UnkleJam - UnkleJam (2008)

[WotUNeed]

Couldn't find a thread for this.

UnkleJam is a UK electrofunk-soul group. They've released two singles to date: "Love Ya" and "What Am I Fighting For?" Their current single, "Stereo," has a release date set for 1 October. As far as I can find, the album itself is tentatively scheduled for 10 September but possibly will be pushed back to an October release.

Their website

Their videos at YouTube

EDIT: Fixed the link to their website. Sorry about that.

[Player211]

I've never heard of this group.

Their music is interesting.

[WotUNeed]

Excerpt from here

Amy, Rihanna and Mutya up for MOBOs
It seems that nothing, even a spell in rehab, can stop the snowballing success of Amy Winehouse. The troubled star received four MOBO nominations last night in categories including Best UK Female alongside stars such as Joss Stone and Jamelia, and Best Song for the infamous Rehab. Other musicians up for a gong include Dizzee Rascal and Kano for Best UK Male, Mutya Buena and UnkleJam for Best UK Newcomer and Kanye West, Rihanna and Diddy for Best International Act.

[WotUNeed]

The date of the "Stereo" CD single's release is set for 1 October. The album's release date has now officially been pushed back to October as well, but conflicting sources give dates as 15 October and 22 October.

Here's a review from femalefirst.co.uk. Not sure of the original source.

Monday October 22nd sees the release of Unklejam’s debut album entitled…”Unklejam“. Featuring all three of their stunning singles “Stereo”, “What Am I Fighting For ?” and “Love Ya”, Unklejam’s self-named album is a magical mash-up of soul, electro, old school R&B, power pop and even the odd touch of paisley park psychedelia.

Citing Sly & The Family Stone, Gary Numan, Prince, The Eurythmics and Donny Hathaway as influences, Unklejam are diverse as their musical heroes.

Taking their name from a Funkadelic album, Unklejam is Tyson, Bobby and Adonis. Between the three of them, they spent their childhoods traveling and/or living in Hawaii, Germany, Japan, New York, Miami, Glasgow and Bradford.

The three outsiders met in London and very quickly bonded over their globetrotting and musical tastes. For Unklejam, what is important is staying true to themselves.

Which means daring to be different, being willing to stand proudly, colourfully away from the crowd.

As Tyson says, “How often do you see a geezer from Hawaii, a geezer from Northolt, and a geezer from Miami in a group together, in England?

No one could make it up, because it’s all born out of our own, very odd experiences.” “That’s what links us all together, because we were from such different places, we all had to somehow come up with our own individuality,” explains AdonIstar. “.

“We all had a desperate need to break out of the box,” adds Bobby. “We’re different as people, so our music has to be different too. This is how we are. We all wanted to do something that broke the boundaries.”

The band have spent most of this year touring non-stop around the UK, as special guests of Justin Timberlake and also many a festival including Glastonbury, Oxygen and T in The Park. They also have a UK Tour coming this September /October, details to follow…

Tracklisting 1. Love Ya. 2. What Am I Fighting For? 3. Luving You. 4. Cry. 5. Just Like Me. 6. Go. 7. Stereo. 8. The Touch. 9. Hello. 10 .Don’t Pass Me By. 11. Daddy Genes.


EDIT: 22 October officially confirmed.

[WotUNeed]

Head to Head: Unklejam vs. Ava: RWD Magazine

"We challenge electro boys Unklejam and their future touring partner reggae goddess Ava to a world record-breaking battle. We talk religion, spray tans and Alice In Wonderland over a bowl of Smarties and a side of chop sticks.
Words by Hayley Joyes"

[WotUNeed]

"Electric Soul for Robots" from This Is London

Gig review

[busyboy]

The album has leaked. The release date is now October 29, according to their website.





Track listing:

1. Love Ya
2. What Am I Fighting For?
3. Luving U
4. Just Like Me
5. Cry
6. Go
7. Stereo
8. Touch
9. Hello
10. Don't Pass Me By
11. Daddy Genes

[WotUNeed]

29 October seems to be sticking as the album release date.

"Stereo" single will drop 22 October.

[WotUNeed]

The "Stereo" single has charted somewhere below #75 in the UK and the album has been pushed back yet again, this time indefinitely, although it appears it won't be dropping until '08. They better bloody release this!

[oscillations.]

Sounds like another Dragonette situation.

[busyboy]

The pushing back fever has crossed the Atlantic, beware new artists! :o :o :o

It's terrible, since the album's really good. Also, it leaked earlier this month, so while those arsholes UnkleJam signed with are planning a release next year, everybody can already grow tired of the album without even having the chance to give anything back to the band.

Record companies shouldn't be allowed to sue anybody but themselves for the sorry state they're in.

My 5,000th post is dedicated to you guys. I hope you can succeed when the album is released in 2008. :)

[busyboy]

Hmmm, what's up with Yahoo Music UK? They've been posting reviews of unreleased singles and albums lately...

Unklejam - Unklejam

Rating: 7/10

by Emily Mackay

Unklejam are a saliva-charming proposition, dripping with pop promise. They've got crazy names (Tyson Speede, Bobby Joel Stearns and Adonistar), disco-fabulous videos, have invented their own genre (electro-soul) in order to save hard-pushed journalists time and are named after a Funkadelic album. They couldn't fail, really, with potential like that and they haven't. However, although certainly one of the most exciting pop/dance acts to emerge this year, you can't help but feel they could have been even better. "Unklejam" is a fine debut, but it's not quite the brain-melting starry-aced space-funk soul explosion we were hoping for.

First single "Luv Ya" is an ebullient start, but despite their references to Prince and P-Funk the predominant flavour is pop; with strong hints of Beyonce's "Crazy In Love" and Outkast's "Hey Ya". Unklejam have supported Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake and their sound is highly polished and mainstream rather than underground and dirty. Singer Speede's camp-as-you-like falsetto funk yowl is engaging at first, as he simpers "Shake it girl like it's your birthday / I'm gonna be your birthday present", but his stylised, Yankified tones begin to grate after a while, especially because he's clearly a fine singer when he plays it straight.

The almost Pet Shop Boys-ish electro-pop of stand-out track "What Am I Fighting For", with its Superthriller stylings and Calvin Harris '80s synths is an utter joy, but sadly, not much else on the album clears its high bar. "Luving U", in particular, is just a little dull, sounding like Groove Armada in dinner party mode, with cliché-central lyrics like "You are like a flower girl / Blooming in a garden". "Don't Pass Me By" continues the floral theme with "How can a flower grow / With no water oh" and compounds its lyrical sins by leaning too heavily on that Outkast influence with over-mannered vocals and funereal piano that forcibly recalls "Miss Jackson".

"Stereo", though, manages to turn a lyrical lift from Supergrass "can you hear me pumping on your stereo" into the sort of glossy, dark electro-pop that Madonna does so well in her dotage and "Just Like Me" channels dark disco and diva angst somewhere between Scissor Sisters' take on "Comfortably Numb" and Basement Jaxx's "Good Luck", with some impressive soul bellowing. It's when they take it down a notch that the trouble starts; "Cry" offers slow soul grooves that recall Sade, but pleasant as it is, the attention does start to drift when the energy drops.

A more focused album with more numbers like the Timbaland aping "Go" and Sugababesy (when they were still good) "Hello" and less like the dull, obligatory-sad-number "Daddy Genes" would have ensured Unklejam got the grand entrance they deserved rather than a bit of a false start.

[WotUNeed]

Weird that they're reviewing it. I'd like to take that as a positive sign of eventual release, but...

Forgot to come in and update before that "Stereo" peaked somewhere below #100, not even besting the #94 debut of Mel C's "This Time." Eeeesh.

[busyboy]

^ It peaked at #101, but strangely enough "Love Ya" went to #54 in February and What Am I Fighting For?" at #16 in June, so it was logical enough to expect a Top 40 hit the third time around.

I wonder what went wrong, and why they didn't release the album in the Summer. ???