Flash of the Spirit is an album by the American musician Jon Hassell and the Burkinabé musicians Farafina.[2][3] It was released in 1988, with an American release the following year.[4][5] A remastered edition was released in 2020.[6]
Robert Christgau determined that "the aural environment neither flashes nor fuses—rather than a 'forced collision of cultures,' it sounds like they just barely missed each other."[13] The Chicago Tribune wrote that the album finds Hassell "lofting filigreed, electronically expanded trumpet lines and titanium cloud-chords above ethereal musical settings."[12]
The Boston Globe deemed Flash of the Spirit "tribal music from the global village, sensual, earthy and high tech."[15] The Omaha World-Herald concluded that Hassell "sounds warmer than usual because of the rhythmic density of Farafina ... Hassell's sound, altered and enhanced by electronics, bends and blares."[9]
AllMusic called the album "a near set of dance tunes."[11]