Mndsgn (pronounced "mind design") is producer Ringgo Ancheta. The fun factoid that the promo label gave was that his parents fled the Aum cult, and he started making beats after they picked up and moved the family to Jersey. It doesn't really show, because this is not a dark album at all. Hazy, dimly lit at times, but even the plaintive stuff is pleasant and content.

RIYL: older more electronic savath + savalas, daedelus' gentler stuff, prefuse 73's spacier stuff, early flying lotus, stoney afternoons, stoney late nights

1: swaying melody, warm synth bass, higher swirling synths later on. pitch-bent flute (?) and a touch of wordless vocals towards the end.
2: drums, fuzz, downtempo keys, bells that slowly get more washed out as more bells get added and then get slowly washed out too.
3: smothered lightly reverbed vocals, sing-songy. slow, creeping beat, keys, guitar. late afternoon sunny/hazy. like prefuse doing wavves, or maybe wavves doing prefuse.
4: clattery drums, random laser squiggles. order starts to emerge out of both as vaguely choral synth pads rise in the background. the beat coheres around 1:00, and things start moving along (albeit with a bit of a lope and a breather or two). reverb, tape echo, and other spaciness applied as needed.
5: acoustic guitar, choral pads, sampled "oohs" and "aahs" and other backing vocal sounds. intelligible vocals about making it through life. good, but i think i'd have liked it more if the vocals were also a bit more dubbed out. nice guitar and lightly treated wordless vocal melodies for outro.
6: water-logged, pitch-bent. like a slightly warped vinyl record. bells, brushed drums, static. occasional shots of chiptune melody. short (<2:30).
7: more wavering piano and bells. a bit brightened up from the last one. something clicky in the background. also short (2:30ish), goes well w/ 6.
8: wavering piano, singing, plinky keys. that bubble popping sound. an interpolation of tribe's "find a way" around 1:45 (he pulls it off). the sort of trills you'd find on an early mount kimbie or james blake EP to close it out. and the thing it actually reminds me most of some of count bass d's stuff from around 04 or 05.
9: a bit more upbeat, but still pretty chill. reminds me a little of toro y moi, maybe? but ends in a very savath + savalas way, and melts right into 10...
10: very savath + savalas, low-key stuttery synth, chimes.
11: echo-y synth runs and bells over steady drums. upbeat mood. could be a theme song or closing credits music.
12: bouncy drum hits for a few bars, then piano and very very distant crowd chatter. drums judiciously folded back in, along with synth squiggles.


recommended: 8, 3, 6/7, 9/10