Kula Shaker had its beginnings in 1988 and had several incarnations with several different names before finally becoming the band that would have some success in the late nineties. Led by frontman Cripian Mills (grandfather John Mills and mother Hayley Mills were actors/actresses of some note), the band became known for its psychedelic rock and being heavily influenced by Indian mysticism and spirituality. They had a good deal of success in their native U.K. from 1995-1999 at which time they split--they reunited in 2004 and have been together ever since for the occasional LP release and golden oldies tours. Over the course of their career, Kula Shaker released five albums with two going top ten in the U.K., and released 18 singles with five reaching the top ten. For whatever reason (U.S. pop radio and record labels suck?), the band had virtually no commercial success in America, but that hasn't stopped them from having a 30+ year run of making music for a living. Beats the hell out of the grocery business!
Fun Fact: Kula Shaker is named for King Kulashekhara, one of the twelve Alvars (saints) of south India. The band chose the name because a) Crispian Mills has much interest in Indian culture, and b) invoking the King's name is thought to be auspicious and the band needed a lucky break to get their career going. I'd say it turned out to be quite auspicious....
"Tattva" was released in 1996 on their album entitled K (that's it--just the letter K). The single would reach #4 on the U.K. charts (it had some AOR play in the States but nothing else), and the album would reach #1 (it topped out as low as it possibly could have on the Billboard 200, reaching exactly #200). That a song such as "Tattva" reached #4 is proof positive that there are so many cool kids in the U.K....
We have another first here on FNJ in that the chorus for "Tattva" is in Sanskrit: "Acintya bheda abheda Tattva," which translate roughly as "Truth, Mystery, difference non-difference, Truth." Alrighty then.... Needless to say, we're not dealing with your average top 40 love song this week (and it makes singing along to the chorus a bit difficult unless you're fluent in Sanskrit). Still, the chorus is actually quite catchy and in between the intonations there are some very nice psychedelic rock verses, some solid guitar work, and an overall vibe that can best be described as otherworldly. Also of note is that a song such as this could easily veer off into Novelty Song territory, but the band manages to keep it from that path with its no nonsense playing and Mills straightforward vocals. While spiritual enlightenment may not be everybody's cup of tea in a pop song, "Tattva" definitely makes a case for repeated listens and would be a fine addition to the Quirky Song Hall of Fame (if such a Hall existed).
Lyric Sheet: "For you will be tomorrow/Like you have been today/If this was never ending'What more can you say?"
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee
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