Mndsgn finds ‘Pleasure’ in grooves of the past
After these past couple of years, Mndsgn (pronounced “Mind Design”) has been on a mission of sorts, reminding people to take in the simple joys in life. He’s mainly been doing this by hopping from city to city — he plays Satellite in Houston on Tuesday — performing music from his latest album, “Rare Pleasure,” which came out last year. (His backing band is also called the Rare Pleasures, BTW.)
An artist and producer (real name: Ringgo Ancheta) whose beats have been snapped up by such stars as Doja Cat and Tyler, the Creator, Mndsgn began writing music for “Pleasure” in 2018. He managed to get most of it recorded before you-know-what happened.
“A month before the initial lockdown, we had gotten into the studio and I had gotten all the musicians to replay a lot of stuff to play on top of the original demos,” says the San Diego-born Filipino artist, 33. “And, then, the pandemic hit and everyone went into lockdown, and the only thing that was left (to do) was to mix and master and to write a few more things.”
For Mndsgn, rounding up people to record on a project, even before COVID, was a wonderful occurrence — hence the album title.
“I didn’t come up with the name until I recorded it with all the musicians in the studio,” he says, “and I was kind of in awe of how effortless it was to align everyone. Before the pandemic, everyone was so busy — you know, a lot of homies in and out of town. And that week that we had took to record the final passes of the record, it was just so effortless.”
One listen to “Pleasure” and you’ll find that the title suits the album well. Its delightful meshing of jazz and soul brings to mind the experimental, jazz fusion sounds artists such as Herbie Hancock,
George Duke and Dave Grusin dropped back in the ’70s. Mndsgn cops to being influenced by those greats. But he also wanted to compose tunes that are reminiscent of Italian soundtrack composers such as Piero Piccioni.
“I was also inspired by a lot of library soundtrack music and just a lot of soundtrack composers, too,” he says. “So, trying to weave those influences into the record was definitely a conscious thing.”
The city of Los Angeles — aka the place he calls home — and its community of progressive, soulful artists (veteran Angelenos such as percussionist Carlos Nino and multiinstrumentalist Miguel AtwoodFerguson appear on the album) also play influential roles in “Pleasure.”
“I’ve been there for 10, 11 years and not only have I grown as an individual, but also just found myself growing within the community too,” he says. “Initially, I moved out there and (weekly club night) Low End Theory was a big thing. A lot of people would come through. A lot of producers would come and play deep cuts. That was a huge inspiration early on and, you know, it’s not around anymore. But you just see things like that come and go, and it is super inspirational to be part of something like that.”
Working on “Pleasure” gave Mndsgn the chance to get more personal in his music. A tough time he was having with his father made him write the track “Hope You’re Doin’ Better.”
“There are layers to my relationship with him,” he says. “At the end of the day, I just want to put the message of love into the music and in a way that, you know, it can apply to a particular person or anyone, really. So, for me, that song was for my dad, but it’s for a lot of other people too. When you can’t* necessarily reach somebody for whatever reason, there’s still a way to send love from afar.”
Mndsgn is continuing to send love to those who check him out live. After all, providing good vibes to those who need it is what made the man create the album in the first place.
“I was just thinking about how life itself is a rarity and, also, a pleasure — even when it’s uncomfortable,” he says. “Still, it’s a pleasure to experience this life.”