Hi! Fi! Sean!

Finally, HiFi at TheMenWhoFell2Earth – they’ve only been talking about this for 5 years! TheMen caught up with Sean for chirpse about his upcoming releases and set at East Bloc this Saturday 23rd April.

 


Tell us what’s going on in your world just now?

Tonnes of stuff! Next month May I have my own kind of record shop day, three in fact! I’m releasing a 12” a week on 9th, 16th & 23rd all with supporting videos made by 3 great visual artists; Joe Crogan, Sam Finn & Arber. The music is three extended versions of tracks off my forthcoming album each featuring Fred Schneider (B-52’s), Bootsy Collins (Funkadelic, Parliament), Dave Ball (Soft Cell, The Grid). The flips have remixes by In Flagranti, Dr.Packer & Dave Ball & Skull Bandits.

There are a lot of sides to HiFi Sean, right? Big pumping house at the tops-off gay afterhours to edgier and easier East London sets and then what occurs on your travels. What’s the common thread that links it all together? 

I’ve never really bothered thinking genres, as it freezes your creativity. I like to think outside the box and blur the divides. Yes, I DJ anything from deep, dirty afterhours house sets, to funk soul electro and disco and everything in between, but that’s because I’m a record / music collector. To be honest, I’m quite simplistic about it; I love playing my fave records loud and watching people dance to them. I think most good DJs are the same; DJing is just an extension of your tastes and your record collections.

Aside from DJing, there are some mega new tracks of yours for release pretty soon  (we know – we’ve heard em). What’s the story?

I’ve been working for the last 2 years and travelling about putting together a concept album of working with unique artists who I have in my record collection. It’s been an amazing experience to write and record with these people. It’s like a curated art show with different elements of each person’s personality moulded into something which sounds and feels like one large piece of work.

When you started a band, a band could earn major money from selling records. Now nobody really does – do you think the young you would feel differently entering today’s music scene? 

It will make a massive impact on future works; the lack of interest due to the lack of financial comeback. We live in a world controlled by numbers; everything is about YouTube plays or SoundCloud followers etc. It’s such a fake economy though, it can all can be bought off some dodgy website in South America for a few hundred dollars. Everyone is at it, fake figures for fake musicians. It’s getting to the point that you won’t click a link as you’ve had too much fake-ass crap bombarded at you that day. That is what worries me for the future; the lack of attention towards other people’s art ‘cause you have had too much shit thrown at you. We need a shit filter. Mine growing up was John Peel.

Acid house always gets celebrated and real 90’s ‘proper’ house is everywhere today. Everyone seems to have bypassed baggy tho! As the architect of one of the most seminal baggy anthems ever in ‘I’m Free’, do you think there’s a renaissance due or is it all best left in a crumpled heap of baggy jeans and kickers?

I HATE the word baggy, so NAFF! ‘I’m Free’ though is a classic and I’m very proud of that record. Not many records sound relevant 25 years later and that record is being played on some radio station every day somewhere in the world. Not a bad achievement at all in your wee life.

Who makes great records today that get you excited? 

I love The Flaming Lips on the rock‘n‘roll side of things. Always have, always will. On the dancey side of things… you want a book ?

Who do you wish was still making records? 

The Associates, they were unique and beautiful.

You’ve collaborated with a lot of people on your upcoming album – who would be your ultimate collaboration? 

Billy MacKenzie

Who are the one band and DJ you never got to see but always wish you had? 

Band: T-Rex, a DJ: Tiger Tim

Is London’s gay scene alive and well?

Yeah, last time I gave it a nudge it was still breathing fine

There’s a really exciting buzz coming from some American clubs just now – all really left of centre, all definitely queer but not stereotypically gay and all totally committed to great and authentic music. Have we got that here? Are the new breed of UK kids going to amaze us in the next year or two?

They already are! That aesthetic has always been there, it’s just the homogenized queens that need to hop on board and jump out their comfort zones.

Tell the good children of East Bloc what you’re bringing for them on Saturday night.

A right hodge-podge of music, like a good salad that will satisfy and make you not want your pudding.

 

• HiFi Sean is at TheMenWhoFell2Earth on Saturday 23rd April at East Bloc (217 City Road, EC1V 1JN), 10:30pm – 6am. £6/£10.

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