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K
Studio album by Kula Shaker
Released	16 September 1996
Studio	Eden, RAK, Townhouse, Chipping Norton, Livingston, The Pierce Room, Wessex, Maison Rouge, Eastcote Studios
Genre	Psychedelic rock, raga rock, Britpop
Length	48:51 (not including 13:04 silence)
Label	Columbia
Producer	John Leckie, Shep & Dodge, Crispian Mills
Kula Shaker chronology
K (1996) Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts (1999)
Singles from K
"Tattva (Lucky 13 Mix)" Released: 1996 "Grateful When You're Dead" / Jerry Was There" Released: 1996 "Tattva" Released: 24 June 1996 "Hey Dude" Released: 26 August 1996 "Govinda" Released: 11 November 1996

K is the debut album by English psychedelic rock band Kula Shaker, released on 16 September 1996. It became the fastest selling debut album in Britain since Elastica's debut the previous year, selling over 105,768 copies in the first week. The album reached the number-one position on the UK Albums Chart and number 200 on the US Billboard 200. It was voted number 879 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).

The Grateful Dead's psychedelic rock style is an influence on Kula Shaker's first and second albums. The hidden track after "Hollow Man" is a recording of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, speaking about his own guru.

Artwork

The cover art (by comic-book artist Dave Gibbons) consists of various images related to the letter K, including: John F. Kennedy, Lord Kitchener, Karl Marx, Gene Kelly, Katharine Hepburn, Ken Dodd, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Danny Kaye, Kal-El (Superman), Boris Karloff (as Frankenstein's monster), Krishna, King Kong, Martin Luther King Jr., two Knights (a pair of Keys on one of them), a Kettle, Kali, the Kaiser, Nikita Khrushchev, Grace Kelly, the number 11 (symbolizing K), and Rudyard Kipling's book Kim.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Alternative Press	5/5
Chicago Tribune
Entertainment Weekly	B+
The Guardian
NME	9/10
Q
Record Collector
USA Today
The Village Voice	C

The Independent noted that "Kula Shaker do what they do with so much gall, energy, conviction and dexterity (special honours go to the speedy bass-playing) that you forget to nitpick and imagine you're really hearing a lost masterpiece from 1971."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Crispian Mills except where indicated

Personnel

Kula Shaker

• Crispian Mills – singing, electric and acoustic guitars, tamboura
• Alonza Bevan – bass, piano, tabla, backing vocals
• Paul Winterhart – drums
• Jay Darlington – organ, Mellotron, piano

Guest musicians

• Wajahat Kahn – sarod (on "Sleeping Jiva")
• Himangsu Goswami – tabla (on "Govinda" and "Jerry Was There")
• Gouri Choudhury – backing vocals (on "Govinda", credited as "Gouri")
• The Kick Horns – horns (on "Start All Over")

Charts

Certifications

References

1. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 22 June 1996. p. 35.
2. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 24 August 1996. p. 31.
3. "Reviews – Releases Out on November 11 1996: Singles". Music Week. 2 November 1996. p. 35.
4. Silver, Daniel (March 2000). "Kula Shaker Classic Rock Archive". Classic Rock. p. 80. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
5. Jones, Alan (9 February 2024). "The Official UK Charts: Albums - February 2024". Music Week.
6. Colin Larkin, ed. (2006). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 270. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
7. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "K – Kula Shaker". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
8. Thompson, Dave (January 1997). "Kula Shaker: K". Alternative Press. No. 124. p. 73.
9. Kot, Greg (29 November 1996). "Kula Shaker K (Columbia)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
10. Pepper, Tracey (25 October 1996). "K". Entertainment Weekly. p. 116. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
11. Sullivan, Caroline (20 September 1996). "Kula Shaker: K (Columbia)". The Guardian.
12. Patterson, Sylvia (14 September 1996). "Kula Shaker – K". NME. p. 50. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
13. Cranna, Ian (October 1996). "Kula Shaker: K". Q. No. 121. p. 165.
14. Tuscadero, Inky (Christmas 2011). "Kula Shaker – K". Record Collector. No. 396. p. 95. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
15. Gundersen, Edna (26 November 1996). "Kula Shaker, K". USA Today. Archived from the original on 5 May 1999. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
16. Christgau, Robert (3 December 1996). "Consumer Guide: Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
17. Barber, Nicholas (15 September 1996). "Records: Kula Shaker: K". Arts. The Independent. p. 22.
18. "Australiancharts.com – Kula Shaker – K". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
19. "Ultratop.be – Kula Shaker – K" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Kula Shaker – K" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
21. "Kula Shaker: K" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
22. "Offiziellecharts.de – Kula Shaker – K" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
23. "Charts.nz – Kula Shaker – K". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
24. "Norwegiancharts.com – Kula Shaker – K". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
25. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
26. "Swedishcharts.com – Kula Shaker – K". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
27. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
28. "Kula Shaker Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
29. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1996". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
30. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1997". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
31. "British album certifications – Kula Shaker – K". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 January 2021.

External links

• K at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)

• Kula Shaker albums
• 1996 debut albums
• Albums produced by John Leckie
• Columbia Records albums
• Cultural depictions of John F. Kennedy
• Cultural depictions of Martin Luther King Jr.
• Cultural depictions of Nikita Khrushchev
• Cultural depictions of Wilhelm II
• Cultural depictions of Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener