelic, raga rock style of K was recognized to be the “definitive sound” of Kula Shaker (“No fakers”). After all, why would a mega-successful band choose to drop what made them popular in the first place? But what most people don’t know is that the band was tentative about the final product.

“We weren’t crazy about how the album was sounding, originally. We originally recorded it with John Leckie. We were huge fans of his work, but we weren’t huge fans of the outcome when we first heard K; we were disappointed. Our manager told us to stop being such perfectionists.” (Takru)

So when the band came out with Peasants, Pigs, and Astronauts, the public was not as excited as they were for K. Where K was “innocent and positive,” Peasants, Pigs, and Astronauts was “cynical” and “dystopian” (Takru). The Indian influence multiplied on this sophomore record, becoming more overwhelming than the psychedelic aspect. Examples of this are tracks such as “Sound of Drums,” “Shower Your Love,” “I’m Still Here,” and “Radhe Radhe.” This album was also different because the band wasn’t under the same restrictions that they were when recording K. As Mills put it, “It was completely unrestrained creative indulgence. … What we lacked was somebody who could be really disciplined with us. … It’s got a lot of great ideas, but no one to say, ‘Too many — can’t put another Mongolian nose flute on that track,’” (Faith & Music).

In 2016, Mills would look back on that record and say that it “solidified the fanbase. … Lots of people got into the first record…it’s just the general public [who] weren’t that fussed,” (Scott). And with only one single making it to the top 10 on the UK charts (“Sound of Drums” at number 3) (Official Charts), there is no argument that Peasants, Pigs, and Astronauts was, by a technical interpretation of the definition, a sophomore slump. But when the band broke up in 1999, it was the business that was credited towards its end (Faith & Music), similar to The Beatles.

“We took off like a rocket,” [Crispian] reflects, “and it made us all feel sick, to be honest. The pressure of travelling very fast. … When you start finding yourself in that intense high pressure business environment, making a lot of money for a lot of other people, it can be very destructive to the chemistry of a band. You can weather all the problems that you have with your label or your managers, or even being sued and having a nightmare with the press, so long as you have a passion for your music. I just lost sight of what we were supposed to do musically, and without that you haven’t got your lifeline to the next chapter.” (Cooper)

Kula Shaker returned in 2005, having matured from their early days of innocence and youth. But they had come back to an industry endangered by a new “apocalypse” that resulted from the popularity boost of digital downloads (Bloodworks Live Studio). And they accepted the fact that they were never going to see the mainstream again, even if they did land another record deal (Bloodworks Live Studio). So instead of announcing their comeback to the world, sounding the trumpets that they were going to start playing together again, they snuck back into the music scene, working under a different pysudonym for a first “secret gig” where Mills wore a wig on stage to surprise the audience with a Kula Shaker setlist (NME).

The albums released post-breakup were never as successful as their first two, both critically and commercially. And while the band still has the same charm to their songwriting, their sound has matured and is noticeably different from the likes of K and Peasants with their new alternative rock style replacing their earlier psychedelia. So it is no wonder that Mills refers to the comeback as more of a “reincarnation” than a reformation (FaceCulture). And whereas the gap between their first two albums was about one and a half years, the gap between their more recent albums ranges from three to six years. At the time of writing, it has been almost four years since we have heard anything from Mills or the other members of the band.

The press is critical (as they always have been) of the resurrected band, but the fans have never changed. With the fanbase’s receival of records post-K, Mills has said on multiple occassions that Kula Shaker is “lucky” to have such a “devoted, hardcore following” since they have fallen out of the mainstream (Ryan). Fans today continue to rock out with modern releases, such as Strangefolk’s “Persephone,” “Peter Pan RIP” from Pilgrims Progress, and the recently released “Mountain Lifter” off of K2.0. Some critics claim that “Kula Shaker never really revisited their sound on K. Their style changed across each successive album, seemingly moving away from the band’s original aesthetic,” (Takru). While this is partially true, this new style isn’t completely foreign to the band born in the 90s; K2.0’s “Infinite Sun” was one of the first songs that the band played at gigs in the 90s (Collini).

Additionally, the band didn’t bother to deal with business matters in their early days. Even with their debut album, they believed they “were smarter than [they] were. [They] were speaking to these veterans of the music business and getting ripped off,” (Takru). But when starting their own label, it forced them to learn how to deal with those matters that drove them apart back in 1999. Because of this, it is likely that the band feels more in control of their music than they were before.

Of course, having their own label has also enabled them to move at their own pace. They now have the power to let themselves take these four-year breaks instead of always working towards their next big thing like Columbia was always pushing for after the massive success of K (Faith & Music). As a result, the “spirit of the band” (Faith & Music) is kept alive, and the band is free to let the music control what they’re doing (FaceCulture). “Pilgrim’s Progress was the first record where we felt like we were really coming into our own in the studio,” Mills said. “The same goes for K2.0,” (Mulligan). In a world where artists are praised for not caring about the monetary gain that comes from their art, fans should be grateful for the time Mills and the rest of the band gives to their families and personal well-being, putting themselves in a better mindset to deliver their best work to the public.

As I see it, Kula Shaker is a foil to most iconic bands of today. The Beatles dropped their live show career to focus on innovating their ideas in the studio, taking away the extra pressure of screaming fans and having to recreate their unconventional sounds live. However, “Kula Shaker…essentially is a live band,” (Faith & Music). They choose to work out their songs in front of an audience; test the chemistry of the band and how the audience receives the new material. This practice of playing lets their studio albums develop more naturally and into the best quality they can get, just like what cancelling live shows did for The Beatles. Jack White sets rules for himself; he forces himself into situations that make him uncomfortable. In his eyes, saying to yourself, “‘You have all the time in the world, all the money in the world; all the colors in the palette you want, anything you want!’ That just kills creativity,” (Under the…). But Kula Shaker takes their time, “[lets] the music tell [them] what to do,” just as Jack White said in his speech at the 2017 Grammys (Recording Academy). Most of all, instead of getting bigger and more popular over time, Kula Shaker has gotten smaller over time. But with this drop in popularity, modern albums have sifted out the general public, leaving the band with a dedicated fanbase less likely to blow up over Mills’ “privileged upbringing” or spontaneous comments to the press (Cooper). Fitting, for a band knee-deep in Eastern culture and spiritual mantras.

And along with this developed maturity in his art and business, Mills is seen by many to be a very influential man. Just take it from one interviewer who described his experience talking to Mills:

“I’m nodding violently in agreement, still shivering, but warmed by the voice of Mills. His views on life in general delight and intrigue, comments about how Kula Shaker have changed as people and as a band make this tour more palatable by the second.” (Ryan)

So even with all the changes that have happened over the years, Kula Shaker has reached a point where they feel free to explore their own ideas and styles without the pressure of the public or record labels. They’re probably better off outside of the mainstream, as a result. After all, as Mills put it, “You have to embrace change, because it’s a part of life, and so is death. You gotta keep dying and reinventing and reincarnating. You don’t have to wait until you leave your body to reincarnate, you can do it every day if you want to,” (Ryan). So even as us fans wait eagerly for their next project, we can look back at how far they’ve come and be grateful for the process they have endured to give us the music that they truly feel to be their own.

See how I ranked EVERY Kula Shaker song in this article.

Bibliography

Tags: 90s, brit, british, britpop, britrock, crispian mills, invasion, k, k 2, k 2.0, k2, k2.0, kula shaker, peasants pigs and astronauts, pilgrims progress, rock, strange folk, strangefolk

Kula Shaker’s evolution has changed the band for the better

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