Take a Deep Breath and Clear Your Mind to “Breatharian”

Members choose #mndsgn to receive the hypnotic album “Breatharian” on vinyl

Jimmy McInnis
Sep 5, 2018 · 3 min read

Who are they?

MNDSGN is an experimental hip-hop producer from South Jersey known for his intuitive fusion of electronic swells, chopped and twisted samples, and classic hip hop percussion that helps him stand out from his contemporaries. While growing up in Jersey he linked up with Knxwledge, the producer mastermind behind a lot of the tracks on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly and his own duo NxWorries with Anderson .Paak. Before those days, Knxwledge and MNDSGN got their start working together as the Klipmode Collective, eventually gaining enough widespread popularity to make their move to Los Angeles and pursue music even harder. Breatharian is the culminating result of this move; MNDSGN’s debut LP displays his polished sophistication as a veteran producer as well as his trailblazing vision as a cutting-edge concept artist.

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My take

Breatharian thematically works around the belief of Inedia, the concept that we can sustain ourselves on only air, sunlight, and meditation, and that consuming food and water are merely extraneous for survival. While I don’t know the validity of this theory is rock-solid, it does create the entire ethos of this project, stripping down the music to its core roots, and simulating the feeling of a clear-minded meditation. The piano riffs, sampled strings, and gentle synth pads create sonic gusts of air that make the listener feel lighter and almost transcendent, while being grounded by the steady drums and percussion on each track. Vocal samples are sprinkled throughout the project, acting almost as enlightening thoughts and epiphanies gained through the holistic meditation. From the first track “Inhale” all the way through to the final track “Quick Exhale”, the entire listening experience feels very akin to a calming and insightful meditation. This album is perfect to throw on in the background when you need to get a lot of work done, or when you want to get away from all the work and clear your mind. If you feel like you’re stuck in a musical rut and just need something fresh and different, let this album breathe more life into you and broaden your aural perspective and palette.

Favorite tracks

“Starving” features hypnotic loops that put you in a zoned trance, making you feel almost paralyzed by your focus. It invokes the dangerous feelings of hunger, but its repetitive cadence helps make it feel like your meditating your starvation away.

“Fif Dim” is by far the most trippy and volatile track on the project, and its at this point in the album where the listener is transported (through their meditation) to a higher sense of euphoric wisdom and understanding, this so called fifth dimension or “Fif Dim”.

VNYL members can self-select #mndsgn as 1 of their 3 vinyl records this month. Click here to join.

VNYL

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