INTERVIEW: UNKLE’s James Lavelle

Vice have teamed up with Intel to create The Creators Project, a kind of arts and culture channel designed to celebrate the finest in contemporary art through features and interviews. There are plenty of very informative videos already available on the website, and plenty more to come shortly, but the one above is with James Lavelle; creator of the Mo’ Wax record label and head-honcho of UNKLE.

As well as regularly updating the site with more interviews and showcases, The Creators Project will be setting up “urban centres” in major cities across the world, including; New York, London, Sao Paulo, Seoul and Beijing. These will be set up between June and September of this year, so keep an eye on the events page on the website for more news.

mp3: UNKLE – Rabbit In Your Headlights feat. Thom Yorke

Oscillations Art: Rachael Bartram

Number six in our series featuring the visual artists who contributed to Jus Like Music & Apple Juice Break present: Oscillations is with the young and talented Australian artist Rachael Bartram. Don’t forget to go back and check the first five parts with Remi/Rough, Nadia Lavard, Magda Kaggwa, Joe Baker and Warren Handley,  respectively. Plus, remember to get your FREE download of Oscillations Part 1 & 2 via the Jus Like Music Records Bandcamp page!

Jus Like Music: Who are you, where are you from and what do you do?

Rachael Bartram: My name is Rachael Bartram and I was born on the Gold Coast in 1988. My mum is third or forth generation Australian, but my dad emigrated with his family from his home in Yorkshire in the UK to Brisbane in 1965 or 1966, I believe. From a young age, I loved drawing and would move through different phases changing mediums, tools and subjects. Texta Zooms were big in the primary years, then when I started taking art classes after school I became interested in the variable characteristics of graphite, conti pastels and watercolour pencils. By the time I was studying at the Queensland College of Art in 2007, I had developed a penchant for making silhouette paper cut-outs from black paper, which in turn led to the “Making Of” spatial installations, small scale 2D works and stop-motion animated sequences in my final year of study. At the moment I am finishing off my last elective class in my honours degree and have been entering shows and exhibitions seriously for roughly a year. The emerging art scenes on the both the Gold Coast and Brisbane are diversifying more and more each year and are quite distinct from those prevalent in, for instance, Sydney or Melbourne. Over the next few years I intend to focus a lot of my energy on writing my own projects, proposals and gaining a sturdy reputation as a working artist on both the Gold Coast and in Brisbane.

JLM: Why is it that you do you do what you do?

RB: Well, it can be something that is hard to put the finger on, but I think the interest in art partly derives from the gene pool. But it’s perhaps more the obsessive/intuitive factor. At a young age, picking up a pencil or texta pen was second nature and I didn’t even feel the brain ticking over, it was just an activity or intuitive habit I was driven to do every day.

JLM: Tell us what’s new in your world?

RB: 2010 has been a busy year thus far, my partner Waz and I both exhibited our work in the Brisbane Emerging Art Festival (organised by Vegas Spray) in January, and in April had our work printed on large sheets of vinyl and installed at Brisbane’s King George Square precinct as part of Youth Week. Since then I’ve been working on a series of 2D works focused on the themes and visual connotations associated with ‘hair’, for the aptly titled “Hair-Jacked” exhibition, to be kicking off in August at the Retrospect Galleries in Byron Bay.

JLM: Where do you hope to go with your art?

RB: I would like to push my art practice as far as it can go and maintain a level of integrity when it comes to making creative decisions. One thing I learnt from my university lecturers was to be ambitious and “work big”. Additionally, the documentation of practical experiments, images and concepts on a regular basis would be one of the ways I would keep my ideas “on their toes”, so to speak. Ultimately, my aim is to be a multi-disciplined, full time, studio based artist… with a slick espresso machine at hand.

JLM: How about music? What music are you into?

RB: Quite a few different bits; Blackalicious, Bonobo, Air, Sarah Blasko, Beck, Thievery Corporation, Bat for Lashes, Bjork, Cut Chemist, Split Enz, DJ Shadow, Katalyst, The Go-Betweens, Dappled Cities, Belle & Sebastian, Fleet Foxes, El Perro Del Mar, Mos Def, Santogold, Massive Attack, Lamb, Mr Scruff, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Muse, Royksopp, The Shins, Aretha Franklin, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Blue King Brown, Thes One, Zero 7 and a wee bit of Jamiroquai.

JLM: Lastly, can you tell me about the track you’ve chosen to include with this article?

RB: I have chosen Planet New Year by Australian songbird Sarah Blasko. Exquisite song writing and storytelling at its finest.

mp3: Sarah Blasko – Planet New Year

Oscillations Art: Warren Handley

This is the fifth part in our series featuring the visual artists who contributed to Jus Like Music & Apple Juice Break present: Oscillations, and it’s with Warren Handley, a multi-faceted visual artist based in Australia. Don’t forget to go back and check the first four parts with Remi/Rough, Nadia Lavard, Magda Kaggwa and Joe Baker, respectively. Plus, remember to get your FREE download of Oscillations Part 1 & 2 via the Jus Like Music Records Bandcamp page!

Jus Like Music: For the benefit of the readers; who are you, where are you from and what do you do?

Warren Handley: My name is Warren Handley, and as you may be able to tell from the name, I am related to – and the younger brother of – Gavin Handley, aka ‘jeej’ – founder of Jus Like Music. I am originally from the town of Bracknell in Berkshire, UK but have been living in Brisbane, Australia since 2005. Currently completing my studies at Art school in Brisbane, I am an emerging artist who works in a range of visual mediums. However, at the moment digital based tools have dominated recent experimentation.

JLM: So, do tell, why do you do what you do?

WH: Why not, sir?

JLM: Fair point! Then what’s new in your world?

WH: I’m currently involved in a range of creative projects which cover; graphic design, illustration, exhibitions, VJing and public art. My mates, who run Brisbane’s Dank Morass, will be putting on Ras G in a couple months time, which I’m extremely exited about doing visuals for. Me (ATLASt) and my VJing partner in crime Archi Lancaster (Joe Baker) had the pleasure of doing the visuals for Gaslamp Killer a couple months back, which was absolutely mental. Brainfeeder artists always put on the best gigs, with Flying Lotus being the absolute pinnacle. A Brainfeeder tour of Australia sometime in the near future would be amazing. Apart from that, my girlfriend and I recently had the great opportunity of having one of our respective works blown up to about a three metre scale and displayed in the heart of Brisbane’s Central Business District at King George Square. Have a number of exhibitions and projects lined up for the rest of the year, so it should be a busy one.

JLM: You did mention the Brainfeeder guys, but what music are you generally into?

WH: I’m into all sorts of music, however the post-Dilla future beat sound, that can be heard all over the Oscillations compilation, is right up my alley. Growing up, hip-hop and drum and bass dominated my CD Walkman, and I’m still very much into the essence of these genres through the sounds of dubstep and future beat. Two LPs that have recently dropped, and that I can’t get enough of right now, are Alex B’s ‘Moments’ and of course Flying Lotus’ latest masterpiece ‘Cosmograma’. On the dubstep tip things began to get a bit stagnant, however Kryptic Minds‘ latest stuff, out on Swamp81, has been the most refreshing shit I’ve heard in time! Lion Switch, one half of KM, did a show in Brisbane and played some of the best dubstep I’ve ever heard – stripped back, minimal half-step that’s just perfect in all the right places.

JLM: Last, but not least, can you tell me about the track you’ve chosen to include with this article?

WH: The track I’ve chosen for this post is Earth Changes by Jackhigh. It was one of my first introductions into the future beat sound a couple of years ago and one of my favourite tunes of all time. My mate had it on vinyl and would play it every time I was round his place and I never knew what it was called or who it was by. I later found out it was Jackhigh, who also goes under a handful of other aliases, such as Singing statues, 141, Bnjmin and Rewolf. Regardless of aliases, Ben Thomas makes beautiful, cosmic-soaked music, managing to strike a perfect melodic balance between sample-based, instrumental and electronic sounds.

mp3: Jackhigh – Earth Changes

Oscillations Art: Joe Baker

In the fourth part in our series featuring the visual artists who contributed to Jus Like Music & Apple Juice Break present: Oscillations, we’re focussing on visual artist Joe Baker. Don’t forget to go back and check the first three parts with Remi/Rough, Nadia Lavard and Magda Kaggwa, respectively. Plus, remember to get your FREE download of Oscillations Part 1 & 2 via the Jus Like Music Records Bandcamp page!

Jus Like Music: Who are you, where are you from and what do you do?

Joe Baker: My name is Joe Baker, I was born in a small mining town called Stafford in the UK, and was raised in a small mining town in Australia called Emerald. I’m currently living in Brisbane, earning a crust for future study and making various still and moving image works for my personal collection and for the Dank Morass collective – where I do a bit of VJ work under the alias of Archi Lancaster.

JLM: Why is it that you do what you do?

JB: Well, growing up I was always surrounded by people who lived very secure and comfortable lives. I liked sitting in the middle of Emerald sometimes and watching the same thing happen over and over again, and at times this repetitive observation seemed quite strange in itself. So, I always liked the idea of obscuring normality, which almost always warped the aesthetic of my artwork into something slightly disturbing or strange to look at.

JLM: And what’s new in your world?

JB: All this new music that’s being made now days, the beat scene is something I cant remove my headphones for, no doubt! Also, all the visual artists that support labels like LuckyMe and Brainfeeder, like Kom Om Pax and Dr Strangeloop, these people are definitely floating my boat at the moment for sure.

JLM: Where do you hope to go with your own art?

JB: I hope my travels and future studies open me up to some new areas of the art world. I’d like to see some more international VJs doing their thing. Just learning a slew of new processes and techniques along the way and hopefully get myself into that click of recognisable club visual manipulators. That would be cool.

JLM: You’ve touched on music a few times, but what sorts of music are you really into?

JB: I was always interested in electronica, drum and bass and more recently future soul, and abstract sounding beats – something that’s atmospheric and at times heavy on the beat and synth. I also have pretty strong roots in experimental post punk music, which I always enjoyed for the apparent inconsistencies in rhythm and timing. That carefree, loose approach to production that I loved in Sonic Youth, for example, is kind of what I’ve been hearing recently in beat makers like Ras G, Daedelus and Illum Sphere. That’s the sound I dig, basically.

JLM: Lastly, can you tell me about the track you’ve chosen to include with this article?

JB: I’ve chosen the track entitled Campfire by Sonic Youth, it’s basically a track that was made entirely on a Roland MC-303 back in 1999. This experimental piece of music sounds like a synthetic campfire cracking and popping away with other pieces of various distorted sounds. I like this because of its similarities with the raw/space, like tweaks and glitches, that can be heard in the production of Ras G for example. Campfire is a song I’ve loved for a very long time and it’s great to find a connection to it in music being made today.

mp3: Sonic Youth – Campfire

Oscillations Art: Magda Kaggwa

For the third part in our series featuring the visual artists who contributed to Jus Like Music & Apple Juice Break present: Oscillations, we briefly caught up with multi-talented visual artist Magda Kaggwa. Don’t forget to go back and check the first two parts with Remi/Rough and Nadia Lavard, respectively. Plus, remember to get your FREE download of Oscillations Part 1 & 2 via the Jus Like Music Records Bandcamp page!

Jus Like Music: Tell it to us straight; who are you, where are you from and what do you do?

Magda Kaggwa: My name is Magda Kaggwa and I’m from a lot of different places, but right now I suppose you could say south east London. I’m an illustrator, printmaker and general visual artist.

JLM: Why do you do what you do, Magda?

MK: I wish there was a profound reason as to why I got into art, but it’s just what I’ve always done.

JLM: So, what’s new in the world of Magda Kaggwa?

MK: An artist called Mitch Griffiths who has an exhibition on at the Halycon Gallery at the moment, he’s amazing! Also my Mayer Hawthorne heart-shaped record.

JLM: Where do you hope to go with your art?

MK: Aside from a steady freelance career, I want to continue exploring the physiological boundaries of the human body and challenge sociological attitudes towards mental health.

JLM: With regards to music, what sort of stuff are you into?

MK: Pretty much everything. Right now I’m listening to a lot of soul and experimental hip-hop.

JLM: And lastly, can you tell me about the track you’ve chosen to include with this article?

MK: I’ve chosen The U.N. Plan by Shafiq Husayn from the En-A-Free-Ka album. I love it because it’s uncategorisable greatness, pure creativity!

mp3: Shafiq Husayn – The U.N. Plan

Oscillations Art: Nadia Lavard

In the second part in our series featuring the visual artists who contributed to Jus Like Music & Apple Juice Break present: Oscillations, we are focussing on photographer Nadia Lavard. If you didn’t catch the first part, with Remi/Rough, then you can check it out here. Plus, remember to get your FREE download of Oscillations Part 1 & 2 via the Jus Like Music Records Bandcamp page!

Jus Like Music: Please tell us; who you are, where you are from and what you do?

Nadia Lavard: I am Nadia Lavard, full time student at Roskilde University in Denmark. When I am not studying Humanities, I make sure to capture every moment of my life with my camera, which I then upload to my blog. Whereas the more artistic and commissioned shots are to be found on my online portfolio blog.

JLM: Why do you do it?

NL: When I am old and smelly I want to be able to look back at my life and actually remember it. That is why I tend to capture everything around me. When it comes to photographing people, which is my favourite thing to do, it is more to show them how beautiful they are in their own unique way and how the rest of the world sees them. And because people fascinate me.

JLM: What’s new in your world?

NL: I am just finishing my second semester at university to go to Iceland for five weeks to work with my photography. I am meeting up with different creative talents and like-minded people, and I hope for some busy weeks full of photography. If anyone out there is interested in hooking up in Iceland, feel free to contact me at nadialavard AT gmail.com.

JLM: What do you hope to achieve with your art?

NL: It may come off as a bit self-righteous, but all I really want is to just shoot people and make them aware of their own beauty. I am not sure about where I want to go with it, but I do hope that it will take me around the world.

JLM: So what types of music are you into?

NL: This changes on a weekly basis and is really a matter of what mood I am in. But when I have watched a fantastic movie I always get a hold of the soundtrack, which makes me relive the whole movie and all the feelings I had whilst watching it. Most of the time this is also what inspires me when I am shooting.

JLM: Lastly, can you tell us about the track you’ve chosen to include with this article?

NL: I am dreaming myself back to Paris these days, which makes me listen to a lot of French music, especially Carla Bruni and Camille – whose track I have chosen. I find the French language more poetic than for example English and Danish, which I find very straight forward, and this adds to the whole wonderful (and perhaps made-up) dream I have of Paris. The song, Ta Douleur, makes me want to go out, dance, smile, laugh, have fun and of course take pictures.

mp3: Camille – Ta Douleur