Kula Shaker
The band are known for their interest in traditional Indian music, culture, and mysticism, with a number of their most famous songs, including "Tattva" and "Govinda", featuring lyrics written in Sanskrit. The name Kula Shaker was itself inspired by King Kulasekhara, an Indian emperor from the 8th century. In addition, many of the band's songs feature traditional Indian instruments, such as the sitar, tamboura, and tabla, juxtaposed with guitar-heavy, Western rock instrumentation. Despite achieving commercial success, Kula Shaker were unpopular with many critics, with "The Observer"'s Simon Price describing them in 2014 as a "joke band".
Kula Shaker
In Japan, the "Freedom Lovin' People" EP preceded the album. It was released there on 23 May 2007. The lead track from this release was the album track "Great Dictator (of the Free World)" and a rough animatic-style video was used to promote the song on Japanese music stations. In the UK, the first single from the album was "Second Sight" released on 13 August 2007, reaching No. 101 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was promoted with a pro-shot video featuring the band as characters from the Sherlock Holmes stories.