Mndsgn's Radiant Soul

Released in 2021, "Rare Pleasure" was a fascinating album that deserves more attention.

Every year, I’ll hear an album that I assume everyone loves, only to be left wondering why more people didn’t love it. I remember playing Common’s Electric Circus in 2002, falling instantly for the psychedelic rap, soul and rock of songs like “Aquarius,” “Come Close” and “Jimi Was a Rock Star.” Yet others didn’t dig it, and some of them blamed his then-girlfriend Erykah Badu for its eccentric direction. In 2013, Black Milk, an accomplished rapper and producer from Detroit, released what I thought was one of the year’s best rap albums with No Poison No Paradise, a semi-autobiographical walk through his upbringing that used gospel, jazz and electro-funk to convey the nuance of adolescence and young adulthood. Critics thought it was cool, but not a knockout, citing his lyrical ineffectiveness as a supposed hindrance.

Old feelings arose when, after listening to an early copy of Mndsgn’s (pronounced Mind Design) Rare Pleasure, I just knew we’d all be here for this album. I mean, who could deny its sun-drenched soul, those billowing arrangements, the way it felt like an heirloom but also a modern R&B suite featuring some of today’s best musicians. Just look at the lineup: Swarvy on bass and guitar; Kiefer on keys; Will Logan on drums; Carlos Niño on percussion; Miguel Atwood-Ferguson on strings; and Fousheé and Anna Wise on backing vocals. These are all A-plus musicians with their own noted works, yet there they were in one space, lending their talents to this unprecedented studio session. While Mndsgn’s name appears alone on the front cover, Rare Pleasure is very much a team effort. The band crafts a stellar set of music that just sort of drifts along, swirling around bright notes meant to signify a new way forward for the protagonist. Still, it seemed people only whispered about this album when shouting was more appropriate.

Up to that point, Mndsgn had been known as a beatmaker, not so much a conductor of live arrangements. Born Ringgo Ancheta in San Diego and raised in southern New Jersey, he was introduced to hip-hop culture and beatmaking by his older brother. By 2008, the budding producer — who had been posting his work on MySpace — linked with producers Suzi Analogue, Devonwho and Knxwledge, forming a new collective called Klipmode. The group uploaded its music to Bandcamp and developed a cult following that launched their respective careers.

Mndsgn moved to Los Angeles in 2011, where he self-released instrumental tapes and played various clubs throughout the city. He soon caught the attention of Stones Throw Records, the vaunted label that released this classic; in 2014, he put out his debut album, Yawn Zen, a mostly-instrumental collection of downtempo beats and ambient soundscapes. Mndsgn broke through two years later: His sophomore album, Body Wash, a multifaceted mix influenced by ‘80s boogie and funk and ‘90s R&B, showed the creative strides he’d made in a short time. It was a fully-formed record with fleshed-out songs, pronounced vocals and mesmerizing grooves, far beyond the nice yet half-sketched compositions of Yawn Zen. With Body Wash, it was clear that Mndsgn wasn’t just a guy pressing pads on a beat machine, he was a developed artist whose music scanned several eras and genres.

The genesis of Rare Pleasure dates back to 2018, when Mndsgn started sketching rough drafts that would become this album. Not one to stay in the same creative place for long, the work he compiled involved melodic blends of jazz, soul and soundtrack music — the feeling of sunrise over the ocean. On purpose, Rare Pleasure felt like a warm embrace, doubling as a gentle reminder that you’re not alone. That explained the track “Hope You’re Doin’ Better,” which Mndsgn wrote in the wake of a loved one’s endeavor with mental illness. The lyrics bolster that togetherness. He sings:

“Since the last time that we spoke on the phone
You were stuck in cold weather
I know you're going through the motions like I do
You're not alone
You know you got a friend whenever you need one
Pick up your phone”

Indeed, there’s a feeling in those down moments that you have to work through it in solitude. You convince yourself that everyone’s busy, that the looming gray clouds are just temporary. But what you don’t realize is that others are battling the same strife, and that the issues aren’t resolved without community. You have to repeat these things to yourself to avoid falling into deeper distress.

The album itself focused on repetition as therapy, through four variations of the title track. The first three versions are slow and meditative; the last an upbeat blast of nostalgic jazz fusion. When listened to after the album’s best track, “Medium Rare,” it felt like a cathartic moment: the melancholy has dissipated and better days are ahead. To that end, “Medium Rare” might be the best song in Mndsgn’s catalog. Over spacious piano chords and drifting swings, he urged us to move past stillness. “Fear is just a comfy queen-size bed,” he sang. “Won't you get up and start your day?” Elsewhere on the LP, there were tracks about the wonders of self-love (“Colours of the Sunset”) and the beauty of new romance (“Slowdance”). On “Masque,” Mndsgn lamented the facade; it’s OK to simply be yourself.

I would never call Mndsgn underrated, because doing that negates the fanbase he’s rightfully earned. But I can’t help but wonder why more people didn’t praise this album, given its superiority to certain mainstream records with bigger marketing budgets. All that to say this: We should start discussing Mndsgn as one of the world’s greatest producers, underground or otherwise. To me, Rare Pleasure remains the brightest spot in a still-growing catalog with limitless potential.