2 years ago
Album: U.N.K.L.E. - Psyence Fiction (1999)
Track: “Be There” ft. Ian Brown
“Now I got a little story to tell/With DJ Shadow and James Lavelle” - Mike D
What’s amazing? Psyence Fiction. What might be more amazing is how overlooked this album is. The guest-list alone is enough to drop your jaw: Kool G Rap, Badly Drawn Boy, Mike D, Thom Yorke, Richard Ashcroft, etc. etc. And that’s on TOP of the sounds provided by U.N.K.L.E., aka DJ mother-fucking Shadow and Mo’ Wax boss James Lavelle.
This could be considered DJ Shadow’s second album, after 1996’s legendary samplefest of an album,Endtroducing. This was the first and only U.N.K.L.E. album he contributed to, and I’m almost tempted to say this is the only one that you really need.
Where to begin? Well, for me, the Richard Ashcroft collaboration was enough to pique my interest and buy the album upon it’s release in 1998. Branching out from my Oasis obsession led me right to The Verve. Urban Hymns struck a huge chord with me when it was released. Ashcroft has this super-soulful voice that’s immediately affecting. I wasn’t actually up on DJ Shadow at the time (I know, right?) but I used the Noel Gallagher/Chemical Brothers collaboration “Setting Sun” as proof that Britrockers and experimental non-rock musicians could create magic and took the plunge. Granted, I was about 13 and very impressionable, but: I can say without hesitation that this album expanded my perception of what music could be, what shape it could take and what images and feelings music could conjure more than any other.
“Guns Blazing,” with legendary NYC rhyme-spitter Kool G Rap, starts with a drawn out intro until Shadows dope breakbeat and sci-fi sounds hit. Kool G spits for like three minutes over a rawwwww beat. Listen for that nasty bass that hits at around the 2-minute mark. Damn.
The sample track that I added along with this post is not actually on the album in that form. “Be There” with Ian Brown (The Stone Roses) on vocals was released, at least here in America, as a single only. In its form on Psyence Fiction, it’s a deep, dark instrumental and the breaks are signature DJ Shadow.
“Nursery Rhyme” is almost a straight punk song with Damon Gough a.k.a. Badly Drawn Boy on vocals. The sampled drums, filtered mic, and dark nature of the song maintain continuity with the rest of the album.
The real gem of the album, though, is “Lonely Soul” with Richard Ashcroft. Sorry Radiohead stans, “Rabbit In Your Headlights” is great, but doesn’t hold shit to this.
“Lonely Soul” is epic. A 9-minute journey through the depths of your mind that puts your own life philosophy to test. Straight up. If you have the ability to get past (or go along with) the moribund lyrics (chorus: “I’m gonna die in a place that don’t know my name/And I’m gonna cry in a space that don’t hold my name”) - whether or not you agree with what he’s saying - you will be treated to such an incredible song. After the first three minutes of dark strings and a trip-hop beat, a long breakdown occurs. Shadow’s influence is crystal clear. Sitars come in and out. Strange loops and white noise permeate then drop out. At around the 5-minute mark, the orchestral arrangement gets more complex and for a minute, the song becomes one by a small orchestra, sounds opening up the sky. But then that sitar comes in, a programmed drumroll into the same drum pattern as before. Except now, the song is brighter, makes you close your eyes and feel good. Ashcroft’s words still broach the subject of death, but become more of an instrument than a voice, with the reverb adding another layer to the amazing string arrangement. For the final minute, only those strings. And a crescendo out.
The album title is so incredibly fitting. Amazing that they could create such a unified sound with such big and varied guests. It’s hip-hop, trip-hop, soul, rock ‘n roll from another planet, another sound that I once used to think could only be the work of fiction.
Tracklist:
01. Guns Blazing (Drums of Death Part 1) ft. Kool G Rap
02. Unkle (Main Title Theme)
03. Bloodstain ft. Alice English
04. Unreal
05. Lonely Soul ft. Richard Ashcroft
06. Getting ahead in the lucrative Field of Artist Management
07. Nursery Rhyme Breather ft. Badly Drawn Boy
08. Celestal Annihilation
09. The Knock (Drums of Death Part 2) ft. Mike D
10. Chaos ft. Atlantique
11. Rabbit in your Headlights ft. Thom Yorke
12. Outro (Mandatory)
