On his new EP, L.A.-Born, Guadalajara-based producer MVNG accomplished something that’s very hard to do in arts. He managed to make something joyous out of darkness and loss. In 2010, he returned to his hometown only to find out that his father had just a few weeks to live. Right before his father’s passing, MVNG promised him he’d make music based on that experience. And that’s what is documented on Pacific Sol Bird, MVNG’s ode to his father.
But rather than a somber collection of songs, we get an uplifting journey along the West Coast, which ends in Guadalajara, his father’s hometown. Each song represents a different place, but musically, they all are pieces of electronic experiments inspired by house and techno, with an ambient approach. His vocals bring the pop edge, describing places and moments in soft, moving melodies. On “Canoga Park, California,” he sings about feeling alive as he drives fast, crossing the valley, over a hypnotic beat and moving synths that bounce on your speakers.
“San Diego, California” is a direct conversation with his father, and its emotional content is accentuated by the washes of reverb, pads, and string synths, as well as the field recordings, which can be found throughout the whole EP. Birds, water, airplanes, typewriters, all pop in on the songs, giving them a cinematic feel.
To complement the release, he threw in three remixes, and they’re all surprisingly of one of the shortest tracks, the instrumental “Aeriel View.” So, here we have interpretations by Fonobisa, Turning Torso, and The 7th, who take them to house, juke, and hip hop areas, respectively.