More Info on UnkleSimilar Electronic MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
other uses|Uncle (disambiguation)Use dmy dates|date=July 2011Use British English|date=July 2011Refimprove|date=February 2011Infobox musical artist | name = Unkle| image = UNKLE.jpg| caption = Unkle in concert at Somerset House in London in 2008| image_size = | landscape = yes| background = group_or_band| alias =| origin = London , England | genre = Trip hop Downtempo Electronic music|Electronica Trip rock | years_active = 1994–present| label = Mo' Wax , Global Underground , Surrender-All| associated_acts = UNKLESounds, Josh Homme, Queens of the Stone Age , South (U.K. band)|South , Badly Drawn Boy , Mike D (musician)|Mike D , Beastie Boys , Lupe Fiasco , Richard Ashcroft , The Verve , The Duke Spirit , Ian Brown , Autolux , Oasis (band)|Oasis , Clayhill|Gavin Clark , Robert Del Naja , Ian Astbury , Massive Attack , The Stone Roses , Alice Temple , Kool G Rap , Thom Yorke , Radiohead , Men From U.N.K.L.E.| website = URL|unkle.com| current_members = James Lavelle Pablo Clements| past_members = DJ Shadow Toshio Nakanishi K.U.D.O Tim Goldsworthy Richard File Unkle (also written as U.N.K.L.E. ) are a United Kingdom|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 have employed a variety of guest artists and producers.
History
First incarnation (1994–1996)
Lavelle and Goldsworthy were joined by Masayuki Kudo and Toshio Nakanishi of the Japan ese hip hop crew Major Force (later Major Force West). They also brought on board a host of collaborating artists, including Money Mark (keyboard player for the Beastie Boys ), the Scratch Perverts and Japanese people|Japanese clothes designer Nigo and Takagi Kan (both also of Major Force). Their first release in 1994 was the Extended play|EP The Time Has Come , on Lavelle's recording label Mo' Wax .
In 1995, while working on their debut album, Lavelle and Goldsworthy disagreed over the direction the music was taking. Goldsworthy wanted to continue with the Mo' Wax house music|house style of earlier tracks, while Lavelle wanted to bring in singers, hip hop and Rock music|rock artists. Goldsworthy left the group and went on to work with Belfast DJ and producer David Holmes (musician)|David Holmes and also co-founded The DFA with James Murphy (electronic musician)|James Murphy .
From these early sessions, Berry Meditation and several tracks with Money Mark and Beastie Boys producer Mario Caldato Jr. were subsequently 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, Last Orgy 3 , marking the last of the early Unkle material to surface.
Second incarnation (1997–1999)
Lavelle drafted in DJ Shadow to work on the debut album, and essentially discarded all previously recorded material. Lavelle and Shadow released Psyence Fiction in 1998 to critical acclaim. The album included collaborations with an all-star lineup including Thom Yorke ( Radiohead ), Mike D (musician)|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. Also in 1999, former producer Richard File remixed the track "Unreal", adding vocals by Ian Brown , and the resulting track was released as the single "Be There".
On 1 February 1999, Lavelle and the Scratch Perverts appeared on the Radio 1 program The Breezeblock , utilising "5 turntables". The set was largely based around tracks from Psyence Fiction, with some of them reworked live by Lavelle for the live performance. The Scratch Perverts' contribution consisted of scratching over the top of the U.N.K.L.E. tracks, a deconstructed version of 'Be There', and some solo interludes. http://www.mixesdb.com/db/index.php/1999-02-01_-_UNKLE_vs_Scratch_Perverts_-_Breezeblock_-_Headline_Set U.N.K.L.E. vs Scratch Perverts Breezeblock session tracklist
Third incarnation (2000–2007)
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 a new, more electronic direction the group had taken, and featured a number of tracks from Psyence Fiction , remixed in an Ambient music|ambient style.
Richard File co-produced, played and sang on the second album, Never, Never, Land , released in 2003. The album again featured a number of high-profile contributors, including Ian Brown , Josh Homme ( Queens of the Stone Age ), Robert Del Naja ( Massive Attack ) and Gary Mounfield|Mani ( The Stone Roses , Primal Scream ) among others.
Lavelle and File continued releasing mixes as Unklesounds. The mix album Edit Music for a Film: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Reconstruction , featuring movie sampling (music)|samples and tracks from film soundtracks, was created for the After Dark 2004 event at the Institute of Contemporary Arts|ICA London . A single CD version was handed out at the event, and it was released officially as an extended two disc set in 2005.
In September 2006, Global Underground released Self Defence: Never, Never, Land Reconstructed and Bonus Beats , a CD box set of remixes and bonus tracks from the Never, Never, Land sessions, including tracks previously only available on the original DVD release of the album. It also contained remixes of a track mooted for their next album, featuring Ian Astbury of The Cult , titled "Burn My Shadow".
War Stories (album)|War Stories , the third album from Unkle, was released in summer 2007. The album again featured a number of guests including Josh Homme , Clayhill|Gavin Clark , Robert Del Naja , Ian Astbury , The Duke Spirit , Autolux and Neil Davidge . Following the release of the single "Hold My Hand", Pablo Clements (of The Psychonauts ) became an Unkle member.
Fourth incarnation (2008 – present)
In January 2008 Unkle released More Stories , containing a mix of B-side s, remixes, unreleased War Stories session tracks, and music composed for the film Odyssey In Rome (film)|Odyssey In Rome . The same month, Richard File announced he was leaving Unkle after 10& nbsp;years' collaboration to pursue work with his new band, We Fell to Earth. http://www.noizemakesenemies.co.uk/2008/01/file-leaves-unkle-news.html Noize Makes Enemies.co.uk - File leaves Unkle In March the Lazarides Gallery in London showcased War Paint , an exhibition of artworks inspired by the recent Unkle album War Stories , with works from Robert Del Naja , Warren du Preez , Nick Thornton Jones , Will Bankhead and Ben Drury . http://www.lazinc.com/content/images/exhibitions/war_paint/Press_release_-_War_Paint_at_Lazarides_Gallery.pdf War Paint at Lazarides Gallery Unkle began touring the UK with Zoot Woman and Sebastian and Mr. Flash from the french electro record Ed Banger Records . The concert, set across four acts, featured live performances from past Unkle contributors including Badly Drawn Boy , Liela Moss from The Duke Spirit , Clayhill|Gavin Clark and Joel Cadbury from South (U.K. band)|South .
Unkle's fourth full album titled End Titles... Stories for Film was released in July 2008. http://unkle.shop.musictoday.com/Dept.aspx? cp=1228_11285 UNKLE Store - End Titles ...Stories for Film It includes collaborations from Chris Goss , Black Mountain (band)|Black Mountain , Philip Sheppard , Dave Bateman , Joel Cadbury, and James Griffith ( Lake Trout (band)|Lake Trout) . The album is described in the sleeve notes by Lavelle as "not a new album in the usual sense, but new music that has been inspired by the moving image." As such, it can be considered a companion piece both to War Stories but also to the earlier Unklesounds mix, Edit Music for a Film .
15 December 2008, saw the release of “End Titles… Redux” (limited to 3000 CDs from official UNKLE stores and digitally from 14 December). This release features seven re-interpreted tracks from the album ‘End Titles… Stories For Film’ plus 2 never before released tracks “When Once It Was” and “A Perfect Storm”. The exclusive package is a 6 panel soft-pack with a 12 page booklet with images by Robert Del Naja .
Upon the release of the single Heavy Drug (Surrender Sounds Mix) in August 2009, Unkle disclosed they had already begun recording their next studio album, Where Did the Night Fall , which was released in May 2010. This also included an all-star cast of performers including: Mark Lanegan, The Black Angels , Sleepy Sun , and Katrina Ford . As well as ELLE J and Gavin Clark. The album is also available as a digital download from UNKLE's site.
It was announced on 18 April 2011 that Unkle would headline the Dance Stage at the Reading and Leeds Festivals . http://leedsfestival.com/2011/news/article/the_dance_stage_is_unveiled They will be performing a world-exclusive audio-visual DJ set at the festivals, playing songs from their back catalogue alongside remixes of other artists' songs as well as Unkle's own material. They will be performing under the name UNKLE Sounds. http://leedsfestival.com/2011/lineup/artist/unkle_sounds
Discography
Main|Unkle discography
Studio Albums
Year
Album details
Peak chart positions
Certifications List of music recording sales certifications
UK
AUS http:/ / www.australian-charts.com/ showinterpret.asp? interpret=Unkle
IRE
FRA http:/ / lescharts.com/ showinterpret.asp? interpret=Unkle
Do Androids Dream of Electric Beats (Rare 3 Disc Mix Set)
2006
Self Defence: Never, Never, Land Reconstructed and Bonus Beats (4 Disc Box Set)
2008
More Stories (B-Sides Compilation)
2008
End Titles… Redux
2011
Where Did The Night Fall - Another Night Out
Appearances
Albums
Appearances in media
Unkle's work has been played on BBC's Top Gear (current format)|Top Gear in a regular basis since Season 2.
Songs
Appearances in media
Sunna - I'm Not Trading (UNKLE - In Utero)
Mix of Sunna track on "I'm Not Trading" Maxi-Single.
Lonely Soul
Advertisement for Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 game '' Assassin's Creed .
Soundtrack for film The Beach (film)|The Beach .
Soundtrack for Misfits (TV series) episode 1.
The Healing
Played on BBC Panorama - British Schools, Islamic Rules.
Reign
Theme for "90 Minutes, 90 Emotions" of the 2007–2008 Hyundai A-League season of the Football Federation of Australia .
Soundtrack for MasterChef (UK TV series)|MasterChef BBC TV show.
Glow
Soundtrack for film Push (2009 film)|Push .
Safe in Mind (Please Take This Gun From Out My Face)
"Teddy Bears Picnic" advertisement for Lucozade .
Eye For An Eye
Soundtrack for Made Man (video game)|Made Man , a computer game for PC and Sony PS2.
Trailer for Prison Break on Five (channel)|Channel Five .
Played at the end of the BBC's coverage of the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying 2010.
Advertisement for Nike, Inc .
Trailer for Television adaptation of Chris Ryan's Strike Back on Sky1HD.
Soundtrack for the game Driver: San Francisco
Queens of the Stone Age – No One Knows (UNKLE Remix)
Soundtrack for video games Race Driver: Grid , Test Drive Unlimited and SSX 3 .
Used in a trailer for film The Bourne Ultimatum (film)|The Bourne Ultimatum .
Leap of Faith
Soundtrack for film Goal! .
Chemistry
Trailer for Series 6 of TV show Spooks .
Soundtrack for Psyche .
Soundtrack for MasterChef (UK TV series)|MasterChef TV show.
Advertisement for a 2011 '' NFL ' Playoff Game.
Trailer for The Da Vinci Disappearance Downloadable content|DLC in '' Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood .
Keys To The Kingdom
Trailer for Heroes (TV series)|Heroes season 1.
Trailer for CSI: NY on Five (channel)|Channel Five .
Played during the tennis scene in film Deception (2008 film)|Deception .
Price You Pay
Played during a scene in film Deception .
Restless
Trailer for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on Five (channel)|Channel Five .
Soundtrack for video game Need For Speed : ProStreet , the song became an " Electronic Arts|EA Track".
Soundtrack for video game Colin McRae: Dirt 2 .
Soundtrack for CSI: NY episode 401, "Can You Hear Me Now? ".
Played on BBC's Top Gear (current format)|Top Gear Season 15, Episode 5 - VW Touareg vs Snowmobiles.
Soundtrack for Misfits (TV series) series two, episode two (Fake Blood Remix).
Burn My Shadow
Trailer for FUEL (2009 video game)|FUEL video game by Codemasters .
Soundtrack for CSI: NY episode 414, "Playing with Matches".
Trailer for video game Alone in the Dark (2008 video game)|Alone In The Dark: Inferno .
Trailer for Single Player campaign '' Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood .
Soundtrack for 2010 film Repo Men .
Advertisement for Mercedes-Benz .
Hold My Hand
Soundtrack for film 21 (2008 film)|21 .
Mayday
Soundtrack for video game Grand Theft Auto IV .
Soundtrack for MasterChef (UK TV series)|MasterChef TV show.
Soundtrack for surf documentary A Fly In The Champagne .
Played on BBC's Top Gear (current format)|Top Gear Season, 15 Episode 3 - Four Door Supercars.
Gavin Clark )
Soundtrack for film The X-Files: I Want to Believe .
Awake The Unkind
Soundtrack for American TV show Queer as Folk (North American TV series)|Queer As Folk season 5, episode 5.
Heaven
Soundtrack for Lakai Shoes' Fully Flared skateboarding video.
Trailer for video game DiRT 3 teaser.
Trouble In Paradise (Variation on a Theme)
Background for the 2007 BMW 'See How It Feels' television commercial.
Theme for Euro 2008 , football tournament. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/05_may/30/euro_2008.shtml UNKLE to perform Euro 2008 theme BBC Press Office, 30 May 2008
Played on BBC Panorama - British Schools, Islamic Rules.
Played on BBC's Top Gear (current format)|Top Gear Season, 14 Episode 3 - Lancia's Seven Great Cars Tribute.
The Black Angels )
Soundtrack for film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse .
Ian Brown - F.E.A.R. (UNKLE Remix)
Soundtrack for video game F1 2010 by Codemasters (Main Intro Theme and Developers Diary Trailers 1-5).
Heavy Drug (Surrender Sounds Mix)
Soundtrack for Skins (TV Series)|Skins series 4, episode 3 "Cook"
The Answer
Soundtrack for film Drive Angry
Soundtrack for video game DiRT 3
Synthetic Water
Played on BBC's Top Gear (current format)|Top Gear Season 13, Episode 5 - Jaguar XFR vs BMW M5 Review.
Played during an interview with Lewis Hamilton on the BBC's coverage of the Formula 1 2011 Turkish Grand Prix .
When Things Explode
Played in Season 1 Episode 10 of Person of Interest (TV series)|Person of Interest .
