MFG - Project Genesis

[Basilisk]

One of my old favourites... there are some great tracks here... Why? for example. Incredible music!

[Guest Jaaaaaaaay]

Why is this album not highlighted in red??? It is one of the most genious goa

albums by MFG and ever made! Much more innovation is here with depths of dark

sounds and psychedelic melody as opposed to The Message. This album is

awesome!!!!!!

[Guest transphere]

I find this rather boring... wasted money actually... is there anyone who wants

to buy my copy of it? =)

Well, I'll give it 3/10... it doesn't suck, but it isn't good.

[Guest Davidtolsn]

hmm, on mars is a pretty good track. the rest is pure shit. i've never liked

mfg much though (except the message), so if you like the other cds, maybe

you'll like it. 1/10

[Guest Nalin]

Maybe not mindblowingly good, but this album has enough good things about it to

make it worth getting if you like MFG. As was said before, Why is just an

amazing track that can sell the album almost by itself not to mention that at

least 1/2 the tracks on this album are very good.

[Jon Cocco]

MFG - PROJECT GENESIS (UDPATED OVER A DECADE LATER)
1998
PHONOKOL RECORDS



Track listing:

01. 00'41" Intro
02. 07'30" Intelligent Machine
03. 07'34" Project Genesis
04. 08'08" Open Mind
05. 08'12" Why?
06. 08'27" Voices
07. 07'41" Sunshine
08. 08'02" On Mars
09. 07'42" The Creation
10. 09'29" Metamorphosis

PROJECT GENESIS is my favorite MFG album, though I find New Kind of World and The Message strong too. Initially I was drawn to the darker style here. This was one of the first dark Goa-Trance albums I heard. It's also a rare and a different (dark, edgy) approach from MFG's previous album. For those who forget what addictive melodies sound like, I highly recommend revisiting older Goa-Trance albums by Astral Projection, MFG, Hallucinogen, Pleiadians, Cosmosis, Transwave, etc. MFG is smart like Astral Projection in that they put the super songs in the middle of the album. They build up to them. Yet somewhere close by, there's always a less strong track, Voices here. I recommend listening to this album at night with ear buds when doing something, exercising, driving, laying down visualizing. I find this album so nostalgic, fused with the excellent synths, bass lines, rhythms, and atmosphere. I always come back to this one, as it's one of my all time favorites.

01. Intro is too short to score. It involves little more than slow psy ambient notes that connect to..

02. Intelligent Machine establishes the darkly imaginative tone, as well as the cybernetic Goa style on this concept album. The song's coupled with sweet development, catchy synths, bass, high energy, and rhythm. The aggressive drum combo around 3:38 transitions so well to the next part, and the sample compliments. The last act is excellent too! Great opening track!  A-

03. Project Genesis is another strong track with a leading melody wave that takes place on and off throughout. At 6:30 is a return to the leading wave. It's great and the cyborg / cybernetic sound is fantastic and refreshing!  A

04. Open Mind is more melodic, less dark and edgy than the previous two vehicles. I really like the sound/melody work (synths), and the song's growth and development. It's well done and compliments the other tracks.  A-

05. Why? is so interesting. I'll never forget the first time I heard this song. It was night. My eyes were closed. The first several minutes were pretty good but nothing exceptional...like a roller coaster in the dark, continuing to climb in anticipation. It levels out before climbing again. We reach 5:00 as the song grows richer, more complex, psychedelic, existential, and arresting as it progresses. The song is an adrenaline beast-- a cybernetic fan's we dream, a dance floor diamond, and my favorite track on the album and by MFG to date. It's all about one's state of mind to dive deep, appreciate, and enjoy this radical treasure, or hover near the surface, consciousness-wise, and overlook any meaning to some degree or entirely.  A

06. Voices - Some nice synths, just not as memorable or enjoyable as previous tracks. Lots of energy, psychedelic. But the melodic ingredients feel less infectious. The song could have been more imaginative, daring, and complex, but it's not bad. Fortunately there's some pretty cool (catchier) synth variety and complexity in the last act.  B

07. Sunshine opens with a bang. The song has skipping voice samples that are VERY CATCHY and enhance the song... SUUN SSHHH -- SUUNN SHHIII.. The track is fairly dark and rhythmic too, rough, and sleek. The first 1-2 minutes are excellent, though repetition sets in by 3:40, until its awesome SUNSHINE chorus saves it. The second act is strong, similar to the opening two minutes with a few extra layers. MFG could have added a super synth or something more to really elevate the final third, but we get is a thick, storming rhythmic rush of sounds that are, well, quite homogenous to the first two acts without really raising the bar. The song is solid throughout with a great hook that elevates it. A-

08. On Mars is better than Voices. A bit slow to get started save its power and momentum. Synths in the second half grow catchier. It has a main current/synth throughout, but that power surge prevents the song from feeling more varied and refreshing until the second half, final act where some wicked, blazing synths arrive. Great track!  B+

09. The Creation is borderline uptempo. It has a solid, thick rhythm throughout, and many psy scapes, but no memorable synths (or leads) until the last act. It's pretty good and one of the less appreciated tracks here that took me until 2016 to appreciate and enjoy. This is more IDM via Goa-Trance. It develops nicely. Pretty interesting/good overall, but nothing spectacular. B+

10. Metamorphosis is the slowest song here and possibly the most innovative and interesting as well (aside from Why?). Rich, unique, gripping, and ever-changing. The song gets catchier as it progresses. The sound fusions throughout are where cyber/dark meets elegant Goa in this beautiful concoction of imaginative beauty, ingenuity, and excellence. The song evolves and is a wonderful closing track. A

Project Genesis is a super follow-up to New Kind of World. I loved this music back then and still do today in 2018. Project Genesis will surprise you in its concentrated moments and tracks. Its darker, more powerful and Cybernetic / Sci-Fi influenced approach at times makes for a tour de force in Psy/Goa-Trance. That said, the album's not for everyone. This has a very distinct UNCONVENTIONAL sound, and is one of my favorite Goa albums. The only track I find fairly weak or less strong is Voices. After their less layered [comparatively speaking] but still VERY GOOD follow up album to this third one via The Message (2001), they returned with Message From God (2006), a Full On release that was just not Goa anymore despite some MFG influences. The Message (2001) is there last Goa-influenced album showcasing some very good/great work. But Project Genesis was crafted in a time when they were dishing out such phenomenal work, like a prodigy teenager full of energy, excitement, rage, and creativity. I'd still recommend The Message if you're a fan of this music. It's good and showcases some great work. Still as overall main albums go, there was a love and a kinetic energy that was last heard to this most fierce PURE GOA degrees from them on THIS ALBUM. MFG peeked with New Kind of World + Project Genesis in terms of PURE GOA. 

TO MFG:  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS INCREDIBLY INSPIRED RELEASE THAT SOME PEOPLE COMPLETELY MISSED OR DIDN'T FULLY GRASP OR APPRECIATE BACK IN 1998. 

Favorite songs: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10
A-

[Mindphilux]

Almost as strong as New Kind Of World... Intelligent Machine has one of my favorite voice samples in a trance song

[apsyd]

-

[Mike A]

best mfg album ever

[chatnik aka alien]

Fuckin' killer

[Divine]

Great album they managed to combine dark vibes with goa, similar to what U.X. did..the result is very good...higly recommended

 

the only thing bad is bad mastering i think, the sound gest messy in some parts.

[Ormion]

A masterpiece!

Intelligent Machine and Why? are two of the best dark Goa tracks ever! On Mars and Metamorphosis are equally amazing. The rest of the tracks are great too.

 

10/10

[Hexfire]

Agree with the above posters.

One of the best dark goa album ever produced (after Darshan's Awakening).

 

Highlights for me: Sunshine, Why?, Voices, On Mars

[Peyote]

This is one of my favorite psytrance releases ever and definitely the best one from mfg. This tracks ooze with power and it's amazing how these layers and layers flow so well together in one huge psychedelic soup. It's a pitty they didn't play some of these tracks in an oldskool live set some time ago.

[Penzoline]

Easily in top class of cinematic goa-trance for me. Most of the tracks here are oozing with dark sci-fi movie atmosphere. I get such strong visuals in my head when listening most of the tracks. This album has that goa-trance magic that is not seen all that often, really brilliant stuff. I wish I could see to the guys heads when they were making this.

 

It's such a disgrace that they turned into full-on conformers. Sad, really. I would not ruin my name like that when you have released something like this previously.

[LuisBSF]

Sunshine is imo one of the best goa trance tunes ever. Not that often one has the privilege of listening to music with that much power.

[Penzoline]

So insanely sci-fi oriented album, I can't get enough of this!

 

 

This album makes me feel just like sci-fi artworks do.

[Arronax]

@ Penzoline

 

This album is DEFINITELY creating the same atmosphere like the pictures above BTW, this album has influenced my production style A LOT, and it has some really strong points concerning society we live in today. Just listen to Why?, Intelligent Machine and Project Genesis... It really opens some minds  

 

However, I saw some negative comments about this album, I couldn't understand why did people dislike it so much... Maybe they didn't give it a proper chance or they just didn't expect to hear this sound... I advise them to listen to the album again, especially if they are into world conspiracies and cyberpunk. For me, this album is really mind opening and the sounds are so well picked that I don't know if it could be any better than this.

 

 

 

 

 

[exotic]

Its so interesting to come to Psynews and read comments about an album that you just discovered and you cant help seeing what other people are saying about it .. I for one couldn't believe that I was hearing such good Goa music . Can you imagine i just discovered this ? I have been exploring Goa tunes ever since i started visiting this site and i thought i had all artists covered. One name that kept coming up was MFG so i tried the full on album which i didn't like so didnt bother checking out their old releases... what a n00b!!! I dont know how but i was just going through some tracks on youtube and i stumbled on overload .. which got me interested. After hearing all their albums, i must say this is one of a kind Goa so different in flavor from other releases around its time , combining both dark and goa elements in a primordial otherworldly cosmic soup .. some tracks are intensely psychedelic .. it really sends me in a state of trance!!! the bass is mind-bending... wonder what these guy ate before starting production?? , its as heavy as most of the dark psy , night full on music that you get to hear these days but it beats them hollow in the psychedelic content.. wonder how they put such eargasmic content together so well.... didnt know such content existed in the Goa era. hats off !!!

 

 

Open mind and sunshine are the most slamming tracks for me here, they just hit you in the face, Sunshine has the best climax i have ever heard in Goa and Open mind is just pure raw dance 2:48 onwards, it has the powerful pumpy techno touch to it , the last part is just pure extacy im only partial to Open mind because its little more technoish than Sunshine. ... the rest of the album is killer too but these tracks are like a Message From God.

 

If there's one thing I love about MFG, it's that just when you think the track can't get any better, it does. Really kickass music!!! 10/10

[ion1zed]

I used to play this game to MFG's masterpiece.

 

 

On one stereo I had the SFX of the original game, on the other stereo I had a goa trance / psytrance CD running.....trippy as fuck!

[Kombo*]

With much pleasure to write for Project Genesis.

 

After reading the reviews I am disappointed from a few posts.

This album is genuine. MFG such a heavyweight in Goa scene, their music is superbly intelligent I would say.

Specific tracks had tremendous psychedelic-effect on me with a techno-spacesounds modulation you will not find elsewhere.

Intro-Inteligent machine-Project Genesis is a triptych so powerful you will find yourself wondering -were this music made by humans?!!

I am very proud having bought this album back then, guess I got all four of them. I must have listened to this album hundred times and each one was a please/ delight.

I will not mention other tracks, nor I give special recommendations as each track has unique impact.

 

Thank you MFG.

[Multi-Media]

Agree with most reviews, discovered this a month or so ago.... had only an MP3 before. Can find weak points, maybe the sound could be better (a bit muddy, but perhaps they wanted it that way adding to darker mood?) and also there are 2-3 average songs (Voices is mediocre and Sunshine only above average). The rest is cool 9/10

[astralprojection]

i come back to this album a few times here and there, and always struck by the very high sound quality. alot of it reminds me of what filteria is doing on daze. but the 90s version ^^ referring only to the sound itself.

and the music is just all types of different journeys into the depths of the brain/cosmos. really one of the better albums there are of that time.

[Jon Cocco]

On 7/9/2012 at 12:14 AM, exotic said:

If there's one thing I love about MFG, it's that just when you think the track can't get any better, it does. Really kickass music!!! 10/10

Yes!!!

I've been replaying MFG's first four album's recently and enjoying them so much. I also really like their 4th album (The Message, 2001) and appreciate the psytrance with Goa influences approach being that it's thankfully NOT like their fifth album (Message From God, 2006) that sounded too formulaic and routine via Full On structure, bass line, beat, and also lacked layers (stems/waves), atmosphere, visionary ambition, detail, and imagination-- though some of the accents and melodies were catchy/good/classic MFG associations, the overall 2006 album paled in comparison to their first four.

WHY? s still my favourite MFG track 20+ years later. It's amazing how just one word can be so powerful and influential. But their are numerous MFG tracks I enjoy listening to more frequently if that makes sense, songs I find more fun and easily accessible, and yet that song is something special.

Literally asking God WHY? ... Just-- Why?

There is so much meaning in this track that can be interpreted and related to differently, personally, by so many people in so many ways. A song with intent and meaning if I ever heard one, WHY? IMO is outstanding, not just on a technical, visceral level, but on an existential, philosophical one as well. 

Despite some constructive criticisms, e.g., Voices is still the weakest song IMO, and the first half of On Mars and The Creation respectively could have been more eventful and interesting/satisfying, Project Genesis is a cybernetic fan's wet dream and one of the best Goa albums ever produced. 

This deserves a re-mastering to clear up those muddled stems/waves from old mastering (I presume) which would bring this album to a whole new level greatness.

PS:  Not sure what happened to Phonokol anymore. I ordered so many albums from them in the 90's and guessing they don't exist anymore, as their web address appears invalid. Oh well. What's meant to be will be. It's a super album regardless.

[Penzoline]

If any album deservers a remaster it's this one. A lot of the tracks are, like you said, quite muddy. Just about anything from this era of MFG has bad mixing, which is a total shame. You can EQ the tracks for sure, but it only masks the problem a little bit.