Unkle (also written as UNKLE) is a British musical outfit founded in 1994 by school friends James Lavelle and Tim Goldsworthy. Originally categorized as trip-hop, the group once included producer DJ Shadow and has employed a variety of guest artists and producers.

History

The first release was the EP The Time Has Come, created by Lavelle and Goldsworthy with Kudo and T. Nakanishi of the Japanese Hip Hop crew Major Force (later Major Force West). At this point, Unkle consisted of Lavelle, Goldsworthy and Kudo, who surrounded themselves with various guest artists, including Money Mark (keyboard player for the Beastie Boys), the Scratch Perverts and Japanese clothes designer Nigo and Takagi Kan (both also of Major Force). In 1995, whilst working on their debut album, Goldsworty and Lavelle disagreed over the direction the music was taking. Goldsworthy wanted to continue with the Mo Wax house style of earlier tracks, while Lavelle wanted to bring in singers and Hip Hop and rock artists. Goldsworthy left the group and went on to work with Belfast DJ and producer David Holmes.

Lavelle drafted in DJ Shadow and essentially discarded all previously recorded material. "Berry Meditation" and several tracks with Money Mark and Beastie Boys producer Mario Caldato Jr., recorded at the house of singer Meat Loaf, were released as singles, and several without Lavelle surfaced on the album Major Force West in 1997. In early 1998 three exclusive Japanese EPs were released, the last of the earlier Unkle sessions to surface. Lavelle and Shadow released the more commercial Psyence Fiction in 1998, on which they collaborated with an all-star lineup including Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Mike D (Beastie Boys), Kool G. Rap, Jason Newsted (Metallica), Badly Drawn Boy and Richard Ashcroft (The Verve).

Shadow left the group after touring Psyence Fiction and was replaced by turntablist group the Scratch Perverts who deconstructed the album and performed it live on turntables in 1999. Just prior to this, Forme producer Richard File remixed the track "Be There", adding vocals by Ian Brown. In 2001, Lavelle and File resurfaced as Unklesounds with a DJ mix created for Japanese radio entitled Do Androids Dream of Electric Beats?. This highlighted the new, more electronic direction the group had taken, and featured a number of tracks from Psyence Fiction, remixed in an ambient style. File co-produced, played and sang on 2003's Never, Never, Land. The album featured another stellar lineup which included Ian Brown, Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Robert Del Naja (Massive Attack) and Mani (The Stone Roses, Primal Scream) among others.

This album was less hyped than its predecessor. Unfortunately, due to label changes and Lavelle's trademark insistence on multiple formats, it was not a major success. It is currently available in several forms from Global Underground, for whom Lavelle has provided several DJ mixes. In the meantime, Lavelle and File continued releasing mixes as Unklesounds, and several earlier mixes appeared as bootlegs. The bootlegs are generally live recordings featuring DJ Shadow or The Psychonauts. The mix album Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Reconstruction, featuring tracks and songs from movie soundtracks as well as movie samples, was created for the After Dark 2004 event at the ICA London. A single CD version was handed out at the event. It was released somewhat officially as an extended two disc set in 2005.

In September 2006, Global Underground released Never, Never, Land Reconstructed and Bonus Beats, a CD box set of remixes and bonus tracks related to Never, Never, Land, including tracks previously only available on the original DVD release of the album. It also contains remixes of a track mooted from the forthcoming album, featuring Ian Astbury of The Cult, titled "Burn My Shadow". War Stories, the third album from Unkle, was released in Japan on June 20, 2007 Europe and the UK on July 9, 2007, followed by a July 24 release date in North America. The album again features a number of guests including Josh Homme, Gavin Clarke, Robert Del Naja, Ian Astbury, The Duke Spirit, Autolux and Neil Davidge. Unkle is currently touring with a live band featuring members of Baltimore based trio Big In Japan and UK band SOUTH. Their song "Lonely Soul" is the theme song in an Assassin's Creed trailer. For the song "Heaven" (from the single "Hold My Hand"), Pablo Clements (of The Psychonauts) is credited like an Unkle member. In 2007, the Football Federation of Australia used "Reign" in their promotional campaign for the 2007-2008 Hyundai A-League season under the tagline of "90 Minutes 90 Emotions".

Discography

Albums

Singles and EPs

• "The Time Has Come EP: A Tribute to Sun Ra and All Things Fucked Up" (1994)
• "Ape Shall Never Kill Ape" (1997)
• "Berry Meditation" (1997)
• "Rock On" (1997)
• "Last Orgy 3" (1998)
• "Guns Blazing" (featuring Kool G Rap) (1998) promo only
• "Rabbit In Your Headlights" (featuring Thom Yorke) (1998)
• "Be There" (featuring Ian Brown) (1999)
• "Cocaine And Camcorders" (2001) promo only
• "Eye For An Eye" (2003)
• "In A State" (2003)
• "Reign" (featuring Ian Brown) (2004)
• "Nights Temper EP" (2007) limited release
• "Burn My Shadow (featuring Ian Astbury)" (2007) UK #112
• "Hold My Hand" (2007)
• "Restless" (2008) forthcoming

DJ Mixes

• Rebore, vol. 1 (for Boredoms) (2000)
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Beats? (2001)
• Big Brother is Watching (bootleg) (2003)
• Where the Wild Things Are (2004)
• WWIII - Unklesounds vs. U.N.K.L.E. (bootleg) (2004)
• Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Reconstruction (2005)

Remixes

• "Vibe P.M." (Stranger Things Have Happened - Brazil on a Jimmy Hill mix) for Mondo Grosso, on Marble (99 Records 1993)
• "Bellbottoms" (Old Rascal mix) for Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, on Experimental Remixes (Matador 1995)
• "Planet Telex" (Karma Sunra mix) for Radiohead, on "Just" (Parlophone 1995)
• "Karmacoma" (Unkle Situation) for Massive Attack, on "Karmacoma" (Wild Bunch 1995)
• "Shounen" (Unkle's remix) for Geisha Girls, on The Geisha "Remix" Girls Show (For Life 1995)
• "DJed" (Bruise Blood mix) for Tortoise, on "DJed" (City Slang 1996)
• "Natural One" (Unkle mix), (Instrumental mix) and (Unkle No Skratch mix) for Folk Implosion, on "Natural One" (London 1996)
• "Pepper" (Short Shot mix) for the Butthole Surfers, on "Pepper" (promo) (Capitol 1996)
• "Where It's At" (Unkle remix) for Beck, on "Where It's At" (Geffen 1996)
• "Agent Dan" (Unkle remix) for Agent Provocateur, on "Agent Dan" (Epic 1997)
• "New Walk" (Unkle remix) for Liquid Liquid, on "Cavern" (Mo' Wax 1997)
• "Vitamin C" (Unkle mix) for Can, on Sacrilege (Mute 1997)
• "Li303ve" (Suzuki Dekard San) for Buffalo Daughter, on Socks, Drugs and Rock and Roll (Grand Royal 1997)
• "Free Fall" (remix by Unkle) for Cornelius, on FM - Fantasma Remixes (Trittoria 1998)
• "Nishiehigashie" (West Remix) for Mr. Children, on "Nishiehigashie" (Toy's Factory 1998)
• "People are Strange" (Unkle mix) for Stina Nordenstam, on "People are Strange" (EastWest 1998)
• "Bullitproof" (Unkle remix) for Breakbeat Era, on "Bullitproof" (XL 1999)
• "Dolphins Were Monkeys" (Unkle vs. South remix) for Ian Brown, on Golden Greats (Interscope 1999)
• "Battle" (Unkle remix) for Blur, on "No Distance Left to Run" (Food 1999)
• "Overused" (Unkle remix) for South, on Overused (Toy's Factory 1999)
• "Leaders and Believers" (Unkle remix) for Emperor's New Clothes, on the compilation The New Testament of Funk (Unique 1999)
• "The World is Not Enough" (Unkle remix) for Garbage, on "The World is Not Enough" (MCA 1999)
• "Without You I'm Nothing" (Unkle remix) for Placebo (feat. David Bowie), on "Without You I'm Nothing" (single) (Virgin 1999)
• "Paint the Silence" (Unkle Variation) for South, on "Paint the Silence" (Mo' Wax 2000)
• "Hey Jack" (Unkle Metamorphosis mix) for Howie B., on Folk. (Polydor 2001)
• "I'm Not Trading" (Unkle - In Utero) and (In Utero Instrumental) for Sunna, on "I'm Not Trading" (Melankolic 2001)
• "Narco Tourists" (Unkle remix) for Slam, on Alien Radio Remixed (Soma 2002)
• "F.E.A.R." (Unkle mix) and (Unkle Instrumental) for Ian Brown, on Remixes of the Spheres (Polydor 2002)
• "GDMFSOB" (Unkle Uncensored feat Roots Manuva) for DJ Shadow, on The Private Press (Tour Edition) and The Private Repress (Universal 2002)
• "Frantic" (Unkle remix) for Metallica, on "Frantic" (Vertigo 2003)
• "No One Knows" (Unkle Reconstruction) for Queens of the Stone Age, on "Go with the Flow" and "No One Knows" (Unkle Reconstructions) (Interscope 2003)
• "The Incredibles Theme" (Unkle Reconstruction) for Michael Giacchino, on The Incredibles - The Remix EP (Walt Disney 2004)
• "Time is My Everything" (Unkle Reconstruction) for Ian Brown, on "Time is My Everything" (Polydor 2005)
• "Cast No Shadow" (Unkle Beachhead mix) for Oasis, on Goal!: Music from the Motion Picture (Big Brother 2005)
• "Burn the Witch" (Unkle Variation) for Queens of the Stone Age, on Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Image 2005)
• "The Enchanter" (Unkle Reconstruction) and (Unkle Reconstruction Dub) for Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation, on "The Enchanter" (Unkle Reconstruction) (Sanctuary 2005)
• "False Flags" (Unkle Surrender Sounds Session #2) for Massive Attack, on "False Flags" (promo) (Virgin 2006)
• "John the Revelator" (Unkle Reconstruction) for Depeche Mode, on "John the Revelator / Lilian" (Mute 2006)
• "Today" (Unkle vs. Mode Showdown remix) for Junkie XL, on "Today" (Ultra 2006)
• "Beethoven's 9th Symphony" (Unkle Remix) for BMW, UK Commercial (2007)

Appearances

• The Unkle song "Lonely Soul" was featured in a trailer for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game Assassin's Creed in 2007.
• "Lonely Soul" was also featured on soundtrack to the 2002 film adaptation of Alex Garland's The Beach.
• "Chemistry" from the album War Stories has featured in BBC 1 trailers for Spooks Series 6.
• "Reign" is currently being used as part of the Australian Hyundai A-League's "90 Minutes 90 Emotions" advertising campaign for the 2007/2008 Season

External links

• Official website
• Unofficial website
• Unofficial discography website
• Unkle at Discogs.com

Electronic musicians

UNKLEUNKLEUNKLEUnkleUNKLE

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z # TAGS