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Tuesday, November 26, 1996

MUSIC:

British rock band plays psychedelic rock with Indian influencesBy Mike Prevatt

Daily Bruin Contributor

In the pop music world, people are always seeking out "the next big thing." Around this time last year, it was Oasis, the first British band in over a decade to make such a stateside splash.

Well, as the British invasion continues to trickle in, this time in the psychedelia-influenced outfit Kula Shaker.

Kula Shaker, also the name of an ancient Indian emperor, mixes East Indian philosophy with '60s-style surging guitar pop and enchanting Hammond organs.

The band has landed here in America to astounding hype, becoming the hottest "buzz" band around. Their debut album, "K" (Columbia), a No. 1 hit in Britain, has been released in America to mostly ecstatic reviews. Their first single, "Tattva," is receiving heavy airplay on alternative-rock radio stations like KROQ. And Kula Shaker is not complaining.

"We're in a very fortunate position," says drummer Paul Winter-Hart. "We've been coming over and playing sold-out shows. Record's been on the radio. It's exciting."

Kula Shaker's sold-out concert at the Whisky A Go-Go Friday was their first in L.A. The band, unlike most Brit-pop groups, aspire to stake their claim in America's musical culture.

"Yeah, the U.S ... there's a lot of people out here! We're into taking adventures as far as it will go, even if that entails touring our asses off," Winter-Hart says.

Kula Shaker's eccentric musical styles encompass more than just jangly, bouncy Brit-pop. "We're very into Brit-pop, from a musical point of view, but also, its title sums it up. It's like Brit-pop can't go any further," says Winter-Hart.

Surprisingly, Brit-pop godhead Noel Gallagher of Oasis, who also is the most critical man in the British press, called Kula Shaker the best band in Britain.

"It's all right," says Winter-Hart, not very impressed. "He's a big star, isn't he? None of us are particular Oasis fans but they've got some good songs. They've been nice to us. Oasis did their thing over here, then they kind of fell apart. We'll keep it together longer then them at any rate!"

But the band isn't afraid of media expectations from their U.K. peers.

"We certainly don't value their values," says bassist Alonza Bevan. "It's like the new sort of lad attitude, it's like 'beer, fuck you,' so arrogant ... it's a very nihilistic kind of thing and we're not into that.

Kula Shaker's optimistic psychedelia rock has influences ranging from the Doors, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and the Stone Roses, to whom the media likes to compare them.

"I was a great big fan of that first Stone Roses album, so it's not a bad thing to say," says Bevan. "I think they were listening to the same records we were. It's just that we're into different types of things, from old Indian classical music to folk music ..."

Their music's Indian mystic feel comes from the adoption of Sanskrit lyrics and East Indian instrumentation by the band's lead singer and guitarist, Crispian Mills. The rest of the band followed.

"It was kind of a gradual thing," says Bevan. "We were always intrigued with (India). It's a magical place."

"It works musically," says Winter-Hart. "It's got a special energy. Couple that with a positive outlook and a sort of optimism ..."

"Positive reprogramming!" interrupts Bevan.

"We just thought it would be fun to have something of an aphorism in a pop song," says keyboardist Jay Darlington, referring to the lyrics of "Tattva." "And also, it's in another language; nobody can understand it, so it certainly makes it all the more universal ..."

But will some of the overly critical British press infiltrate over here and ruin this optimism? Kula Shaker isn't concerned with that.

"The press there is probably the most cynical in the world," says Bevan. "They're downright insulting! You kind of accept that, it's part of the territory you're in. We've got a lot of people thinking it was like a gimmick. I mean, this has been our life for the past three years ... we're just carrying on."