Psyence Fiction is the debut studio album by English electronic music act Unkle, released on 24 August 1998 by Mo' Wax. The album was produced by Unkle, at the time consisting of James Lavelle and DJ Shadow. The music on Psyence Fiction was primarily composed by DJ Shadow, while Lavelle recruited numerous guest musicians to contribute to the album's recording.
Background and recording
Unkle started planning their debut album in 1995. A month of recording in Los Angeles produced 15 finished tracks, but apart from "Berry Meditation", which would be issued as a non-album single, Unkle founder James Lavelle scrapped the tracks, finding them unrepresentative of his vision for the project. In August 1996, Unkle, by now composed of Lavelle and DJ Shadow, began production on the material that would ultimately appear on Psyence Fiction. particularly due to its high-profile cast of musical collaborators. Given DJ Shadow's prominent role in its production, it was viewed as a de facto follow-up to his debut album Endtroducing....., which had been released in 1996 to widespread acclaim. Psyence Fiction was released in the United Kingdom on 24 August 1998 by Lavelle's label Mo' Wax. It peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart. reaching number 107 on the Billboard 200 and topping the Heatseekers Albums chart.
"Rabbit in Your Headlights" was issued as the first single from Psyence Fiction on 12 October 1998. "Be There", a remix of the instrumental track "Unreal" featuring newly recorded vocals by Ian Brown, was released as the album's second single on 8 February 1999, peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart. Too weary to commit to further touring, and with his partnership with Lavelle having grown strained, DJ Shadow left Unkle during the promotional cycle for the album.
Critical reception
At the time of the album's release, various critics opined that Psyence Fiction failed to live up to its hype. NME reviewer John Mulvey wrote that DJ Shadow's music "rarely gels with Lavelle's chosen singers or even comes to terms with the song (as opposed to groove) format of much of the material". Critic Robert Christgau awarded the album a "one-star honorable mention", deeming it "not beautiful (or weird) enough for its own beats".
Among more positive reviews, Dorian Lynskey raved in Mixmag that Psyence Fiction demonstrates that dance music "can use rock vocalists, guitars and orchestras without losing its sense of otherness" and "be dark and expansive without becoming self-important".
In the years since the release of Psyence Fiction, "its stature has grown", according to The Age. Psyence Fiction was included in lists of the best trip hop albums by Fact (at number 45) and Slant Magazine (at number nine).
In June 2013, Mo' Wax launched a Kickstarter campaign titled "Urban Archaeology: 21 Years of Mo'Wax", part of which included a deluxe CD re-release of Psyence Fiction. As of late 2020, the Psyence Fiction album has not been released to the campaign's contributors.
Track listing
Sample credits
Adapted from liner notes.
- "Bloodstain" contains samples of "Alone", performed by BeBe K'Roche.
- "Unreal" and "Be There" contain samples of "Birth", written by Jules Blattner and performed by The Jules Blattner Group; and "Pre-Dawn Retrospective Chant", performed by Steve Forman.
- "Celestial Annihilation" is based on "Concerto for Strings and Beats", written by Wil Malone.
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.
Unkle
- DJ Shadow – music, scratching, recording
- James Lavelle – recording, breathing on "Nursery Rhyme / Breather"
Additional musicians
- Richard Ashcroft – vocals on "Lonely Soul"
- Atlantique – vocals and music on "Chaos"
- Badly Drawn Boy – vocals on "Nursery Rhyme / Breather"
- Mark Hollis – piano on "Chaos"
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Year-end charts
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