Unkle Wiki

3 Aug 2017

Music Matters
DJ Set concert by UNKLE: AI
LocationSelfridges, London
VenueUltraLounge
Date(s)03/08/2017
Attendance100

UNKLE performed a special UNKLE:AI show for 100 competition winners, creating a special installation show which was also broadcast live on Facebook.[1] This was later uploaded to YouTube by fans.[2]

The show was part of a series called Music Matters, which was held in the basement of the Selfridges department store during August 2017. The event also had a discussion component which James Lavelle took part in.[3] This discussion is listed as part of Lavelle's Daydreaming with... series of events on the Daydreaming website.[4]

Music Matters intended to highlight the fact that 40% of live music events had closed in London.[5]

UNKLE:AI would return in 2019 for Fabric XX.

Set Up

UNKLE discussed their live setup used for the show with Music Radar:[6]

James Lavelle: “What appealed to me about Music Matters is the opportunity for me to work in this installation visually and translate what we’re doing these days as a live band. We’ve wanted to try and take UNKLE to a new place in our live situation, so when this opportunity came along we thought this would be a good way of starting things off, especially with all the other visual technology that’s happening, because it’s expensive to put things like this on.

“I’ve supplied them with all the visuals that relate to UNKLE. Over the last 25 years, there’s been a lot of visual content created, so they’ve been taking a lot of that and reworking it into the show. We gave them a rough mix of what we’re doing, and that mix has a rhythm bed, but we’re able to change a lot of what is going on vocally and add a lot of basslines and keyboards.”

“Music Matters is kind of like UNKLE AI, taking what I’ve done DJ culture-wise and then adding to that. I wanted to use my DJ setup, because that’s kind of important to me, and we’ve started putting the show together using Ableton.

“I’m more responsible for the DJing side of it and Steve’s more responsible for the playing side. The tracks we’re playing are from the history of UNKLE, so it’s a sort of snapshot of stuff. Hopefully this is something we can tour with, but it can also keep changing and morphing - it’s an embryo for something that could grow to become a lot bigger.”

Steve Weston: “The main bulk of it’s in Ableton, so we’re triggering stems from all of the UNKLE tunes, which are then going into James’s mixer so he can do his DJ thing and put samples over the top. And then we’ve got samples going into his Pioneer CDJs and mixer.

Pioneer DJ CDJs

James: “I’m running two CDJs off a USB stick and have loads of weird samples coming through it- it’s more of a tactile thing from my DJ playing role.

“The samples are all going through a Pioneer mixer and I’m also using a lot of the effects from the mixer. If you equate it to a guitarist, the Pioneers are my Gibson – they’re my instrument.”

Roland SPD-SX

James: “I like the simplicity of my workstation and the Roland sampling drum pads allow me to use some kicks and get some bottom end. I just like to keep it quite simple and not get overly bogged down in millions of different possibilities, and the SPDSX is great for that.”

Steve: “They’re the best ones to use live really. If you look at pretty much any band on stage that is running electronics, they’ve either got a Roland SPD-SX or a T100, which is a little bit overkill for this because it’s got 16 outputs on the back of it, but the Roland’s so stable.”

Pioneer DJ Toraiz SP-16 and AS-1

James: “I’m also using this new Dave Smith SP-16 Pioneer DJ Sampler, which I’m running a load of sounds through and using a bit like an Akai MPC. It’s got additional rhythms that I can add into the mix and vocal samples that are chopped up MPC-style. It’s full of stuff that I’ve sampled from films and vocal recordings.”

“I’m using the AS-1 analogue synthesizer for running a lot of bassline stuff and filtering. All of this gear just allows you to have a little bit of that DJ jacking vibe. Again, I’m using a lot of the effects off the mixer.

“The only thing I’m missing that I would like to do is to run the AS-1 through an effects unit. Again, I’m just starting to get my head around the possibilities of this setup and finding out what’s best to use.”

Steve: “I’m also using the Toraiz [AS-1] and doing a similar thing. The AS-1 has got the same synth engine as the Prophet 08 that Dave Smith made, except this is mono. It’s got a little ribbon keyboard and we’re sending the MIDI notes out of Ableton into it via a MIDI connection.

“I’ve actually got some samples from the track Lonely Soul going across the bottom and some vocal cut-ups, but the samples are also going through my Moog analogue delay and a Boss reverb pedal, so I can really dub it out and go a bit wild.”

PIoneer DJ Toraiz SP-16 + E-RM Multiclock USB

Steve: “Ableton is god and all the tempos are coming from that. Basically, in Logic, Ableton, and pretty much all of the DAWs, the MIDI clock source is a bit unreliable. So this is a pretty new bit of kit.

“You have a little plugin in your DAW that allows the Multiclock to know what BPM it’s using. Then it spits out four MIDI clocks, so the two DJ samplers and the analogue synth are clocked to Ableton and when the BPM changes within Ableton the samplers change BPM as well. Then I’m using a Moogerfooger analogue delay and an RV-5 digital reverb for additional effects.”

Roland System-8 + Akai MPD32

James: “Roland has just hooked me up with the Roland System 8 - we won’t talk about how. We’re just getting our heads around it, but it’s got a lot of great sounds built into it. It’s wicked, it’s got three synths - and can have four, so there’s the System-8 synth and it also comes loaded with a Jupiter-8 plug in and a Juno-106 plug in.”

Steve: “For this set, I’m using some Juno sounds and an organ sound from the System-8. The Akai MPD32 is a MIDI controller that’s hooked up to Ableton. It’s got some white noise samples and a few from the UNKLE track Heaven, so the way I’ve got the filters set up in Ableton I can get some toned white noise effects.

“Across the front, I’ve MIDI mapped the encoders so I have some filters, a dry to get things sounding more crunchy, reverb/delay, feedback and dry/wet mix, etc. If I push all of those up, the sounds are basically going to go on forever.”

Ableton Push + DJ Tech Tools MIDI Fighter Twister

Steve: “We’re running the Ableton Push just to trigger off some clips. The MIDI Fighter is from a San Francisco company. It’s got 16 rotary encoders, but they’ve got push buttons as well. It works with anything, and I’ve MIDI mapped it in Ableton to do whatever I want it to do. Again, cut-offs, reverbs, delays or even volumes for fading drum loops in or out.”

James. “The set’s still got quite a lot of structure to it; it’s not like an abstract performance where we’re wandering off. We were talking the other day about the fact that we’re doing a one-hour set, but if we were in a club environment it would be nice to be able to dub or extend things out a lot more, but at the moment it’s still song-based. We’ve been touring for a while, so we know what works and what doesn’t, and we don’t want to start going off on crazy tangents.”

Korg MS-20 and Moog Little Phatty

Steve: “I’m actually running the MS-20 and the Little Phatty through a Space Echo. They’re both mono, so I’m just going in left and right and it’s coming out the same.

“The Little Phatty is a great mono synth - Moog is a little bit more sweet-sounding I guess. The Moog has presets as well, so I can flick to different sounds really quickly, whereas the MS-20 has to be reprogrammed and the sound doesn’t change that much throughout the set.”

James. “The MS-20 has been a staple-diet for UNKLE. I’ve been using it since Never, Never, Land, so at least 18 years. It’s just got wicked bass sounds and I’ve always loved Moog for the bass side of things.”

Review

With the forthcoming fourth Unkle album ‘The Road Part 1′ and a plethora of praised singles from the album out already, it’s fair to say there’s a huge interest in Unkle currently. With what we’ve heard so far it’s evident James Lavelle has again raised the bar with an album that promises to be something very special indeed featuring a host of talent.

So it’s with some excitement that we had a chance to check out a very special and very unique performance from Unkle. Nestled deep under Oxford Street in the depths of Selfridges lies the extravagantly titled ‘Ultralounge’ which is currently hosting a range of one off events as part of their Music Matters series. With a plethora of artists involved including Joe Goddard, Kudu Blue and Raye & Mabel it’s sure to be an amazing set of dates indeed.

From stepping out from the late night shoppers of Selfridges and into the dark recesses of the Ultralounge we were immediately struck with the fantastic VJ screens set up for the evening. Unkle never disappoint with their visuals and tonight is sure to be no different. A perspex cube surrounds a plethora of musical equipment which takes centre stage amidst the darkness.

As Lavelle & Co take to the stage the screens come to life displaying a range of phenomenal visuals which surround the performers. We watch as a figure seemingly tries to break free from the perspex VJ box whilst Tom Yorke’s accapella of Rabbit in your headlights floats over the legendary ‘Lonely Soul’. Before hell-fire flames lick the screens in time to Josh Homme’s dulcet tones over Unkle classic ‘Restless’. It’s absolutely incredible and entrancing coupled with the sounds of Lavelle.

Then, all changes and the corner screens are flipped allowing the visuals to literally float out into the crowd! It’s particularly mesmerising and particularly poignant watching idyllic scenes of skateboarders on a sun drenched street, performing tricks whilst Gavin Clark’s ‘Heaven’ plays. An emotive moment which most definitely raises a few lumps in throats. Later the crowd stand stunned as the visuals to ‘The Road’ hover whilst the incredible single blasts out to an enraptured audience. It’s truly a sight to behold.

Our particular high point has to be watching a visual of a pale faced woman dancing amidst flora and fauna as Unkle classic ‘In a state’ plays. This classic set tightly against the incredible new single ‘Sunrise Always comes Around’. It’s a staggering moment of synchronicity and shows Lavelle at his best displaying his incredible mixing skills.

All in, Unkle’s debut at Music Matters gives us taste of some very exciting performances to come at Selfridges, in undoubtedly one of London’s most exciting music spaces. Not to mention a glimpse at what is sure to be one of the biggest dance albums of the year.[7]

Tracklisting

  1. UNKLE - Lonely Soul (feat. Richard Ashcroft)
  2. UNKLE - Cowboys or Indians (feat. Elliott Power & Mïnk)
  3. UNKLE - Restless (feat. Josh Homme)
  4. UNKLE - Caged Bird (feat. Katrina Ford)
  5. UNKLE - Sick Lullaby (feat. Keaton Heston) (Remix)
  6. UNKLE - Bloodstain (feat. Alice Temple)
  7. UNKLE - Arms Length (feat. Elliott Power, Mïnk & Callum Finn)
  8. UNKLE - Sonata
  9. UNKLE - Rabbit In Your Headlights (feat. Thom Yorke)
  10. UNKLE - Main Theme
  11. UNKLE - Sonata (feat. Keaton Heston)
  12. UNKLE - Heaven (feat. Gavin Clark)
  13. UNKLE - Let It Be (feat. A$AP Rocky)
  14. UNKLE - Pray For Rain (feat. Mark Lanegan) / Reign (feat. Ian Brown)
  15. Duke Spirit - Blue & Yellow Light (UNKLE Mix)
  16. Donna Summer - I Feel Loved
  17. UNKLE - The Road (feat. Eska)
  18. UNKLE - The Sunrise / In A State (feat. Graham Gouldman / Leila Moss)

Images

External Links

Event announcement on Music Week

Video recording on YouTube

Review on Music Matters

UNKLE on their live setup

Tracklist and discussion of event

References

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