UnkleJam Interview

UnkleJam Wants You To Stand Up and Be Counted

UnkleJam tell us how to make it in the music industry by rallying against the 'fat cats'

In UnkleJam we see a collective unit of three young men who are utterly clear in their goals, completely comfortable with their unique expressions of being and sharing in a confidence of their sound that's so intense and self-assured, it's almost impossible to disagree with their declarations of creative supremacy. Kicking back on plush velvet antique imitation sofas, we discuss racism, crack addicts, how to 'make it' and of course their perfectly honed musical skills, over a nice warm cuppa.

Tyson 'Tendai' Speede, Bobby Joel Stearns and Adonistar are more than on form today with plenty of offkey responses and political musings. On how the band were first discovered, Tyson offers: "That was easy, we were in a rehearsal and some sweaty man came in the door begging and pleading. He'd never heard of us...he started crying 'Please, please, please give me some stuff.' He was behaving like a crack addict. We gave him some stuff, reluctantly, we got a deal two months later." Sounds easy, but in light of the band's approaching involvement with the HUGO URBAN RULES talent search, we wonder what advice they can give to artists striving to be heard.

Bobby is reflective on the issue: "If there's anything we could say to these people it's that you've gotta have another reason for doing what you do because so many record labels are gonna be extinct in about ten years time, there's no point in chasing it anymore. There's no cutting corners. People have to be wary, don't throw all your talent away to all these fat cats."

Tyson retorts with some pearls of wisdom: "We need to revert back to when The Clash was around, where they actually sat down in their house, made their shit happen, when people used to buy music on the strength of their band being great. This whole Pop Idol stuff – it's just whack! If you're actually good, people will come knockin' on your door begging you to give them something."

UnkleJam are perfectly qualified to be giving this kind of advice having struggled against the record industry to get their music to the masses; something they believe is partly due to their colour and their avant-garde look. When asked about the fact that HMV recently deleted their eponymously titled debut, Tyson states simply that they're "racist!" He believes this also underlies the inherent select focus on safe "morning TV" personalities that the music world adheres to, uttering: "With a single like 'What am I Fighting for' we deserved to be A-list on every single radio station – 'cause we're outta the box a lot of people sit down and they don't get it, people don't like change."

They've called their sound 'electro soul' many times so we ask them to describe it without using this term. Bobby begins, "It's just out of the box", Tyson adds: "Wonderful. Greatest sound on Earth. It's like the Beatles, times ten. The Mona Lisa of Music." The boys have always cited George Clinton, of funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, as an influence, but we wonder where the electro part of their expression stems from. Tyson is frank: "That comes from not knowing how to make music. Electro's easy to make 'cause it's just fall to the floor, it's just piss innit?"

Of their new single 'Stereo' Tyson says: "It's a pop tune, it's easy, that's like a, b, c." For some more clarity, it mixes honey tinged smoothe-mutha vocals atop a background of gently incessant drumbeats and keyboard plonks, with an overall tone of, you've guessed it, electro soul. The seductively hypnotising chorus of 'Can you hear me on your stereo?' runs throughout like a mantra. Their rich and varied sound is down to the fact that as the band were growing up, they were taken all around the world from the America's to Europe and Adonistar describes this beautifully in relation to their creativity: "It gives us an opportunity to taste test from different cultures."And the way they present themselves? He chirps: "Style is more than clothes. What we're about is self-expression." and Bobby finishes: "It's a state of mind."

Looking to the future, Tyson says he wants to become Prime Minister so he gives us a little taster of what we might expect from his political reign: "Abolish all religion. One colour, one people. Everyone hold hands, be friends, be happy. Stop the MOBOs 'cause it's racist. Make music of all origins – MOAO!"

Readers can still apply for tickets to the December 4 gig in London by registering online at www.hugofragrances.com/urbanrules – those lucky enough to be picked will also get fragrance goodie bags and free drinks. We'd say it's well worth the effort!

Words: Naomi Misquita-Rice