The man from UNKLE: James Lavelle, Camden, North London, 2017. Celebrating the wildc PHOTOGRAPHS RACHAEL WRIGHT LAVELLE

James Lavelle was the boy wonder who, as the It’s been a long, intense journey, hence founder of the Mo’ Wax label, launched DJ Shadow the title of the powerful new UNKLE album, 1 and invented trip-hop. But it was as the director of his The Road: Part . Raiding the archives for Mo’ Wax’s 21st anniversary in 2013, great collaborative project UNKLE that he proved himself curating the Meltdown festival in 2014, to be a visionary lightning rod, bringing Thom Yorke, and participating in a new documentary, Artist & Repertoire, have all conspired to Mike D and Richard Ashcroft together. By 2003, though, make Lavelle reassess his past and ask he was nearly bankrupt. And then the trouble really himself why he makes music. started. Dorian Lynskey hears his story. “The last 13 years have been fucking tough financially,” he says over cartons of n February 1998, wonder of British music. He was the hipster Korean food in his manager’s office in James Lavelle geek whose Mo’ Wax label, home to DJ Camden. “In one way I’m probably insane to celebrated his Shadow and his own UNKLE project, was keep doing what I do. Anybody rational 24th birthday the impeccably cool junction box for an would have stopped trying to do UNKLE with a party at international network of musicians, DJs and years ago.” He laughs oddly. “I’ve put myself I London’s Met Bar designers. When he was negotiating a deal through quite extreme situations, both in the company of with A&M in 1995, his gutsy deal-breaker was financially and emotionally. But then I got Noel Gallagher, a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat. used to that very young.” Richard Ashcroft, By 2003, however, his star had plunged. The Road: Part 1 opens with actor Brian Ian Brown, Carl Craig, Alexander McQueen Mo’ Wax was dead and Lavelle was in debt Cox saying: “Have you looked at yourself? and an Everest of cocaine. It was, he says to the tune of £270,000. He had to sell the And have you thought about the mistakes happily, “a fucking amazing night”. Basquiat. “It was beautiful,” he says wistfully, you’ve made, and the road you’ve walked?” At that moment Lavelle was the boy “while I had it.” James Lavelle has.

SEPTEMBER 2017 87