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New chapter for Kula Shaker

Last updated 18:42, Friday, 28 August 2009

In the mid-1990s Cool Britannia was the place to be. The nation was on the cusp of change and there was an upbeat mood in the air.

Could New Labour really win the next election? And more importantly, would arty indie rockers Blur win the number one spot over lads’ favourite Oasis?

Then in 1996 a band called Kula Shaker came along and took everyone by surprise.

Strict vegetarians who discussed Arthurian legends in interviews and sang in Sanskrit, they stormed the charts with swirling psychedelic songs such as Govinda, Hey Dude and Tattva.

Their album K became one of the fastest-selling debuts of all time and won a Brit Award for best newcomers.

But not everyone was impressed. The band’s penchant for spiritual lyrics meant they came in for plenty of stick and the NME described them as “eminently punchable toffs”.

Then, just three years after they’d stormed the charts, and following a gig in Cornwall in the summer of 1999 – to coincide with the full solar eclipse – Kula Shaker decided to call it a day.

“We’d been together since 1993 and we were very young,” says Crispian. “I was only 20 when we started. I had arrested development and needed to find out who I was.

“Most people can’t handle the pressure of being successful at such a young age. It drains you of creative spontaneous energy.

“You can pretend nothing has changed and carry on, or you can knock it on the head.

“It’s like getting very sick and wanting to get well again. It felt like it was our duty to split up and I don’t regret it. It wasn’t easy though.”

Crispian continued to dabble in music and film and worked for an Indian charity. Then, in 2006, he asked original members Alonza Bevan and Paul Winter-Hart, who play bass and drums, to try out a song he was working on.

They found there was still plenty of energy there and they decided to get back together.

Original organist Jay Darlington decided to keep his side job with Oasis so they recruited keyboard player Harry B Broadbent to complete the line-up.

In 2007, the band released the album Strange Folk.

“It’s nice to play with your friends again,” says Crispian. “We started as if we were a new band and worked hard. It was a case of gently does it and we learnt a lot that way.

“It was 10 years after K. We felt very humble stepping back into the arena and decided on a low-key release.”

They are now working on their fourth album, due for release in early 2010.

Crispian, who is now father to one-year-old Keshava, says he doesn’t miss the fame and glamour that greeted them first time around.

“If you are only doing it to become famous and successful... well, that will kill a band like ours.

“There’s this idea that becoming famous makes you complete as a person, perpetuated by people like Simon Cowell and pretty much everything you see and read but that’s a myth.

“You need to make music for the right reasons or it doesn’t ring true. It’s empty posing.”

It’s 16 years since Kula Shaker first got together and it’s a very different world to the one they started out in, not least in terms of music.

“Yeah it’s changed a lot. Bands don’t make demos anymore, it all goes on MySpace.

“There’s more opportunity to be the master of your own presentation and a lot of bands do that, it’s like having your own shop and the chance to sell your music from early on.

“That’s perhaps the weakest thing about us; we could be making more use of the internet.”

So does Crispian ever worry that Kula Shaker will always be known as that misfit Brit pop band from long ago?

“No. I think you stand or fall on your latest work and how good your most recent record is, and ours is brilliant.

“If it wasn’t good enough, I wouldn’t bother making it.

“That was our youth, when we were seriously wet behind our ears. I won’t deny it but this is another chapter. A reincarnation.”

He says the band are looking forward to playing Solfest – one of only a handful of live gigs they’re doing this year – and fans can definitely expect to hear the old hits.

“The previous success of the band was down to our live shows; that’s how we made a name for ourselves. Even our records were like live records.

“And yes, absolutely, it will be a pleasure to play all the good time songs.”

Kula Shaker play the main stage at Solfest.

Good interview. Wish I was going to Solfest now...

quote:

Originally posted by 2-J:
and the NME described them as “eminently punchable toffs”.

But they like The Editors??? NME gets tangled up in fashion (which they have essentially created) and they're never quite sure what to think. Bless.

Great interview BTW.

thanks for posting this, very interesting. They couldn't only use the internet more, they could use all other marketing more. I'm curious what'll happen in the future.