Mess

Mess was Fila Brazillia’s second album of 1996 and as ever with FB, in mood and style it’s varied — they’re comfortable incorporating all sorts of electronica, funk, jazz, deep house, trip hop, dub and bass music styles — but there’s a definite underlying aesthetic to it all. Mess possesses a singular level of detail, a particular melding of synthetic textures, acoustic instrumentation and sampling, and a certain homogeneity of influences, even though those influences may come from far and wide, that ties the whole thing together. 

It moves through future boogie, beat science, boom baps and breaks, jazz flavours & hints of library music, spacey bleeps, sweeps and whooshes, gentle acoustic melodies, perfectly programmed percussion, clever, intriguing arrangements, wandering, pulsating ambience, and beguiling synthethic melodies that snake into your consciousness. Mess was easily some of the UK’s best electronic instrumental music of the time and is still a deeply satisfying listen.