MFG - Project Genesis

[acid being]

MFG - Project Genesis

Phonokol – 2118-2

I have been listening to this a lot lately and it is rapidly turning into my favorite MFG album. I loved Pure Energy but a lot of that album is remixes of older tracks and I think Project Genesis is darker, which I like.

For those who say it has a muddy sound, I really think it is supposed to sound like that as it makes it gloomier, bassier and creates a harder, tougher sound.

I am sure you know MFG's music and indeed their name itself feature a lot of religious references. The title of this album in particular is interesting in itself because it references not only the first book of the Bible concerning the creation of the world and life, but also as we will hear in track 3, the Genesis Device of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (first introduced in Star Trek II). The latter device was designed to terraform planets which ultimately proved to be dangerously unstable due to the way the device was made. As this album also has killer robots, the message seems to be that using human technology to play God and create life and intelligence can have catastrophic consequences. Such a theme is hinted at in the book of Genesis itself where the knowledge Adam and Eve gain leads to humans being expelled from the Garden of Eden.

1        Intro    0:41
2        Intelligent Machine    7:30
3        Project Genesis    7:34
4        Open Mind    8:08
5        Why?    8:12
6        Voices    8:27
7        Sunshine    7:41
8        On Mars    8:02
9        The Creation    7:42
10       Metamorphosis    9:29

1. Intro: Really nothing much to say about this very short intro. It does the job just fine.

2. Intelligent Machine: Definitely at least 99% as evil as Psychaos - Chaos to Order, actually maybe even more evil, this track introduces us to killer androids with scary voices, thus establishing the mood of most of the rest of the album to come. The sounds in this track are just incredible. The effects at the start at the sides of the stereo field are modulated just right to actually tickle my ears. It is groovy, everything about the track is dark, the choices of sound, the little bits of melody including a nice gated synth flute sound and one of the most awesome basses ever with key changes as well.

9.5/10

3. Project Genesis: Another nice bassline, but pretty much every track has one because MFG are the masters of amazing basslines. Nice acid. Nice effects again. A nice build up of layers as the track progresses. Some people may feel this borders on the chaotic but I would say it is part of the point and what chaos there is is expertly selected and delivered. The Star Trek samples are cool and the crazy tweaking bassy synths after those are lovely.

7.5/10

4. Open Mind: This has some cool weird melodies, loads of twisted sounds. The mood I would say is slightly closer to neutral compared to the darkness of the previous two tracks (yeah I know, "life from lifelessness", but like I said, watch the movie). This is a perfectly serviceable track but some of the others are even better.

7/10

5. Why?: has cool distorted drums and a wild wailing melody that is gated so much it feels like it has been torn up into little bits. Then of course there are the evocative voice samples. Nice key changes again on this one. It's catchy.

8/10

6. Voices: Others have considered this a weaker track. For me, it is a favorite. The best bit is that loud twitchy, twangy acid lead which is pretty memorable and unique. It has a fast, energetic pace, and I just really like the particular way all the crazy effects fit together in this one, and how unsure of herself the woman sounds when she says "I don't hear any voices".

8/10

7. Sunshine: This is a bit smoother than the previous track, a little bit upbeat, and the title and voice sample suggest a happy mood yet it is still filled with plenty of darkness and layers of wild sounds.

7.5/10

8. On Mars: The dark bassy synth at the start of this sounds like an evil alien slurping up all life from a planet. The bassline itself is heavy and great yet again of course. My head was bopping at the relentless drive of this one.

8/10

9. The Creation: A slightly more laid back feeling with some fascinatingly gloopy vibes bring you into the start of this track, then the heavier kick and bass and snares come in and as the track goes on the tension builds and the darker mood returns along with nice layers of melodies.

7.5/10

10. Metamorphosis: This is such an excellent way to close out the album, with a relentless deep, dark resonant synth pattern playing almost continuously in a groovy, hypnotic pattern and later wailing melodies come in as well and the track builds and gradually metamorphoses, like the name suggests. At the end we get key changes.

9/10

My favorite tracks are 2, 3, 6, 8 and 10. They were not all my highest scored tracks, because I try to score on technical and artistic merit as best I can rather than just my own subjective preference which seems to vary quite a bit over time anyway.

Overall score:

8.5/10

https://mfgmemo604.bandcamp.com/album/project-genesis

[astralprojection]

15 hours ago, acid being said:

 

For those who say it has a muddy sound, I really think it is supposed to sound like that as it makes it gloomier, bassier and creates a harder, tougher sound.

 

+1. this very sound is a big reason why we love this album. To me personally the quality is really really excellent.  I think it sounds just the way it should. 😇

i know what everyone means when they say muddy. but that really is a part of the whole sound for me. its  more organic and alien. 

and if you wanna get technical, for 1998, it sounds amazingly well produced. more so even than Dancing Galaxy (albeit a year prior)

[Kitrinos]

Better than their crappy second album (which is a cacophony of electronic sounds, to be honest). The change of style is welcome, but it doesn't mean greatness. The tracks often become chaotic. They also lack nice build-ups, can be too repetitive and too harsh for the ear. Some decent tracks, but that's all. Nothing essential.

Their first album is quite good, see Magnetic Activity. And also Global Light, from the compilation Gamma Draconis. These two are their best tracks from what I've heard of them, really good compositions.

Their overall sound and style though is not what I'm looking for in Goa trance. And that is because I like harmony and not dissonance when I listen to music.

[acid being]

18 hours ago, Kitrinos said:

Better than their crappy second album (which is a cacophony of electronic sounds, to be honest). The change of style is welcome, but it doesn't mean greatness. The tracks often become chaotic. They also lack nice build-ups, can be too repetitive and too harsh for the ear. Some decent tracks, but that's all. Nothing essential.

Their first album is quite good, see Magnetic Activity. And also Global Light, from the compilation Gamma Draconis. These two are their best tracks from what I've heard of them, really good compositions.

Their overall sound and style though is not what I'm looking for in Goa trance. And that is because I like harmony and not dissonance when I listen to music.

I understand where you're coming from. For me their sound on this album is a bit more focused on exploring amazing sonic textures and rhythms but still with decent amounts of melody, rather than on great harmony.

I like all those things in Goa trance which is why the real masters for me are those who excel at harmony, texture and rhythm all in one track: Dimension 5, RA, Elysium.

As for MFG, I will try and pay more attention to consonance and dissonance when I listen to their music. I don't really remember much if any discord standing out to be honest but there is certainly a lot of distortion and noise by design.

I am a sucker for dark and gloomy music. A few tritones always help with the dark vibes.

As for the chaos, I agree there are moments in this album where it starts to head that way, and the whole thing is more chaotic than a lot of other Goa. Again, for me though one of the things that makes Goa trance enjoyable are those moments where on a casual listen you almost can't follow what is going on, because there are so many layers and rhythms and different sounds.

It would be boring if we all liked the same trance music though.

[Kitrinos]

2 hours ago, acid being said:

I understand where you're coming from. For me their sound on this album is a bit more focused on exploring amazing sonic textures and rhythms but still with decent amounts of melody, rather than on great harmony.

I like all those things in Goa trance which is why the real masters for me are those who excel at harmony, texture and rhythm all in one track: Dimension 5, RA, Elysium.

As for MFG, I will try and pay more attention to consonance and dissonance when I listen to their music. I don't really remember much if any discord standing out to be honest but there is certainly a lot of distortion and noise by design.

I am a sucker for dark and gloomy music. A few tritones always help with the dark vibes.

As for the chaos, I agree there are moments in this album where it starts to head that way, and the whole thing is more chaotic than a lot of other Goa. Again, for me though one of the things that makes Goa trance enjoyable are those moments where on a casual listen you almost can't follow what is going on, because there are so many layers and rhythms and different sounds.

It would be boring if we all liked the same trance music though.

Fair enough. I am of the view that trippy and psychedelic music can be successfully done without an overload of layers; At some turning point, many layers ruin everything. Arronax has mentioned his admiration for this album and no wonder why his music is so chaotic. 

The three masters you've mentioned are highly appreciated by me and in general I think they have been more careful in their selection of sounds and layers.

Fair enough though, each one to their own taste.