UNKLE

Berry Meditation sees Mo' Wax and UNKLE leader James Lavelle exploring a circa-"Nights Interlude" Nightmares on Wax vibe. Though "Berry Meditation" never matches the atmosphere or innovation of "Nights Interlude," the fact that this EP doesn't overstay its welcome through more than 20 minutes of the same general melody and tone is a good sign that Lavelle knew what he was doing in the studio. The original version, track one here, is the most compelling. The song consists of repeated high-pitched synth notes, throbbing bass, and various tweaked electronics. The "Last Ever Mix" starts out lazy and slow, but turns into a shuffling, flanged drum'n'bass excursion. Lavelle piles on sci-fi sound effects, many of them seemingly originating in a plumbing pipe. The "Darker the Berry the Sweeter the Juice Mix," a remix by Attica Blues, wastes a minute on random ambient sounds before breaking down the original song into a minimalist form, punctuated by heavy drums and space-station blippery. Berry Meditation might not be Mo' Wax's finest 20 minutes, but label leader James Lavelle takes tiny steps toward a credible music-making career of his own with the EP. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide