Interview with Crispin Mills ahead of Kula Shaker in Newcastle

Britpop legends Kula Shaker are back with their 7th album, Natural Magick and a headline UK tour to boot. The album has received widespread praise with Shindig! stating that it's 'The best album of their career'. Although, frontman Crispian Mills tries not to get caught up in what the media has to say about the band. “I don't ever read press because I was told early on by Chrissie Hynde. She said if you think somebody has written something about you in a magazine, don't buy that. Don't go anywhere near that publication for at least three days because it's not you. It's not real. And nothing is ever really authentic because it's always second-hand or third,” he says. “But I think one thing I have noticed is this huge explosion of independent media, independent music journalism, independent music press and independent news period. So, it's all coming from people who are in it for the right reason. And fans are going to it for the right reasons.”

Kula Shaker recently returned from a tour of Japan. “We've always kept very close contact with our audience in Japan. And it's a strange sort of home from home for us. Britain and Japan are probably our two main audiences in the world, and then perhaps Italy, Holland and the coasts of America. But we can play all over the place. To be fair, we’ve just got to get there,” he says. “The challenge for any band, once you become an indie band, the challenge is touring and the money it costs to get from A to B. But we're having a good time. And once you get to wherever you're going, there's people there.” He adds: “It definitely feels like the band have come back to life and entered a new phase of being creative and prolific. We were doing an album every four years because we had other interests; we had families. We were doing a couple of albums a decade. And we've just turned it all around in the last two years; we've had two albums in two years.”

The band’s latest offering saw the band’s original line-up reunite, with keyboard player Jay Darlington returning to the fold following a stint with Oasis. “We had a great 15 years between being gone and coming back. And Jay, he went off and got a job with Oasis. When we called him up to say, we're going to make a record after a few years, or whatever it was. He already had this really good job. And he was probably in Kuala Lumpur. Or somewhere else. And we totally understood, and we were only going to make a record every few years anyway. But then something happened, and our Hammond player couldn’t do it and Jay was free. And it all just fitted together. And it was a great moment of synchronicity.”

Kula Shaker’s latest record is called Natural Magick. Speaking about the title, Crispian said: “There is no such thing as a mundane reality, there's only a mundane perception of it. Because there's a place that you can get to where you really appreciate not just the wonder of life, but the magical connection between everything and everybody. And it gets into spiritual dimensions. When you're in this place, it's a very healthy place because you no longer feel alone, and you feel a sense of connection and purpose. And that is actually the reality. And everything else is just a distraction from that. And so that's really what we're talking about. And music, obviously, has always been a way that people can access that place of connection. Music has always been not just an escape, but a way of making a deeper connection.”

Of course, the Kula Shaker frontman comes from a family deeply involved in the entertainment industry. Crispian’s parents are actress Hayley Mills and director Roy Boulting, and his grandparents are Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell. But did the artist always have an inclination that he would follow in the family trade? "It's a bit like a family business. And you regarded it like that. But music chose me really. I did think I might be an actor at one point when I was a kid. But that's because I wasn't really using my imagination. But music chose me, I fell in love with guitar, and I became obsessed with guitar. And I was playing in bands that were trying to make it from the age of about 15,” he says. “I got kicked out of school when I was 15. So, I was around more. But Kula Shaker - Paul, Alonza and myself - we were playing together from about 18 or 19 years old. And it took us three years together, and then Jay came in shortly after. So, it took us three years to get a record deal with Columbia. So, it was a slog, and three years when you're that age seems like 30 years. It really grinds on. I remember freaking out when I was 21, thinking oh, my God, I haven't made it yet, I’m washed up. But I did get a deal later that year.”

The artist is raring to hit the road across the UK in support of Kula Shaker’s new album. “I can't wait. An album is always abstract until you play it in front of an audience,” he says. “When you play your music, that's when you know that it's connected with people. And that's actually when it comes to life." Speaking about the setlist, Crispian proclaims: “It's going to be the perfect balance of past, present and future.”

The artist also has ties to the North East. Their upcoming Tyneside date may well be a family reunion. “My wife's family are from Gateshead,” he says. “We got a good crowd in Gateshead. And my father-in-law worked at Sunderland for a long time at Sunderland Football Club. So, it feels like a home from home, and there's a lot of family at the gigs. So, we love it, and of course, we're always looking forward to coming back.”

Kula Shaker will appear at the Boiler Shop in Newcastle on Monday 29th of April. For ticket information and further details, please visit https://www.boilershop.net/.