UNKLE (or sometimes stylised as U.N.K.L.E. in the early days) are a British band founded in 1992 by James Lavelle. Since its 1992 inception, UNKLE has been the primary musical outlet of James Lavelle.
The co-founder of Mo' Wax, one of the most consequential English independent labels of the '90s, Lavelle has been joined by a carousel of primary collaborators and an ever-changing array of guest contributors who have helped him indulge in styles ranging from sample-based hip-hop to downcast stoner rock.
The Top Five U.K. hit Psyence Fiction (1998), the debut UNKLE album, was shaped by temporary
partner DJ Shadow, but its diversions pointed the way toward the progressively band-oriented albums that have followed through the late 2010s. Co-piloted by the likes of Richard File and Pablo Clements, and involving recurring roles for subterranean rockers such as Josh Homme, Chris Goss, and Mark Lanegan, sprawling albums such as Never, Never Land (2003) and Where Did the Night Fall (2010) have ensured that Lavelle won't be known simply as a trip-hop catalyst.
More expansive and less rooted in hip-hop, its samples were derived more frequently from films and
well-known hard rock and post-punk recordings than from obscure jazz, soul, and funk sources, and emphasized File's songwriting. Graham Gouldman, Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme, Brian Eno, Jarvis Cocker, and Massive Attack's 3D comprised a fraction of the guest list. The set reached number 24 in the U.K. and the Top Ten of Billboard's dance/electronic chart in the U.S.
Lavelle and File returned four years later with War Stories, including previous and new associates such
as Alice Temple, the Cult's Ian Astbury, Masters of Reality's Chris Goss, and Homme, the latter two of whom factored in the album's stoner rock/alternate metal edge. Where Did the Night Fall, the fourth proper UNKLE album, arrived in 2010 with a band-oriented approach assisted by three-fifths of Lake Trout (aka Big in Japan), the Black Angels, Nick Cave, and Mark Lanegan.
UNKLE didn't release another album for seven years, but the interim was filled with live performances
and numerous smaller-scale projects including soundtrack contributions, plus Lavelle's production of Queens of Stone Age's "...Like Clockwork" and "curation" of the 2014 Meltdown Festival, which featured an UNKLE set. A documentary on Lavelle, The Man from Mo' Wax, was released in 2016.
After a seven-year break from recording albums, Lavelle and company returned in bleak, cinematic style with the related The Road: Part I (2017) and The Road: Part II (Lost Highway) (2019).
Former members
James Lavelle (1992–present)
Tim Goldsworthy (1994-1995)
Toshio Nakanishi (1992–1996)
K.u.d.o (1994-1995)
DJ Shadow (Josh Davis) (1997-1999)
Richard File (1999-2008)
Pablo Clements (2007-2014)
When playing live they were also joined by The Scratch Perverts DJs First Rate & Tony Vegas & Prime Cuts
DISCOGRAPHY
Psyence Fiction (1998)
Never, Never, Land (2003)
War Stories (2007)
Where Did the Night Fall (2010)
The Road: Part I (2017)
War Stories is the third studio album by English electronic music group UNKLE. The album was released in Japan on 20 June 2007, UK and Europe on 2 July 2007, and in North America on 24 July. War Stories debuted at number 58 in Australia. The cover art was designed by 3D of Massive Attack.
[July 23, 2007 - The sonic outfit--headed up by label ingenue (he founded Mo'Wax), DJ, and overall keeper of a globally eclectic electronic flag James Lavelle--has never so much redefined the current
musical landscape as he/they have refined it. With each successive UNKLE release Lavelle has merely built upon existing popular music foundations, tweaking and finessing various genres into a well-oiled blend of contemporary ambience. Psyence Fiction reworked the DJ/producer-and-guest artist fad, while Never, Never, Land expanded the dwindling electro-noir sensibilities once presided over by the likes of Massive Attack and Portishead.
Now, with their third full-length effort, Lavelle and the returning Richard File (he first cropped up as a singer/songwriter on Never, Never, Land) have released what is being billed as their "rock" endeavor. In
reality it's not much different than past UNKLE offerings except in tonal focal point. Guitars are definitely more at the front, grinding, lurching, and chipping away at the group's standard electronic embellishment. As with the previous two albums, Lavelle again calls upon an esoteric list of guests to help flesh out the various tracks contained within. This time, however, the overall vibe of the album calls to mind the vintage heydays of modern Brit Pop (think the late '80s and early-to-mid '90s).
In terms of the high profile guests, Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme pops up on "Restless," a
turgid little drone that intermingles throbbing bass drone and sheltering sky electronic wash around the singer's familiar croon. By the time Homme has ushered in the lyrical mantra of "gotta follow the light to the love" you want to do just that. 3D from Massive Attack appears on "Twilight," whispering softly over muted electronic propulsion that accurately captures the fleeting moments lurking between the end of day and beginning of night.
Newcomer Gavin Clark weighs in on two tracks. The first of these, "Keys To The Kingdom," commences with energetic guitar and bass shifts that are soon augmented by what sounds like
electronically filtered fiddle. Clark's vocals ride this strange futuro Celtic riff with a neo blues intonation that's sweetly rough yet tinged with just the right amount of melancholy. On "Broken" Clark sings over an elastic bassline, crashing echo drums, and crystalline guitar. He effectively releases his former gutturally intoned whisper to the ether and replaces it with a falsetto drift that brings to mind an adolescent Bryan Ferry.
The Cult's frontman Ian Astbury joins the fray for "Burn My Shadow," a song which begins with
chirping birds and an airy, ambient sense of space before kicking in with aggressive acoustic guitars and pounding drums. Those familiar with Astbury's flights of fancy will no doubt be sucked in by his calming quietude which eventually builds into emphatic intensity. He also closes out the album with "When Things Explode," a wavering acoustic meditation that floats on a crest of detached symphonic warmth.
The final guest slots are given up to L.A. based Autolux and London bred Duke Spirit. The former join
"Persons & Machinery," a track that combines ethereal vocals along with mildly dissonant electronic elements, reverberating bass and a chilling tonal backdrop to create a genuinely beguiling pop after-effect. The latter is a raucous ditty rife with ragged guitars, jugular bass, and careening femme fatale vocals that border on being caterwaul extremism, albeit if toned down with hot shots of valium.
Sandwiched in-between all of the guest shots are the Richard File presided over numbers like "Chemistry," which takes prominent bass flutters and injects them with sweeping waves of tonality to
create an ebb and flow styled romp that eventually ends up sounding like a scratchy King Crimson bout of deterioration. Then there's "Hold My Hand," which begins like a rusted cartoon theme song and quickly degenerates into a rhythm fueled, big rock guitar riff focused, quasi goth-meets-new-wave (dark new wave, perhaps?) inspired recitation.
Elsewhere "Price You Pay" goes for a roaming sense of electronic chamber music, utilizing lightly echoed laments, strings, and eclipsed static to create an otherworldly sense of isolation. The last two
non-guest artist tracks are "Morning Rage," which is all chug and circumstance and feels like the morning after before one has had that first cigarette and cup of coffee, and "Lawless," which takes snappy drums and scintillating electro grind, mixes it with fuzzed out guitars and Richard File's slightly more aggressive vocal stance.
With War Stories UNKLE continue to create captivating music that might not make your blood boil, but will certainly tingle your ears. What's more they've seemingly perfected the art of crafting an album,
paying close attention to the way songs are sequenced so that each track flows seamlessly into the next, regardless of overall style or who is commanding the vocals. In this way the 14 tracks included here work as a cohesive whole, a sonic experience that can be traveled from start to finish in dreamy excess and feels like a darkly tinged reworking of late '80s and early '90s British pop extremities that may be far from earth-shattering, but is extremely captivating nonetheless.
By Spence D.]
JOSH HOMME
Joshua Michael Homme born May 17, 1973) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he formed in 1996 and in which he sings lead vocals and plays guitar, as well as occasionally playing bass and drums. He also co-founded Eagles of Death Metal in 1998, playing drums and bass for their studio recordings and occasionally performing live with them.
GAVIN CLARK
Gavin Clark (25 January 1969 – 16 February 2015) was an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was a member of groups including Sunhouse, Clayhill and UNKLE. Clark, who had struggled with alcoholism, died in February 2015 caused by breathing complications associated with the illness.
IAN ASTBURY
Ian Robert Astbury (born 14 May 1962) is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known as a founding member and lead vocalist as well as frontman of the English rock band the Cult. Born in Heswall, Cheshire,[5] Astbury moved with his family to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, from England in 1973 when he was 11. Astbury became lead singer of The Doors of the 21st Century in 2002. The group featured original Doors members Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek.
THE DUKE SPIRIT
The Duke Spirit are an English rock band based in London. Their sound has been seen as a melding of influences ranging from alternative rock bands such as The Jesus and Mary Chain and Spiritualized, the tremulous rock'n'roll of bands such as The Gun Club and The Patti Smith Group, to distinctive rhythmic Atlantic soul and Motown influences. Band members Liela Moss and Toby Butler also perform together in the electro-rock duo Roman Remains.
AUTOLUX
Autolux is an American alternative rock band consisting of Eugene Goreshter (vocals, bass), Greg Edwards (vocals, guitar, piano) and Carla Azar (drums, vocals). The trio formed in 2001 and have released three full-length albums, Future Perfect (2004), Transit Transit (2010) and Pussy's Dead (2016). Their eclectic sound draws from post-punk, electronic music and krautrock.
3D ROBERT DEL NAJA
Robert Del Naja (born 21 January 1965), also known as 3D, is a British artist, musician, singer and songwriter. He emerged as a graffiti artist and member of the Bristol collective The Wild Bunch, and later as a founding member and sole consistent member of the band Massive Attack, with which he is still active. In 2009, he received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.
LEE GORDON
Alfie were an English indie rock band, formed in 1998 in Manchester. The band were composed of singer Lee Gorton, guitarist-vocalist Ian Smith, drummer Sean Kelly, bassist Sam Morris and cellist-guitarist Matt McGeever.
Gorton admitted that the name Alfie "was just plucked out of the air", but with it being one of the first bands alphabetically had helped them as, for example, when the band "played All Tomorrow's Parties, it looked like we were headlining". The band released four studio albums before disbanding in 2005.
ALICE TEMPLE
Alice Temple is an English musician, singer and songwriter, born in London. She is best known for her collaboration with Eg White under the name Eg and Alice. She is also notable for having been the first female UK and European BMX champion
WAR STORIES (2 CD LIMITED EDITION)
DISC ONE.
01. Intro – 0:22
02. Chemistry – 3:22
03. Hold My Hand – 4:59
04. Restless (featuring Josh Homme) – 5:04
05. Keys to the Kingdom (featuring Gavin Clark) – 4:45
06. Price You Pay – 6:22
07. Burn My Shadow (featuring Ian Astbury) – 4:57
08. Mayday (featuring The Duke Spirit) – 3:18
09. Persons & Machinery (featuring Autolux) – 6:04
10. Twilight (featuring 3D) – 5:21
11. Morning Rage – 5:15
12. Lawless – 2:36
13. Broken (featuring Gavin Clark) – 4:42
14. When Things Explode (featuring Ian Astbury) – 5:32
15. Buying a Lie (featuring Lee Gorton) (Australian and Japanese bonus track plus in the UK on Indie Limited Edition) – 4:25
16. Mistress (featuring Alice Temple) (Australian and Japanese bonus track plus in the UK on Indie Limited Edition) – 3:48
17. Tired of Sleeping (hidden track) – 6:26
MP3 @ 320 Size: 182 MB
Flac Size: 514 MB
DISC TWO. LIMITED EDITION INSTRUMENTAL VERSIONS (SURR005CDXX)
01. Hold My Hand (Instrumental) – 4:59
02. Restless (Instrumental) – 5:04
03. Keys to the Kingdom (Instrumental) – 4:45
04. Price You Pay (Instrumental) – 6:22
05. Burn My Shadow (Instrumental) – 4:57
06. Mayday (Instrumental) – 3:18
07. Persons & Machinery (Instrumental) – 6:04
08. Twilight (Instrumental) – 5:21
09. Morning Rage (Instrumental) – 5:15
10. Lawless (Instrumental) – 2:36
11. Broken (Instrumental) – 4:42
12. When Things Explode (Instrumental) – 5:32
MP3 @ 320 Size: 139 MB
Flac Size: 386 MB
UNKLE – ONLY THE LONELY EP 2011
Only the Lonely is an EP released by Unkle on 4 April 2011. Its entire track list also appears on Unkle's Where Did the Night Fall – Another Night Out.
Label: Surrender All – SURR021CD
Format: CD, EP
Country: UK
Released: Apr 2011
Genre: Rock
Style: Electronic
TRACKS
01. Money And Run 5:16
Backing Vocals – James Griffith, James Lavelle, Pablo Clements, The Adpar Street Allstars, Wendy Ray Fowler
Bass – Guthrie Govan
Drums – Alex Reeves
Featuring, Vocals – Nick Cave
Guitar – Guthrie Govan, Hal Ritson, Rich Fownes
Producer [Additonal Production] – Hal Ritson
Programmed By – Hal Ritson, James Griffith, Pablo Clements
Written-By – H Ritson, N Cave
02. The Dog Is Black 5:03
Engineer [Vocals] – Jason Gossman
Featuring, Vocals – Liela Moss
Written-By – L Moss
03. Only The Lonely (Dub) 4:24
Backing Vocals – James Griffith
Engineer – Robbie Fruze
04. Wash The Love Away 5:13
Featuring, Vocals – Gavin Clark
Guitar, Synthesizer, Engineer – Joel Cadbury
Written-By – G Clark, J Cadbury
05. Sunday Song 6:38
Backing Vocals – James Griffith
Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Synthesizer, Drums, Percussion, Engineer – Matthew Pierce
Featuring, Vocals, Engineer [Vocals] – Rachel Fannan
Written-By – M Pierce, R Fannan
06. Money And Run (Radio Edit) 3:33
Featuring, Vocals – Nick Cave
CREDITS
Art Direction – Ben Drury, James Lavelle, Warren Du Preez & Nick Thornton Jones
Bass – James Griffith
Compiled By, Edited By, Performer [Unkle Is] – James Lavelle, Pablo Clements
Computer [Protools] – James Griffith, Pablo Clements
Design, Typography [Lettering] – Ben Drury
Drum Programming – Pablo Clements (tracks: 2 to 4)
Engineer – James Griffith (tracks: 2, 3, 5), Pablo Clements
Guitar – James Griffith (tracks: 1 to 3)
Mastered By – Mike Marsh
Mixed By – Steve Dub Jones
Photography By – Warren Du Preez & Nick Thornton Jones
Producer – UNKLE
Producer [Additional Production] – James Griffith (tracks: 1, 2, 4)
Synthesizer – James Griffith (tracks: 2 to 5), Pablo Clements (tracks: 2 to 4)
Written-By – J Griffith, J Lavelle, P Clements
