James Lavelle (born 22 February 1974) is an English electronic musician, record label owner and curator. He founded the

Mo'Wax Mo' Wax was a British record label founded by James Lavelle in 1992. The label was not co-founded by Tim Goldsworthy, as is often reported. Steve Finan became co-owner shortly after. Mo' Wax came to recognition for being at the forefront of t ...

record label in 1992, and has been the only constant member of UNKLE. He directed the 2014 edition of the

Meltdown Meltdown may refer to: Science and technology * Nuclear meltdown, a severe nuclear reactor accident * Meltdown (security vulnerability), affecting computer processors * Mutational meltdown, in population genetics Arts and entertainment Music * ...

festival on London's South Bank, and curated the 2016 exhibition "Daydreaming with Stanley Kubrick" at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...

. He is the subject of 2016 documentary film '' The Man from Mo'Wax''.

Career

Lavelle founded

in 1992. The label was not co-founded by

Tim Goldsworthy Tim Goldsworthy is a British record producer, DJ and recording artist. Career Originally a musician/producer for Unkle with James Lavelle, he later worked with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem and was formerly joint owner of DFA Records. G ...

, as is often reported. In 1996 Mo' Wax released one of

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

's most celebrated albums, DJ Shadow's seminal '' Endtroducing.....''. Soon after this Lavelle started work on an album with DJ Shadow under the name UNKLE. The resulting release '' Psyence Fiction'' featured collaborations with

Richard Ashcroft Richard Paul Ashcroft (born 11 September 1971) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their original split in 1999. So ...

Mike D Michael Louis Diamond (born November 20, 1965), better known as Mike D, is an American rapper, musician, and music producer. He is best known as a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys. Early life Diamond was born in New York City ...

Badly Drawn Boy Damon Michael Gough (born 2 October 1969), known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Gough chose his stage name from a character in the show ''Sam and his Magic Ball'', which he saw ...

and

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been descri ...

. In 2003, he released a follow-up to Psyence Fiction, titled ''

Never, Never, Land ''Never, Never, Land'' is the second album by the British electronic music act UNKLE, released on 22 September 2003. On 24 October 2004 an expanded edition entitled ''Never, Never, Land Revisited'' was released. The original album debuted at ...

'', though this album saw DJ Shadow replaced by

Richard File Richard File (born 19 November 1975) is a British composer, music producer, and vocalist best known for his work with James Lavelle as part of Unkle. He has also released singles under the alias Forme. Career File joined Unkle in 1999, having ...

as the second full-time member of UNKLE. It featured collaborations with 3D of

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album '' Blue Lines'' was releas ...

and

Josh Homme Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he for ...

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple lin ...

among others. He is a longtime resident at

Fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not ...

in London, mixing the inaugural '' Fabric Live'' mix album. He has also mixed three DJ mix albums for

Global Underground Global Underground is a British record label and compilation series founded in 1996 by Andy Horsfield and James Todd. The label symbolised the international explosion of dance music during the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s and first manifesto for hi ...

. He has produced a number of film soundtracks, including '' Sexy Beast''. Also an in demand

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

er, he has reworked tracks by

Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produ ...

The Verve The Verve were an English rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Simon Tong later became a member in ...

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical colla ...

and

. In an August 2006 interview with '' The Skinny'', Lavelle revealed that he was working with

Chris Goss Christopher Ryan Goss (born August 17, 1958) is an American record producer and musician. Best known for producing records for Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, he is regarded as an important figure in the development of stoner rock and des ...

and

Autolux Autolux is an American alternative rock band consisting of Eugene Goreshter (vocals, bass), Greg Edwards (vocals, guitar, piano) and Carla Azar (drums, vocals). The trio formed in 2001 and have released three full-length albums, ''Future Perfect' ...

on the follow-up to ''Never, Never, Land'', entitled '' War Stories''. Of the album's direction, he said "It’s rawer than ''Psyence Fiction'' and ''Never, Never, Land'' although it’s more in the vein of the traditional

singer/songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk-acoustic tradition, although this role has transmuted t ...

. If the first record was UNKLE does hiphop and the second record was UNKLE does electronic, then this one is like UNKLE does rock, but it’ll hopefully still have its continuity." Lavelle produced the title track for longtime collaborators Queens of the Stone Age's 2013 album '' ...Like Clockwork'', which reached number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 making it the first Queens of the Stone Age album to top the chart in the United States. The album was nominated for three

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s, including

Best Rock Album The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre. Honors in sev ...

. In 2014 he was asked to direct the

festival, following in the footsteps of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

and

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician and radio presenter. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp, he became a figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Following ...

. His lineup included concerts by Joshua Homme,

Max Richter Max Richter (; ; born 22 March 1966) is a German-born British composer and pianist. He works within postminimalist and contemporary classical styles. Richter is classically trained, having graduated in composition from the University of Edinburg ...

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, occasional DJ and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk an ...

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is a British music producer and DJ. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musician in ...

and

Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the ...

. The event culminated with a live UNKLE:Redux featuring an guest appearance from former member

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Sha ...

. Lavelle has scored the soundtrack for

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including '' Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel '' T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', ''28 Days Later'', '' S ...

's anthology series '' Trust'' starring

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...

and

Hilary Swank Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series '' Camp Wilder'' and made her film debut with a minor role in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1992 ...

Selected discography

UNKLE

*'' Psyence Fiction'' (1998) *''

'' (2003) *'' Edit Music for a Film: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Reconstruction'' (2005) *'' Self Defence: Never, Never, Land Reconstructed and Bonus Beats'' (2006) *'' War Stories'' (2007) *'' More Stories'' (2008) *'' End Titles... Stories For Film'' (2008) *''

Where Did the Night Fall ''Where Did the Night Fall'' is the fourth studio album from British electronic music act Unkle, released on . Background As a documentation of the work on the album, on 13 April 2009, James Lavelle, Unkle's mastermind, started an official "U ...

'' (2010) *'' The Road: Part I'' (2017) *'' The Road: Part II (Lost Highway)'' (2019)

Mix albums

*''

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

Live Two - Disc 3'' (1996) *''Tribal Gathering 96 - Disc 3'' (1998) *''

FabricLive.01 FabricLive.01 is a DJ mix compilation album by James Lavelle James Lavelle (born 22 February 1974) is an English electronic musician, record label owner and curator. He founded the Mo'Wax record label in 1992, and has been the only con ...

'' (2001) *'' GU023

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

'' (2002) *'' Do Androids Dream of Electric Beats?'' (2001) *'' Do Androids Dream of Essential Beats?'' (2003) *''WWIII - UNKLEsounds vs. U.N.K.L.E.'' (Bootleg, 2004) *'' GU026

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

'' (2004) *''Big Brother is Watching You'' (Bootleg of Do Androids Dream of Essential Beats) (2005) *'' GU037

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

'' (2009) *''GU041

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

'' (2015)

Quotes

*''"I became a DJ because I couldn't breakdance and I was no good at graffiti."'' *''"I'm into a whole concept, it's a whole scene. I'm totally involved in it. We cover hip-hop fused music. We want to do this rock hip-hop thing. We are gonna launch a mad hip-hop/thrash fused band, a young Beastie Boys kind of thing. I'm into the total energy of the Beasties and that whole kind of skate thing. I want that energy and total madness surrounding the whole idea."'' *On Mo' Wax: ''"We put out 200 records in 4 or 5 years, I don’t think I’d ever be able to do that again. I don’t think I could ever work like that again, it was just insane."''skinnymag.co.uk

References

Other sources

External links

James Lavelle
discography a
DiscogsInspiring interview about James Lavelle's creative journey by SUBvert magazine
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lavelle, James English electronic musicians Club DJs English DJs 1974 births Living people People from Oxford Electronic dance music DJs Science fiction fans