Personnel: Charles Spearin (guitar, piano, bass guitar); Julia Seager Scott (harp); Julie Penner (violin); Richard Petit (cello); Ohad Benchetrit (flute, alto saxophone); Leon Kingstone (baritone saxophone); Michael Barth (trumpet, flugelhorn); Evan Cranley (trombone); Dave Clarke (drums).
Audio Mixer: Ohad Benchetrit.
Charles Spearin is a key member of the Toronto post-rock outfit Do Make Say Think and an adjunct member of the Broken Social Scene collective. The concept of his first solo album gelled when Spearin asked his downtown Toronto neighbors to talk into a tape recorder about the concept of happiness and what made them happy. Spearin then transposed the improvised unconscious vocal melodies into arrangements for various instruments.
Professional Reviews
Pitchfork (Website) - "The tunes on the collection appear as if by magic. You hear people talking, and then their speech is transformed into honeyed horn patter or galloping guitar arpeggios."
Clash (magazine) (p.112) - "THE HAPPINESS PROJECT began as an experimental live project....Patience reveals some rich musicality."
