Sean Haefeli forms new sound dimensions

When Sean Haefeli enters a room, you experience what feels like a multi-dimensional enlightenment unfolding before your eyes. When he hits the keys, you are transformed by the science of sound, dropping urban philosophy into the fold.

From Indianapolis, Indiana, to Berlin, Germany, he has helped shape a new form of Jazz by embracing Soul and Hip Hop into the fold. Flying Broken Form is his fifth album as he continues to explore sound experimentation, deep songwriting, and impressive musicianship.

Born in Indianapolis, tell me about what you remember growing up in the Circle City and how the city and its people influenced you? Is there anything that stands out to you?

I have really fond memories of growing up in Indy, surrounded by a lot of family and a strong community. Like so many kids from the city, I grew up playing as much basketball as I could. I would go inside to practice piano for around 30 minutes and then I’d go right back out and hit the court.

What made the piano so special to you and how did your skills transcend throughout the years?

Piano was my first and only instrument until realizing I could sing, and I played classical music until around 18, though I had started to experiment with writing songs a few years earlier. I reached a fairly high skill level for as much as I practiced, but then I ran into another level of competition at Butler’s Prelude Awards Academy, before my Senior year. Within the next couple of years, I started to explore jazz and that journey has continued ever since. Much later, after releasing 3 albums, I went back to university and studied jazz piano for my Masters at IU, which took me back to Indiana, because I was living in Chicago at that time.

Tell me about your influence from the jazz, soul and Hip Hop scene?

My first tapes were groups like Eric B & Rakim, LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, so I grew up with hip-hop. In high school, I discovered Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Roland Kirk and I developed a love for jazz. When I moved to Chicago at 18, I had a chance to really dive into a rich underground hip-hop scene. Going to clubs and seeing groups like Digable Planets, Roots, and Arrested Development live had an impact, because it was difficult to find a lot happening in Indy, which was dominated by more mainstream rappers at that time. Today, there’s a vibrant scene in Indy, which makes me thrilled to see.

You produced and released three albums while living in Chicago? How did the city affect these albums and what did you learn during that time?

Yes, I moved to Chicago at a time when I was searching for my direction and the environment certainly helped to find my way. I was especially active in the underground spoken word and hip hop scenes. At the same time, I was exploring jazz. There were a lot of great musicians around. I understood this would be a lifelong journey, and fortunately, many wonderful musicians were generous enough to work with me.

Germany seems like a big move, why Berlin?

I fell in love with Belin’s openness and freedom. I visited the city and quickly knew that I had to return so that I could check it out more extensively. It wasn’t a strategic move at all, I just followed my feelings. In fact, I had wanted to move to London, but the cost of living and the strength of the pound were prohibitive.

Tell me about Flying Broken Form and the process you took to make an album like this?

Many songs I wrote in early ‘20, after buying a Prophet. The sounds inspired me and following the news closely, I knew the world was about to be shaken up.

Most of this album was recorded in late ‘22. I found the musicians who I wanted to work with for this project, also importantly, an engineer and studio where I felt comfortable. Flying Broken Form does have more synth textures and vocal layers than previous albums. Fortunately, after all these years, I have a fairly good process for writing and recording, so that went smoothly. However, in my case, everything that follows with navigating the business tends to be tricky.

You do an amazing job at filling in space while exploring openness, what stood out for you while making this album and what have you taken from the experience?

Thank you. Compared to a lot of production, my work can be spare. If it doesn’t seem to add to the music, it will be omitted.

One of the biggest takeaways from this album was that I recorded vocals at home for the first time. This allowed for leisurely tracking, without thinking about studio costs. As a result, I also added more layers and background vocals.

Wednesdays seem like a great night for some Verses and Vibes. How are you helping others think outside the box and express their creativity through the arts with an event like this?

I have been in this business for so long, focused on my own career, it’s been wonderful to provide a platform for other artists, allow them to share work and tell their stories. So much of the content is reduced to short clips at this point, and with attention being limited, artists definitely find it refreshing to dig deeper.

What are you currently working on to help nurture and embrace arts and culture beyond the music that you make? Define fulfillment to you and how has fellowship through spirit and place made you grow as a musician?

Verses and Vibes allows me to facilitate a rich cultural space for exchange. Regardless of where my career goes at this point, artistically, I have achieved a lot of what I set out to do. Staying focused, disciplined, dedicated, while remaining open to my environment and influences, this has been my pathway. Also, I haven’t been afraid of taking on adventures. That’s certainly made life interesting and provides a lot of great stories!

What inspires you?

I’m inspired by people who are passionate about their work, be it an artist, doctor, scientist, historian or entrepreneur. If someone is excited about what they do, this energy is infectious, and there will certainly be plenty I can learn from them.