Dream Matrix Telemetry is the name of a 1993 album by UK ambient group Zuvuya and the psychedelic bard himself, Terence McKenna. Dream Matrix Telemetry — Now where have I seen those initials before?

Ah yes, dimethyltryptamine, the so-called “Spirit Molecule.” McKenna’s calm, echoing monologue — set to a backdrop of bizarre but relaxing sci-fi synths and melodies — begins like this:

D.M.T. is an extraordinary hallucinogen that lasts
only a few hundred seconds at the peak of the flash.
It is something which is smoked.
Something waxy.
Orange.
Smelling of camphor.
You vapourise it in a small glass pipe.
Something which is smoked.
Behind closed eyelids, a kind of hallucination forms.
A chrysanthemum – a swirling floral pattern.
Overlayed patterns of colours.
You watch the chrysanthemum
and if you’ve taken enough D.M.T.,
after about fifteen seconds,
you are physically propelled through it.
Into a kind of tunnel-like space.
You seem to be catapulting forward
through some kind of labyrinth-like,
tubular, unfolding, coloured, fluctuating space.

The album features one epic 53 minute track, complete with what sounds like organs, birdsong, children’s laughter, and alien chatter. The spoken-word lyrics are fascinating and the ambient sounds are compelling without being in-your-face.

Overall the vibe is trippy but chill, like catching snatches of an interstellar radio station run by DMT entities. Part Brian Eno, part Pink Floyd, and 100% mind-blowing, it’s well worth a listen.

What do you think? Forgotten gem, or forgettable curiosity? Does it do justice to the DMT experience?