Description
Thirty years after their groundbreaking debut album K topped the UK Albums Chart in 1996, British psychedelic rock band Kula Shaker revisit the music that launched their career with K-Reinkarnate, a complete analogue re-recording of their landmark debut. Rather than simply remastering or reissuing the original recordings, the band has returned to the songs with three decades of musical experience, capturing fresh performances that reflect both their original spirit and their continued evolution. The project reunites the classic 1996 lineup of vocalist and guitarist Crispian Mills, bassist Alonza Bevan, keyboardist Jay Darlington and drummer Paul Winter-Hart, bringing together the musicians responsible for the group's distinctive fusion of British rock, 1960s psychedelia, Indian classical influences and Sanskrit devotional music.
Recorded live to two-inch analogue tape at Middle Farm Studios, K-Reinkarnate emphasizes the immediacy, warmth and organic interplay of a band performing together. The recordings were mixed by Peter Miles and Ash Howes, who also worked on Kula Shaker's 2025 album Wormslayer. The original K produced some of the defining singles of the Britpop era, including "Hey Dude," "Tattva" and "Govinda," the latter becoming the only song sung entirely in Sanskrit to reach the UK Top 10. These songs return in newly recorded versions alongside album favorites such as "Knight on the Town," "Temple of Everlasting Light," "Smart Dogs," "Into the Deep," "Grateful When You're Dead," "303" and "Start All Over." The performances retain the band's characteristic combination of swirling keyboards, muscular guitar riffs, driving rhythms and Eastern-inspired melodies while allowing the arrangements to breathe with the confidence and chemistry developed through decades of recording and touring.
Beyond the reimagined original material, K-Reinkarnate incorporates three discoveries connected to the album's original recording sessions. "Shower Your Love" and "Drop in the Sea" were recorded during the sessions for K but omitted from the finished album, and both are revisited for this anniversary project. Even more unusual is "She's So Free," an unfinished backing track rediscovered on the original tapes and completed in 2026, bringing the band's contemporary performances together with music recorded three decades earlier. As Mills explains, the intention was not to recreate an unrepeatable moment in the band's history, but to reincarnate the music by allowing the musicians they have become to interact with the songs they first recorded in 1996. The result is a companion to the original album rather than a conventional anniversary reissue, offering a fresh perspective on one of the most distinctive British rock debuts of the decade.
Released through Strange F.O.L.K. LLP, this CD edition of K-Reinkarnate presents 18 tracks recorded using an all-analogue approach. The collection celebrates the enduring appeal of Kula Shaker's original material while highlighting the band's continued commitment to psychedelic rock, Indian musical traditions and the spontaneous energy of live performance. Arriving alongside renewed international touring activity and following the success of Wormslayer, the album connects the band's 1990s breakthrough with its contemporary creative identity, giving longtime listeners an opportunity to rediscover familiar songs and introducing a new generation to the music that established Kula Shaker.
Bonus Materials
- Recorded in Analogue
Track Listing
- Hey Dude
- Knight on the Town
- Temple Of Everlasting Light
- Guru Vandana
- Shower Your Love
- Smart Dogs
- Magic Theatre
- Into The Deep
- Hush
- Tattva
- Drop In The Sea
- Grateful When You're Dead
- Jerry Was There (Gurudeva jai jai ho)
- Hollow Man (parts 1&2)
- 303
- Start All Over
- Govinda
- She's So Free
Additional Details
Label: Strange F.O.L.K. LLP
Genre: Pop/Rock
Language: English
Run Time: 69 mins
Region: 0
Release Date: 02/05/27
UPC: 760137228776