UNKLE Interview Reveals Kiwi Connection

UTR contributor Kit Walker battled a bad line last Friday to have a very quick chat with UNKLE's James Lavelle ahead of their New Zealand show this Thursday (5th May) in Auckland. During the interview Kit revealed a kiwi connection to Lavelle, read about that, his thoughts on the Royal Wedding and more in this brief Q + A....

How’s Australia treating you?

Dealing with jet lag. I’m used to it, have been here Djing in the last few years.

And you left the UK as your art exhibition Daydreaming with James Lavelle at St Michaels Church in Camden was opening…

Yes – it was a bit of a fuck having to leave – but the exhibition was an opportunity to score Unkle music to an event. I like the idea of bringing different mediums, genres, senses together and it’s new for me in a different environment. We had a Tuesday opening and mid way through the night I had to leave for the airport.

Your thoughts on the wedding?

I love the fact that there’s a huge party with unlimited budget and the rest of us scratch for pennies. I have a pretty good life but in the UK at the moment, it’s tough out there. London is rough, there’s violence in the streets and people are not happy. Its a really crazy thing, pushing this feel good factor but where’s the reality?

Are you a record collector? UNKLE has sampled a wide variety of music in their history…

Lets say its different now. I use to go to the US to buy records with DJ Shadow, trying to find the holy grail. Lets say I’m a massive music enthusiast. Pablo and I like to collect collages of samples but now it’s more of an internet thing and not so much rummaging through dusty records. I feel bad for saying that but that’s how its going at the moment.

Did you know the opening riff of "Restless" samples a little known NZ group from the early seventies, called Bitch?

I didn’t know they were from New Zealand. I know we got the song from an obscure 45 and were looking for some unusual glam rock. I thought they were English or American.

Bitch actually started in a little farming community called Clevedon. Originally they were called The Clevdonaires. They’ve been receiving healthy royalty cheques recently. Would you be keen to meet them?

Abso-fucking-lutely – tell them to come to soundcheck on Thursday.

Here is "Restless" from UNKLE.

And here is the Bitch song "Good Time Coming" the sample is from.

UNKLE play the Powerstation on Thursday night - ticket still available from Ticketmaster. Who knows maybe you'll catch Bitch too - check out this amazing picture of them from the 70s...