Recommended music: 'The Road: Part 1' by UNKLE

It's no secret that I'm a massive fan of UNKLE, but that doesn't mean that I think everything they've put out has been an unqualified success. In particular the last album 'Where Does The Night Fall' suffered from having too many guest vocalists and a lack of a single vision or theme - to me it didn't really know what it wanted to be which meant in reality it really wasn't much at all.

I'm pleased to say that's not the case with 'The Road: Part 1' though.With the exception of Mark Lanegan there are no real 'starry' guests - instead Lavelle chooses to work here with a pool of singers he's been using for some years now, to much greater effect. On a number of tracks they - Elliott Power, Eska, Mink - share the vocals which adds to the ensemble feel of the record. And while there are number of different types of UNKLE on display here - instrumental soundtrack UNKLE, deep beats UNKLE, rock band UNKLE - there's a cohesiveness to this album that's been lacking in the past. It's a cliche but 'The Road' does feel like something of a journey, and it least on here all of the participants are travelling in the same direction.



Mostly Lavelle's desire to front a rock band is kept in check, in favour of strings, some dark electronics and more sombre, more atmospheric tunes (although the Elliott Power-led songs do now make it sound like he wants to front Massive Attack instead). We can forgive him his moment on the mic on 'Nowhere To Run / Bandits', even if it does prove he's a better producer than lyricist. The tracks that have been around for a while - 'Cowboys or Indians' for example - fit well with the ones we've not heard before, and show that he's been thinking about this release as a whole items rather than just a collection of tracks he's gathered over the past 5 years.



It's clear that this record means a lot to Lavelle, particularly in the way he's packaged it and tried to present it almost as an art project rather than just a record - and as a result of this care and attention he's given us a record that's up there with UNKLE's finest output. I can only hope that there's a 'Part 2' and we don't have to wait as long for it as we did for 'Part 1'.

Recommended music: 'Global Underground #41: James Lavelle presents UNKLE Sounds - Naples'

I must confess to being more than a bit disappointed with this when I first got it last year. This was mainly because, having paid £35 to buy the deluxe edition direct from Global Underground, I discovered that only got you the 2 full length mixes on the cd, and not the full individual tracks as well (I'm sure that wasn't what it said when I ordered it, and I'll come on to why I wanted them a bit later). And to be honest, the mixing on it isn't even all that great - there are some rather clunky transitions, the track ordering is a bit jarring in places, and overall I don't think it really works all that well as a DJ mix. So all that being said - why am I recommending it?

The truth is, you have to come at this from a different angle. It may not be a great mix cd, but what it is instead is a great document of James Lavelle, the records he's made, his collaborators and his remixes. At the start of this year I caved in and bought the download from Amazon, where for £9.99 you get 32 full length tracks and the 2 mixes. Even without the mixes that's 3 hours and 42 minutes of music, most of which Lavelle has at least a finger in, if not a whole hand. There are hard to find remixes, in particular 2 from the last Queens of the Stone Age album. There are tracks recorded live at UNKLE's Redux show at the Southbank in 2014. And there's a whole raft of UNKLE classics (which of course I've already got but are great to hear again). If you think you're not familiar with Lavelle's band then give this a listen and you'll realise that you know more than a few tracks. It's the closest thing there's been to an UNKLE greatest hits.

So ditch the deluxe edition, download the digital, and take a trip with UNKLE Sounds.

Remix of the Day: 'Hey Now (UNKLE Remix)' by London Grammar

You should know by now that any new UNKLE remix is pretty much a shoe-in to be featured on this slot on the blog. So here's James Lavelle's new take on 'Hey Now' - possibly not the most inspired mix he's ever done but still pretty good I reckon. It's part of a new remix EP that's due out soon.

Live review - UNKLE: REDUX, Meltdown Festival, Royal Festival Hall London 13/6/14

The 21st Meltdown Festival kicked off in style last night with a show by this year's curator James Lavelle. Having admitted to feeling the pressure of the curators that had come before him (Bowie, Yoko Ono, Jarvis Cocker and Nick Cave to name just a few) Lavelle and his collaborator Mara Carlyle pulled together a host of guest performers to effectively put on a greatest hits show with a difference. Songs were rearranged, different vocalists were used, old and new friends made appearances, and the whole thing served to showcase what a great body of work Lavelle has produced over the years.

Before we get into the specifics, a quick word about the support act Philip Sheppard. He first worked with UNKLE on 'Glow' for Never, Never, Land and it's clear he and James have a great respect for each other. A solo cellist might not be your idea of a great act but he did amazing things, creating loop upon loop of cello tracks on music ranging from the mid 18th century, through 'Amazing Grace' to a cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' (with a great accompanying story about Jeff Buckley).

UNKLE - James Lavelle & Leila Moss onstage 13/6/14

After the interval (and some shocking bar service, the only thing the otherwise excellent Southbank Centre need to address), UNKLE hit the stage with James Lavelle & Leila Moss (The Duke Spirit / Roman Remains) jointly taking on the vocals on 'Ablivion'. From then on it was a constantly moving feast of vocalists and band members, orchestra and choir, each adding their own individual flavour to the proceedings. Leila Moss has become something of a mainstay at UNKLE shows but she seems to have really developed of late and was definitely one of the stars of the show. A pair of tracks from 'Psyence Fiction' featured the legendary DJ Shadow, while Mark Lanegan was in fine voice - his version of 'Burn My Shadow' was immense. There were a couple of surprising cover versions, some great visuals, and they even used the Festival Hall's gigantic organ on a couple of the tracks. Lavelle was off stage for most of the night (from our excellent second row seats we could see him at the side of the stage, encouraging and coordinating), but returned just before the end of a round of thank yous. The evening closed with Moss and Lavelle again joining forces on last song 'The Answer', the live version of which is now a combination of the Trentemøller mix and the original. There's a partial setlist below - I was too engrossed to be taking notes so it's not got everything and it's not in the right order - corrections welcome!

UNKLE: REDUX setlist 13/6/14

• Worship ( spoken word by Michele Lamy)
• Hold My Hand (vocals by James Lavelle & Leila Moss)
• Mayday (vocals by Leila Moss)
• Bloodstain (feat. DJ Shadow)
• Lonely Soul (feat. DJ Shadow)
• Another Night Out (vocals by Mark Lanegan)
• Ex-Factor (vocals by Mara Carlyle)
• With You In My Head (vocals by Leila Moss)
• Burn My Shadow (vocals by Mark Lanegan)
• The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (vocals by Keaton Henson)
• Rabbit In Your Headlights (vocals by Keaton Henson)
• In A State (vocals by Leila Moss)
• Heaven (vocals by Mark Lanegan)
• The Answer (vocals by James Lavelle & Leila Moss)

Before the show we had time to visit Urban Archeology, the Mo' Wax exhibition celebrating Lavelle's record label - it was nice to see my name on the wall having supported the campaign to put the exhibition together!

Once the UNKLE show had finished we headed downstairs to the Clore Ballroom for the free aftershow - it was great to be able to have a dance, it's the one thing you miss by having a show at somewhere like the Festival Hall or the Barbican. We couldn't stay for the whole thing but Don Letts' reggae-tinged set was great.

Don Letts on the wheels of steel

PS Philip Sheppard posted his live version on line a couple of day ago - here it is:

Remix of the Day: 'Feel (UNKLE Reconstruction)' by Bombay Bicycle Club

Unbelievably this is the fourth UNKLE remix to have appeared in almost as many weeks - James Lavelle is certainly doing his bit to publicise his curation of the Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre, which kicks off with an appearance by UNKLE themselves on 13th June. I really like this mix, despite the fact that it almost completely does away with the bit of the song which first drew me to the original version of the track. There's a brief appearance of that Eastern motif a few minutes before the end, but apart from that it sound very much like an UNKLE track with a guest vocalist rather than the Bombay Bicycle Club single.



You can download the track for free at the moment but be quick because it's only around for a limited time.

Remix of the Day: 'Feeling Good Tonight (UNKLE Reconstruction)' by Therr Maitz

James Lavelle's return to prominence continues with this remix of an act I'd never heard of before. Therr Maitz comes from Moscow in Russia and names UNKLE as one of his key influences, so he must be chuffed to have got Lavelle involved with this track. It's very much at the electronic end of UNKLE's output, and reminds me a but of the Surrender Sounds version of 'Heavy Drug'.



Building up to his curation of the Meltdown Festival Lavelle has put out more remixes in the past couple of months than he did in the previous couple of years. Here's one that appeared a couple of weeks ago that I didn't get round to blogging at the time; the UNKLE Reconstruction of 'Pressure' by UTRB. This one's a lot more like the early trip-hop he used to put out on the Mo' Wax label. It sounds a lot like Massive Attack (specifically 'Protection') and makes a good counterpoint to the Maitz remix above.

New music: 'Noel Gets Phunked Up' a.k.a 'AKA...What A Life (UNKLE Remix)' by Noel Gallagher

We may never get to heat the full album of Noel Gallagher remixes by Amorphous Androgynous, which is a shame as the ones I've heard so far have been really good. But while we wait here's a completely different take on 'What A Life' by James Lavelle, in which he splices Noel G's song with a healthy dose of 'Motorbass Get Phunked Up' by La Funk Mob. It's pretty good once it gets going, so have a listen and see what you think. The track was originally featured on a 2 and a half hour mix that James Lavelle put out a couple of months ago called 'Living In My Headphones' - you can find the download for that on my achive page (click here).

Video of the Day: 'Hold My Hand' by UNKLE

A new video for this track from their last meeting, and one that's co-directed by main man James Lavelle himself. The video is a fly-on-the-wall look at cabaret performer Miss Crash, and although it's already had to be edited to allow it back up on Youtube it's still pretty much Not Safe For Work. Have a look and see what you think of it.

Track of the Day: 'The Force' - Tokimonsta feat. Kool Keith

A change in sound for Jennifer Lee (Tokimonsta), and one which sadly hasn't been welcomed by some haters on the internet. They can go screw themselves because this is more than a bit good. Teaming up with Kool Keith she's made a track that would definitely have been at home on Mo' Wax back in the day - you can see why she states 'I'm a part of the Dr. Octagon generation'. This definitely bodes well for the new album, which is due out in the spring.