KRISHNA TOOK KULA SHAKER INTO THE TOP TEN
Dr. Jai Maharaj
By Rahul Gupta
The Pioneer, via News Plus
http://www.mantra.com/newsplus
Sunday, December 19, 1999
Music speaks only one language.
- Sir George Martin
As we approach the next millennium, thinkers are talking
about one religion, one planet and one cultural costume.
The harmony of universal brotherhood echoes throughout
the land with a help of only one specific medium and that
is music. Alternative fusion is one genre of music which
encompasses almost every instrument on this planet.As
this form is typically new to the world, it is only a
very few bands which have been able to establish their
global supremacy. The British band Kula Shaker is one of
them.
Though just two albums old, they have already managed to
make a dent in world music in this short span of time.
Their success can be attributed to their unique ability
to fuse musical instruments from different cultures to
produce a totally different effect. In fact, they are one
of the very few bands or may be the only band which has
been inspired by Krishna and devotional music.
The band was formed in 1988 by front man Crispian Mills
along with Jay Darlington and Alonzo Bevin. They earlier
played with the established band Object of Desire. The
original name of the band was The Kays. Legend has it
that Mills was inspired spiritually when he heard about
the magical word which begins with K.
In 1993, the earlier band broke up because of
professional differences. In that year, Crispian decided
to come here to India for spiritual enlightenment. He
worked in a temple in Mathura in exchange for food and a
place to live. In his yearlong stay, Mills learned
various forms of Indian music, including the instruments
tabla, sarangi, sitar etc.
He also was deeply influenced by the Krishna devotees.
The band is a life member of ISCKON. Mills in particular
also learnt to chant in Sanskrit, which he calls the
Language of the Gods. In addition, he met holy men and
received spiritual insights into Hindu religion. He
concluded that he would fuse rock sounds with ethnic
Indian music.
He returned to England in 1994 with a goal in his mind
and the band starting playing again. They signed up a
contract with Gut Records in London. Unfortunately, the
band had a huge disappointment with the record company
and the Kays decided to call the contract off.
By the spring of 1995, a friend from Mathura who was a
follower of Krishna visited them. His name was Kula
Sekhara and he told tales about the emperor who had this
name. The emperor was a ninth century mystic who loved
poetry and music. This was the inspiration for the band
to change their name change to Kula Shaker. The name
changed their destiny.
Once they were playing some gig at a party when suddenly
about 200 hippies started dancing. This was when the band
started improvising their global smash hit Govinda. This
song may be called the first Sanskrit rock single ever
released. Within three weeks of adopting their new
identity, the band were approached by RCA Record Company.
And it seemed that every other company was running after
them for a deal. All this could be attributed to their
unique form of music. They signed a deal with Sony music
which ultimately went on to launch their careers.
Within a few days, they started working on their first
full-fledged studio album K.
After several gruelling months of work, they finally
released their maiden venture in 1996. Critics were
sceptical about how listeners would respond to the new
Hindu cum Sufi rock cum alternative music. To their
amazement, Kula Shaker s debut album K reached the No. 1
position on the charts in Britain. The conservative
British music strata welcomed this new form of listening.
The album cover featured Krishna with his flute along
with a host of Western philosophers. All were draped in
the Lord Krishna favourite blue colour to clearly
announce the enigmatic influence of Hinduism on the band.
They have in fact embraced both East and West.
The other songs in this album K which the influence of
Indian instruments are Hey Jude Govinda Tattva. Sarangi
and tabla are notably in use. Govinda itself is a full-
fledged Sanskrit song with toppings of alternative rock
and pop music.
Following the success of their first album the band went
on a world tour after signing a multi-million dollar
contract with Sony. They have toured Japan, West Asia and
Europe, spreading their new multi-culti blend of music.
The album earned them a Brit Music Award for excellence
in producing a new form of music.
After this, the band tasted their first-ever Hollywood
success when they did a cover version of Deep Purples all
time classic Hush. The song was the theme for the
blockbuster hit I know what you did last summer. The film
starred Jennifer Love Hewitt and went on to gross over
$100 million worldwide. Kula Shaker was now a happening
global band.
In 1998, Kula Shaker released their second coming in the
form of new album called Peasants Pigs and Astronauts.
Their songs The sound of drums went on to reach the Top
Ten in Britain and the United States.
People have argued that they are deeply influenced by
Deep Purples, Beatles, Grateful Dead etc. Their debut
single was in fact Grateful when you re dead referring to
the death of Jerry Garcia. But what is most important is
the beauty of fusion music of two different cultures.
Kula Shaker s success has clearly demonstrated that music
needs no boundaries, no language to penetrate into the
world s culture. It is in fact that Kula Shaker now
deserves the status of Armani or Versace in the music
wardrobes of connoisseurs all over the world.
Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the
educational purposes of research and open discussion.
Panchaang for 11 Mrgshirsh 5100, Saturday, December 18, 1999:
Pramathin Nama Samvatsare 5101 Dakshinaya Moksha Ritau
Dhanush Mase Shukla Pakshe Manta Vasara Yuktayam
Ashvini Nakshatra Parigha-Shiva Yoga
Vanija-Vishti Karana Ekadashee Yam Tithau
Jai Maharaj
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish
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