‘HiFi Sean Ft. Excursions’ reviewed

❉ HiFi Sean’s Record Store Day exclusive Excursions is the after-hours HiFiSean Ft.

HiFi Sean. Photo © Paul Grace, used with permission.

Hifi Sean is a DJ, Producer & Songwriter, currently known for his album Ft. which he has described as ‘electronic, psychedelic soul’. Reviewed by yours truly for We Are Cult last year, the album boasts collaborations with an extraordinarily diverse range of artists, including some of the most significant underground musical icons in living memory, including Yoko Ono, Little Annie, Soft Cell’s Dave Ball, Bootsy Collins, David Mcalmont, Suicide’s Alan Vega (notably the last thing he recorded before he sadly died) and Crystal Waters with whom the impossibly brilliant, tush-moving groove Testify has been a massive crowdpleaser: it has reached Number 2 in the Shazam chart, Number 3 in the iTunes Dance chart, and spent three months in the top 30 singles. It was further championed at the start of the year by Black Madonna in her Radio 1 Essential Selection of acts to watch in 2017 for Pete Tong.

So if you’re a fan of the aforementioned you’ll be delighted to know that on the back of his highly successful album Ft. Sean is back, mixed by some of the coolest dudes on the music scene.  It has apparently always been Sean’s dream to make a Love & Dancing style post-Dare album to one of his releases for many years.  With the help of a team of some top shelf producers (Severino, Jackie House and Azaxx to name a few) he has achieved his dream.

Standout tracks for me are Atomium (Ft. Bootsy Collins) mixed by Ray Mang & Horse Meat Disco’s Severino, which starts with a steady, rhythmic beat and gradually builds; first into a Pet Shop Boys-esque groove and then layers of sound and lyrics with added  vocoder in the background, which climaxes into its full-on orgasmic heights before being brought to its natural ending in a musical post-coital cigarette.

Also noteworthy is the track that immediately follows which is Like Josephine Baker (Ft. David McAlmont). It mixes the original track’s vibe with American Disco circa Studio 54 with the White Isle’s unique groove and subsequently won’t fail to move you. Keeping still whilst listening to this track is simply not an option!

So, if Ft. was the main event, then Ft. Excursions is best described as the cool after-show party; think dub beats and ‘second wind’ grooves.

The re-working of the original tracks have been cleverly remixed to give you eight of the the originals from Ft. with that Ibiza vibe that will surely take you through the summer and beyond.  You’ll not want to miss out on this one.

Ft. Excursions is only available on Record Store Day (Saturday 22 April), this first come first served exclusive will be THE one to get in your vinyl stash.  Miss out and you’ll be forced to bid your way to oblivion on eBay afterwards. The choice is yours!

Track Listing:

SIDE 1
1. Monday Morning Sunshine (Ft. Jean Honeymoon) Sunset Dub
2. Atomium (Ft. Bootsy Collins) Ray Mang & Severino Dub Revision
3. Like Josephine Baker (Ft. David McAlmont) Omnichord Dub
4. 18th (Ft. Norman Blake) Azaxx Late Night Reprise

SIDE 2
1. Testify (Ft. Crystal Waters) In Flagranti Replay
2. In Love With Life (Ft. Yoko Ono) Yam Who? Re-work
3. A Kiss Before Dying (Ft. Alan Vega) Jackie House Bullets Workout

4.You’re Just Another Song Ft. Little Annie (Le Mongrel ‘midnighttrip’)


❉ Available from your local vinyl outlet on Record Store Day or pre-order on Amazon

❉ In case you missed it, click here to read our Q&A with Sean!

❉ Ange Chan is a poet and novelist.  Her fourth poetry collection “Fame; What’s Your Name?” and her second novel “Baby, Can You Hear Me?” were both published in paperback and Kindle in 2016.  Her third novel will be published in 2017. 

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