Originally published in The Brag.

There’s no doubt that Unkle is James Lavelle’s baby, his presence being the only claim to consistency in almost two decades of diverse Unkle releases. But to assume that Unkle is a one man operation is to grossly misunderstand its ethos. It’s an idea that seems to thrive on change and eclecticism, the collaboration doors constantly swinging as artists and producers of acclaim drop in and out of Lavelle’s studios, the Unkle line-up evolving as unfailingly as the changing seasons. 

A quick scan of past players reveals a mind-boggling cross-section of contemporary music, including Tim Goldsworthy (founder of DFA), members of Japanese hip hop crew Major Force, DJ Shadow, producer Richard File, the Scratch Perverts and an enviable list of occasional collaborators including Thom Yorke (Radiohead) and Mike D (Beastie Boys). The current and, according to Lavelle, most productive incarnation of Unkle now includes Pablo Clements (of the Psychonauts).

With such varied creative inputs, Unkle’s ‘sound’ is constantly being pulled in different directions – to the delight and dismay of fans. “Half the time you’re trying to put these puzzle pieces together and create something cohesive that feels like an Unkle record,” says Lavelle. “It’s a feel thing… Pablo and I both understand what it is, musically, that defines what we do and it’s very hard to explain that. Tim Goldsworthy understood that as well. We’d say: ‘Nah it doesn’t work, it doesn’t sound like Unkle.’ Or, “That’s amazing. Lets make it sound like Unkle.”

Rather than tearing one’s hair out trying to concoct some hyphenated monstrosity of the English language that covers the scope of Unkle’s style (trip-hop-dance-prog... I give up), it seems best to conclude that Unkle’s character exists less within the boundaries of musical genres, than in the relationships between its creators at the time. The tricky question is, how does Lavelle decide when it’s time for a shake up of personnel? “It just implodes, you know? I don’t ever want anybody to leave  - I didn’t want to stop working with Richard [File] or anybody, it just happens. A lot of the time it becomes very intense…” 

“When I hooked up with Rich and Tim and Shadow, we were very young and it was a very different time. We were naïve. We spent a lot of time in clubs together and in the end that environment took its toll. We were living in and out of each others pockets and that’s why a lot of other bands don’t survive.” Later Lavelle describes some nightmare gigs from this period in his life, admitting that blacking out and passing out on the decks happened at more than one of his DJ sets. “But hey – it’s rock’n’roll!” he adds with a chuckle.

Although Lavelle is now on the comparatively straight and narrow path with Clements, the romanticism and intensity of that rock’n’roll existence still allures him. “I’d love to be on a [Led] Zeppelin tour to see what that period of time was like, when the whole rock’n’roll environment was at its height. There’s something magic about that era because you can’t really see it or youtube it - it’s mythological. It was so extreme behind a lot of closed doors, and there’s a romanticism about that. It would have been a trip.”

Finally, I ask what it was like to work with a national treasure of ours, Nick Cave, on Unkle’s latest single Money and Run. “He’s brilliant!” Lavelle laughs, “He’s just eccentric and unique, and I love that quality about artists. He’s a special kinda’ dude, really…”