Bonus Q&A with UNKLE
Here is more from my chat with James Lavelle, who performs with UNKLE on Friday at the Echoplex in L.A. and Sunday at the Vegoose Festival in Las Vegas.
Q: How did you hook up Chris Goss (ex-Kyuss) to co-produce the "War Stories" CD?
A: We worked on 'Burn My Shadow' (featuring The Cult's Ian Astbury) about six months before we started the album. That clicked really well, so we decided to do the whole album together. I think he’s the most amazing musician.
Q: Were you a fan of Chris & Josh Homme’s 'Desert Sessions' CDs?
A: Yeah, I’m very inspired by him as a musician and a producer.
Q: You always land an interesting crop of guest vocalists. How do these collaborations usually happen? Do you invite some friends to the studio to see what happens?
A: Kind of; yeah. It comes out of relationships you have or being friends and it just organically happens. We try and see what happens really. It’s kind of strange the way it works out. You just meet people along the way.
Q: Do you ever hear someone’s album and say, ‘I’d really like to work with them,’ then call 'em up?
A: Definitely. It’s weird how you meet up because you tend to bump into people, like I said.
Q: Do you ever have trouble clearing samples? On this CD, you used a couple Bowie tracks and on the last one, it was Joy Division.
A: No, fortunately most of the records have been really good on that level. Bowie has been great in letting us use stuff. I think you can see in what he does musically that he’s pretty open.
Q: Have your fans been surprised with the more guitar influenced tracks?
A: I think you always gain some and lose some with a record. We just needed to go in a different direction. There’s some very classic UNKLE moments on this record. You’ve got to do what you feel. You can’t please everybody.
Q: Would you consider UNKLE to be an electronic act?
A: I suppose it’s like a fusion band. We can do whatever we want, which is a great luxury. I hope fans will allow us to grow in that way.
Q: What do you think the state of electronic music in the UK these days?
A: I’m more interested in the underground things like James Holden…I really liked the new Underworld record.
Q: How have you enjoyed doing film scores recently?
A: You’ve got a direct emotion you have to capture. When you write your own records, you’re writing as things come emotionally. With a film, you react to what’s going on in a scene. It’s a different process and it’s great. We just did a documentary called “Odyssey in Rome” about Abel Ferrar, the film director. We scored the whole thing.
Q: Are you still inspired by film soundtracks?
A: Yeah. It’s a combination of both visual and musically what you can do in that respect. When I make records, I tend to have a very visual picture in my head of what I’m trying to do. Films have always been a big influence.
Q: What are some of the favorite remixes you’ve done over the years?
A: Ian Brown’s “The Fear.” “No One Knows” (Queens of the Stone Age).
Q: I read that you have a clothing line and a store in Singapore.
A: In LA, we do it with Union…I’ve been involved with people in Japan for a long time. It’s a DIY thing – having your own label, making your own records, your own clothes, art. It’s about having the freedom to do what you want. The corporate thing doesn’t work for me. I’m just trying to be as creative as I can.
Q: The last CD wasn't as popular in America as 'Psyence Fiction.' Were you disappointed?
A: It wasn’t as successful here, but did pretty well globally. I think it helped reinvent what we were doing. I’m happy with the way ‘Never Never Land’ worked out.
BURN MY SHADOW VIDEO