I completely missed Hifi Sean's debut album, Ft., and it's companion. Ft. Excursions, when they were originally released in 2016 and 2017. Lockdown and a greater commitment to the excellent and inspirational music blogs out there meant that I belatedly discovered them courtesy of JC and The Vinyl Villain.
From David McAlmont's guest appearance on both, a creative partnership was formed and the fruits of this appeared as singles in 2020 and 2021, teasing a full-length album, Happy Ending. The impact of the singles was enough for me to subscribe to Last Night From Glasgow in December 2022 and buy the album on glorious yellow vinyl in a beautifully designed gatefold sleeve.
Although Happy Ending had an official worldwide, multi-format release in February 2023, I used my LNFG membership privilege and early access to the album to cheat and declare Happy Ending my favourite album of 2022.
We're 203 days into 2023 and personally, it's still the album to beat for my end of year list. I have lost track now of how many times I've listened to Happy Ending and I cannot express how deeply it moves me on each listen. I run the gamut of emotions, whether enjoying the music on a superficial level, immersing myself in the beautifully constructed soundscapes or forensically poring over the gorgeously designed lyric booklet and finding meaning and nuances in the words of each song. Seriously, everyone needs a Happy Ending. BUY IT NOW!
To celebrate the virtual tickets I'm now (virtually) clutching in my (real) hand, a Hifi Sean selection was inevitable today. I've kept it relatively short and snappy, nine songs in just over three quarters of an hour. Three feature the incomparable vocals of David McAlmont, Crystal Waters appears on a couple more whilst Little Annie and Norman Blake make up the other guest spots. There's a standalone Hifi Sean single too, plus one of several collaborations with NY DJ Peter Shalvoy.
The selection kicks off with Testify, the song that JC introduced me to back in 2020 and ends with Hurricanes, from Happy Ending, which is just sublime. Just one listen to this selection and my synapses are firing, I'm flooded with endorphins and I just know that this is going to be a good Saturday. I don't need to be psychic to know that Saturday 10th February 2024 is going to be even better.
1) Testify (Album Version): Hifi Sean ft. Crystal Waters (2016)
2) All In The World (Album Version): Hifi Sean & David McAlmont (2022)
3) 18th (Azaxx Late Night Reprise) (Remix By Xavier Jean): Hifi Sean ft. Norman Blake (2017)
4) You're Just Another Song (Album Version): Hifi Sean ft. Little Annie (2016)
5) Like Josephine Baker (Omnichord Excursion) (Remix By Hifi Sean): Hifi Sean ft. David McAlmont (2017)
6) Love Is On The House (Extended Mix): Hifi Sean (2019)
7) Heavy Dub (Remix By Hifi Sean): Hifi Sean ft. Crystal Waters (2019)
8) Charlie: Hifi Sean / Shalvoy (2017)
9) Hurricanes (Album Version): Hifi Sean & David McAlmont (2022)
'Testify' is a great opener. I have that somewhere in my collection already, but not the rest of the album which I may need to check out
ReplyDeleteIf I haven't belaboured the point already, Ernie, I cannot recommend any of the Hifi Sean albums highly enough!
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