Unkle (also written as UNKLE and U.N.K.L.E. ) 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.

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History

First incarnation (1994–1996)

Lavelle and Goldsworthy were joined by Masayuki Kudo and Toshio Nakanishi of the Japanese 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 clothes designer Nigo and Takagi Kan (both also of Major Force). Their first release in 1994 was the 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 style of earlier tracks, while Lavelle wanted to bring in singers, hip hop and rock artists. Goldsworthy left the group and went on to work with Belfast DJ and producer David Holmes and also co-founded The DFA with 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, 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, Forme producer Richard File remixed the track "Unreal", adding vocals by Ian Brown, and the resulting track was released as the single "Be There".

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 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 Mani (The Stone Roses, Primal Scream) among others. Due in part to label changes (the album was variously released by Mo' Wax, Universal Island Records and Global Underground) and Lavelle's trademark insistence on multiple formats, it was not a major success.

Lavelle and File continued releasing mixes as Unklesounds. The mix album Edit Music for a Film: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Reconstruction , featuring movie samples and tracks from film soundtracks, was created for the After Dark 2004 event at the 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 , the third album from Unkle, was released in summer 2007. The album again featured a number of guests including Josh Homme, 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-sides, remixes, unreleased War Stories session tracks, and music composed for the film Odyssey In Rome . The same month, Richard File announced he was leaving Unkle after 10 years' collaboration to pursue work with his new band, We Fell to Earth. ^[1]

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. ^[2]

Unkle began touring the UK with Zoot Woman and Sebastian and Mr. Flash from 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, Gavin Clark and Joel Cadbury from South.

Unkle's fourth full album titled End Titles... Stories for Film was released in July 2008. ^[3] It includes collaborations from Chris Goss, Black Mountain, Philip Sheppard, Dave Bateman, Joel Cadbury, and James Griffith (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 .

December 15th 2008 saw the release of “End Titles… Redux” (limited to 3000 CDs from official UNKLE stores and digitally from the 14th of 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.

Discography

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Albums

Year	Album	Chart Positions	Certified
1998	Psyence Fiction	4 (UK), 15 (AUS)	Gold (UK)
2003	Never, Never, Land	24 (UK), 57 (IRE), 82 (FRA)
2006	Self Defence: Never, Never, Land Reconstructed and Bonus Beats (4 Disc Box Set)
2007	War Stories	58 (UK), 66 (IRE), 84 (FRA), 50 (BEL), 58 (CH), 99 (GER)
2008	More Stories (B-Sides Compilation)
2008	End Titles... Stories for Film	70 (UK)
2008	End Titles... Redux

Singles and EPs

• "The Time Has Come EP" (1994)
• "Ape Shall Never Kill Ape (ft. Nigo)" (1997)
• "Berry Meditation" (1996)
• "Rock On" (1996)
• "Last Orgy 3" (1998)
• "Guns Blazing" (ft. Kool G Rap) (1998) promo only
• "Rabbit in Your Headlights" (ft. Thom Yorke) (1998)
• "Be There" (ft. Ian Brown) (1999) UK #8
• "Narco Tourist" (with Slam) UK #66
• "Cocaine & Camcorders" (2001) promo only
• "Eye for an Eye" (2003) UK #31
• "In a State" (2003) UK #44
• "Reign" (ft. Ian Brown) (2004) UK #40, US Hot Dance Singles Sales #14
• "Nights Temper EP" (2007) limited release
• "Burn My Shadow (ft. Ian Astbury)" (2007) UK #112
• "Hold My Hand" (2007)
• "Restless" (2008)
• "Remix Stories Vol. 1" (2008)
• "Remix Stories Vol. 2" (2009)
• "Heavy Drug (Surrender Sounds Mix)" (2009)

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)
• Edit Music for a Film: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Reconstruction (2005)
• Original Artform (Contained within the Limited Edition Silly Thing box) (2007)

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)
• "Over My Head" (Unkle mix) and (Unkle Instrumental) for Furslide, on "Over My Head" (UK 12" Promo) (Virgin 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)
• "Colours In Waves" (Unkle Reconstruction) for South, on "Colours In Waves" (Sanctuary Records 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 UK 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 Saw II: 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)
• "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)
• "I Feel Speed" (Unkle Remix) for Dubfire, on "I Feel Speed" (SCI TEC Digital Audio Download 2007)
• "I'm Designer" (Unkle Remix) for Queens of the Stone Age, on German Tour Edition of the album "Era Vulgaris (album)" (Rekords Rekords 2008)
• "The Step & The Walk" (Rich File Remix) for The Duke Spirit, on CD Single release of "The Step & The Walk" (You Are Here 2008)

;Surrender Sound Sessions

• "Life2Live" (Unkle Surrender Sounds Session #1) for Layo & Bushwacka, on "Lfe2Live / Feels Closer (Remixes) 12"" (Olmeto 2006)
• "False Flags" (Unkle Surrender Sounds Session #2) for Massive Attack, on "False Flags" (promo) (Virgin 2006)
• "No Hits" (Unkle Surrender Sounds Session #3) for Black Mountain (band), on "Introducing... (Selected Works) 2CD Promo" (Surrender All 2006)
• "Turnstile Blues" (Unkle Surrender Sounds Session #4) for Autolux, on "More Stories (Selected Works) CD" (Traffic Inc Japan 2008)
• "Burn My Shadow" (Unkle Surrender Sound Session #5) for Unkle, on "More Stores (Selected Works) CD" (Traffic Inc Japan 2008)
• "Movin" (Unkle Surrender Sound Session #9) for Skylark, on "i-Panik: Remixed" (Saved Records 2008)
• "The X-Files Theme (Variation on a Theme)" (Unkle Surrender Sounds Session #10) for Mark Snow, remixed for the movie The X-Files: I Want to Believe (Decca 2008)
• "Trouble In Paradise (Variation on a Theme)" (Unkle Surrender Sound Session #11) for Unkle and BMW commercial in 2007, on "Remix Stories, Vol. 1" (Surrender All 2008)
• "Icicles (Unle Surrender Sound Sessions #12)" for Evil Nine for the single "Icicles." Released on Marine Parade only.
• "The Little Things (Unkle Surrender Sound Sessions #13)" for Danny Elfman for the video game Wanted: Weapons of Fate. (Black Lot Music 2009)
• "Too Young To Love (UNKLE Surrender Sounds Session #14)" for The Big Pink, on "Global Underground 037: James Lavelle – Bangkok" (Global Underground 2009)
• '"Heavy Drug (Surrender Sounds Mix)" for Unkle, on "Global Underground 037: James Lavelle – Bangkok" (Global Underground 2009)

Appearances

Albums	Appearances in media
War Stories	Soundtrack for Top Gear season 10, car show.
Songs	Appearances in media
Lonely Soul	Advertisement for Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 game Assassin's Creed . Soundtrack for The Beach (film).
Reign	Theme for "90 Minutes, 90 Emotions" of the 2007–2008 Hyundai A-League season of the Football Federation of Australia. Soundtrack for MasterChef.
Glow	Soundtrack for Push.
Safe in Mind (Please Take This Gun From Out My Face)	Advertisement for Teddy Bears Picnic Lucozade.
Eye For An Eye	Soundtrack for Made Man , a computer game for PC and Sony PS2. Trailer for Prison Break on Channel Five.
Queens of the Stone Age – No One Knows (UNKLE Remix)	Soundtrack for Race Driver: Grid and Test Drive Unlimited.
Leap of Faith	Soundtrack for Goal!.
Chemistry	Trailer for Spooks TV series 6. Soundtrack for Psyche . Soundtrack for MasterChef.
Keys To The Kingdom	Trailer for Heroes (TV Series) season 1. Trailer for CSI: NY on Channel Five. Played during the tennis scene in the film Deception.
Price You Pay	Played during a scene in the film Deception.
Restless	Trailer for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on Channel Five. Soundtrack for Need For Speed: ''ProStreet", the song became an "EA Track".
Burn My Shadow	Trailer for FUEL (Codemasters), video game. Soundtrack for CSI: NY episode 414, "Playing with Matches".
Hold My Hand	Soundtrack for 21 (film).
May Day	Soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto IV. Soundtrack for MasterChef.
Broken	Soundtrack for X-files, I Want To Believe.
Heaven	Soundtrack for Lakai Shoes' Fully Flared.
Trouble In Paradise (Variation on a Theme)	Advertisement for BMW. Theme for Euro 2008, football tournament. [4]

Tours

• 2008 Unkle Live – UK Tour Stories
• 2008 Creamfields Buenos Aires, Argentina.

References

1. Noize Makes Enemies.co.uk - File leaves Unkle
2. War Paint at Lazarides Gallery
3. UNKLE Store - End Titles ...Stories for Film
4. UNKLE to perform Euro 2008 theme BBC Press Office, May 30, 2008