UNKLE: Psyence Fiction ---Ink Blot Magazine

UNKLE: Psyence Fiction

at a glance...

Hometown: London, England
Year Formed: 1994

Members:
James Lavelle
Masayuki Kudo
Tim Goldsworthy
Josh Davis (aka DJ Shadow)
...and various guests

Bands In The Family:
DJ Shadow, The Verve, Radiohead, Metallica, Beastie Boys, Massive Attack , Richard Ashcroft, Badly Drawn Boy, Radiohead Kool G Rap, Money Mark, Ian Brown

Notes:
Conceived in his Oxford, England hometown as a teenager, James Lavelle formed UNKLE as a side project with friends Masayuki Kudo of Major Force West and Tim Goldsworthy to explore new musical and conceptual frontiers. After releasing an initial EP on his own label, Mo Wax Records, Lavelle began to search for others to help expand the ideals of UNKLE. Californian Josh Davis (aka DJ Shadow), already signed to Mo Wax and eventually becoming its biggest-selling artist in 1997 with his debut record Endtroducing, jumped into the fold in 1995. Davis and Lavelle began to pull themes and a wish-list of artists together. Over a three year period, Lavelle successfully persuaded an eclectic collection of vocalists and musicians to lend their time and support for the project, culminating in a mix of genres including jazz, hip-hop, drum & bass, and rock cooked up by Shadow.

U.N.K.L.E.
Psyence Fiction
Mo Wax/London, Released 1998

Between the dozen-or-so guest musicians and the presence of DJ Shadow in the studio, the pedigree of this record is very impressive. Psyence Fiction may not be as mind-blowing as the pre-release hype suggested, but the results are often extremely dense and thought-provoking.

Shadow is as powerful as ever, displaying dexterous stops and starts on opening tracks "Guns Blazing (Drums of Death Part I)" and "UNKLE Main Title Theme." The instrumental "Unreal" and collaboration with newcomer Badly Drawn Boy on the guitar-laden "Nursery Rhyme" prove that Shadow's execution of his ideas stands up to any DJ currently making music.

Ironically, it is the presence of highly-touted guest stars that occasionally disrupts Psyence Fiction. "Lonely Soul," featuring Richard Ashcroft of The Verve, has a hauntingly beautiful structure but, at over nine minutes long, gives too much time to a predictably melodramatic orchestra. "The Knock (Drums of Death Part II)" is nearly perfect but Mike D's already familiar Beastie Boy tics are extremely out of place and can't be fazed out. Radiohead's Thom Yorke adds his manic presence to the jazzy, piano-driven "Rabbit In Your Headlights," which has a tension that is brilliantly conceived, yet is an uneasy musical conclusion to the record.

Where Psyence Fiction succeeds is in its blurring of musical boundaries; where it struggles is in making one complete statement. Nonetheless, the album packs quite a musical punch.

If you like UNKLE, check out:
DJ Shadow Endtroducing...
Massive Attack Blue Lines
Various Artists (Mo Wax) Headz (Vol. 1)

-- Pierre Stefanos

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