Unkle ft. Richard Ashcroft - Lonely Soul

"I'm gonna die in a place that doesn't know my name."

Album: Psyence Fiction (debut album)
Genre: Trip Hop
Recorded:  California & London
Album Release: August 24th 1998
Single Release:
Length: 8:53
Producer: DJ Shadow
Vocalist: Richard Ashcroft
Label: Mo' Wax

Official Audio


Live at T in the Park from 2006

Charts, Streams & Sales

Spotify: Over 24 million
YouTube Music: Over 6 million

Instruments

Details

• You know that an album is good when a song like 'Lonely Soul' wasn't chosen as one of its singles. The music was strong in its own right, but when you add to it a sterling vocal performance by the 'in demand' Richard Ashcroft it truly boggles the brain.
  
  The Verve frontman was riding high in contemporary British indie thanks to the unescapable presence of 'Bittersweey Symphony' on radio and music television. It was ubiquitous in '97; The Verve looked set to cement their place as one of the era's big bands. They were Oasis for the cooler kids. That 'Bittersweet' didn't top the charts, thanks to the Biggie Smalls tribute by Puff Daddy - 'I'll Be Missing You', is itself a minor miracle of music history.
  
  'Lonely Soul' was actually recorded a year before the release of Bittersweet, in '96, but wouldn't come out until '98. It was while listening to The Verve that James Lavelle, founder of Mo' Wax Records and one half of Unkle, became convinced a trip hop meets indie rock album would work. If it wasn't for The Verve, Psyence Fiction wouldn't exist.
  
  'Lonely Soul' and 'Bittersweet Symphony' even had similar swirling strings. The stage was set, and the players assembled for a chart storm, but it wasn't to be. The chart ambition of 'Lonely Soul' was derailed by its near nine minute length.
  
  
• James Lavelle founded Mo' Wax Records when he was 18.
  
  

Artwork