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MFG - The Message


Guest leon-p[at]zahav[dot]net[dot]il

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Just went back in time and listened to this album. I had somewhat neglected it back in the day. Listening to it now, makes it very obvious, that my initial scepticism was somewhat unmerited. The first track ”Have a nice day” is really cool. I like how scaled back everything is, so that your mind effortlessly register all the layers. This track manages to convey a very nostalgic sentiment. And the bassline is so playful, together with the soft bouncy kick drum. It is no doubt a track utilitizing every trick of the trade. The vibe is definately that of bitter-sweet melancholy. Perhaps the joy of remembering good times gone by.

I’m quite suprised by the structure of the second track on the album. As it has some of the stylistic features that would later on become hallmarks of the dark-psy genre. The galloping bassline in particular, and also the blippy synthesized snare sound, which I think Hallucinogen was first with in psy-trance/goa, in his track LSD. It’s probably a trick carried over from the 80’s and early 90s industrial/synth music. The pads in ”Feel like G-O-D new version” are beautiful! Futuristic nostalgia. Overall really impressed with how modern the production sounds. And how pertinent the album feels, in this day and age. It stands as a testiment to the very high production standards within this genre at the time. MFG was definitely part of a sonic vanguard.

 

 

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  • 4 months later...

Welcome to fuckin Wonderland untill you reach the Dark Waters.... need one say more ?

Well over the half of these tracks are classics imho. It is also the best from this artist. The 1st one is now to "classic goa" for me and sounds thin, 2nd one way better, 3rd one also a classic but suffers from bad production, 4th one (=this) has one of the best productions - especially when it comes to the low end. And the kick is not thin like in our modern psy days (but why can not newer producers not at least try their best to come close to this work here?). This is a BASSline album too ! The 5th one I needed to re-listen but remember it did not grab me much

Dark Waters has samples from "A Thin Red Line" which also shows these guys have a good taste in movies :) This track just does not age at all it seems ... AND when an artist can afford to end an album with "The Message" where others would put their weaker tracks I guess. But yes, the critics may be right, that some songs are a bit too long before the main part(s) arrive

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  • 2 years later...

I always thought this album was a drop in quality compared to the first 3 classics by MFG.

But I've been listening to it more recently and think it has some really great tracks. For me Dark Waters is the standout with a beautiful and emotional progression. There's melancholy in this track which isn't really felt elsewhere in MFG's work.

When I think of all goa artists, MFG probably are my favourite. Every album is different and their production is so atmospheric and unique. And rather than seeing The Message as the end, I now see it as being the final step of MFG's development, perhaps not as stunning as earlier work but still strong and still experimental in its own way.

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On 9/1/2022 at 3:25 AM, acid-brain said:

I always thought this album was a drop in quality compared to the first 3 classics by MFG.

But I've been listening to it more recently and think it has some really great tracks. For me Dark Waters is the standout with a beautiful and emotional progression. There's melancholy in this track which isn't really felt elsewhere in MFG's work.

When I think of all goa artists, MFG probably are my favourite. Every album is different and their production is so atmospheric and unique. And rather than seeing The Message as the end, I now see it as being the final step of MFG's development, perhaps not as stunning as earlier work but still strong and still experimental in its own way.

Well put and I agree wholeheartedly. I’m always struck by how contemplative the works of MFG are. Their music is very introspective, mysterious and also of course dark. But in a good way I think, like the universe itself. Vast and dark but also full of colorful and brightly shining stars. Riddles of the cosmos. 

To me MFG are like Ridley Scott’s Alien and Prometheus movies equivalent of Goa/Psytrance. Their works are both characterized by a very particular sense for details and atmosphere. I think I need to revisit MFG’s discography again! It’s definitely that time of the year, a very dark autum and winter awaits.(In a lot of bad ways). We are closer by the day, to the dark cybernetic future I envision when listening to MFG’s dark scifi music. :) 

Perhaps this new dark era of mankind that we’ve entered makes this music feel more relevant than ever? MFG’s music and a couple of other of the old era, always had a strong message (to my ears atleast). I hope to find a similarly intriguing type of Psytrance some day, but I think it’s a rare thing these days. 

When I first heard this type of music it felt as if I had glimpsed into the future, it felt organic, synthetic, alien and weird. As if the music had a life of its own.

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