James Lavelle Albums (3)
'Global Underground: Bangkok'
Release Date 7/28/2009
Tracks 29
Label Global Underground
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Global Underground: Romania'
Release Date 3/9/2004
Tracks 26
Label Global Underground
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
One of the unfortunate side effects of James Lavelle's conversion from genre-crafting label head to superstar DJ is the fact that his once lauded UNKLE musical project has been sidelined, with its Never, Never, Land album being completely overlooked by both music press and fans. But never one to let the scene landscape dictate his terms, Lavelle simply plays his strongest hand, filling his second globetrotting DJ set for Global Underground with ten carnations of his UNKLE muse, either with production or remix credits. Everyone from rockers Queens of the Stone Age and South to shoegaze revivalist M83 and even previous UNKLE co-conspirator DJ Shadow get the re-rub. In addition, Lavelle utilizes his pro-tools DJ chops to handsomely edit down Plastikman, among others, meaning that there is virtually no piece on this double-disc set untouched by Lavelle's hand. And those that aren't molested are almost exclusively crafted by Lavelle's cadre of nu breaks-school affiliates, including Meat Katie and Dylan Rhymes. The result is a bloated albatross with more drag than lift, mostly due to the lack of diversity amongst the beats and techniques. As the man who once singularly represented trip-hop to an adoring public, it's easy to understand Lavelle's tendencies to champion a particular style. But most other artists have moved on to use a more multilateral approach. Perhaps Lavelle would do better with more diversification and less specification. ~ Joshua Glazer, All Music Guide
'Global Underground: Barcelona'
Release Date 10/1/2002
Tracks 34
Label Global Underground
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The celebrated Global Underground series of DJ mixes continues with this entry by British DJ James Lavelle, one of the founders of the Mo' Wax label and a former member of the notorious U.N.K.L.E.. These two discs document a long set spun by Lavelle in June of 2002 at the Nitsa Club in Barcelona, Spain, and unlike far too many DJ mixes, this one features a wildly eclectic set of beats and breaks along with a healthy dose of hard house. The sloppy information provided with the promotional version of this release makes it a little difficult to identify some of the tracks, but among the highlights are the monstrously funky "Dirtywaltzer" by Soul of Man and an exuberant dancehall-meets-techno celebration entitled "Black Widow" by Uberzone and Rennie Pilgrim. Whereas most of these tracks are dance grooves pure and simple, the program closes with an actual song by Doves, whose heavy mid-tempo rocker "There Goes the Fear" ends up sounding like a cross between early Pearl Jam and early Heaven 17, with a touch of Lords of Acid thrown in just to keep things weird. Very nice indeed. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
