Having been friends and labelmates since their teens, Romy and Sampha make their long-awaited first appearance on record together with the collaborative new single ‘I’m on your team’. Premiering this evening as Radio 1’s “Hottest Record In The World”, the pair wrote the song during sessions for other artists before finally recording it together in London following the release of their acclaimed 2023 albums LAHAI and Mid Air, alongside co-producer and composer Thomas Bartlett.
It’s a startlingly beautiful song that documents the fragmented stages of a relationship as it moves from the dreamlike, carefree moment of first falling in love to the more real, everyday love of a long-term relationship requiring dedication and effort. As Romy says, “It’s a love song but lyrically, it’s honest and truthful. Like “we’ve had the magic and dreaminess but now we’ve been through things together, so here we are and I’m putting in the work,’” while Sampha adds “I love the idea of being part of a team, that you have to show up for each other, and from there you can create an even deeper connection”. The evolving nature of a relationship crystalises somewhere between the chorus of “And I hope the way I feel tonight, is the way I feel for life” and the closing “I’m on your team, but I can’t always coach you.”
The single follows years of friendship and admiration between the pair, whose careers have often mirrored each other. Emerging out of a vibrant London scene in the late 00s, they both found a label home at Young and released debut albums that would go on to win the UK’s revered Mercury Music Prize (Sampha as a solo artist and Romy via her band The xx). Sampha also supported The xx during early North American tours and remixed their single ‘Basic Space’. Meanwhile, earlier this year, Romy appeared as a guest on Sampha’s Wave Therapy show for Apple Music 1 which saw the pair come together publicly for the first time on a cover of Andre 3000’s ‘Me&My (To Bury My Parents)’. Both are also esteemed collaborators with other artists, Sampha having worked with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Alicia Keys, Stormzy, Solange, and Frank Ocean, while Romy has released acclaimed music with the likes of Fred again.., Jessie Ware, Tom Rasmussen and Jamie xx alongside songwriting for some of the biggest names in pop.
‘I’m on your team’ is accompanied by an intimate performance video from the London-based artist workers’ cooperative not/nowhere that captures a stunning live rendition of the song. Meanwhile, the single artwork features a detail of a bespoke piece created by Wales Bonner to celebrate the single. In addition, ‘I’m On Your Team’ soundtracks the closing credits to the new John Crowley-directed movie We Live In Time (A24 Films) starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield.
About Romy:
Romy is a singer, songwriter and DJ who previously sold over 4 million copies of three acclaimed albums with her band The xx. Romy released her highly-anticipated debut solo album In September last year. Mid Air was one of 2023’s most rapturously received debuts. Following the album’s release, Romy has received a host of accolades including recent nominations for the 2024 BRITs (“Best Dance Act”) and GRAMMY (“Best Dance / Electronic Recording”) awards.
Since Mid Air’s release, Romy has also released a brand new solo single “Always Forever” Built around an interpolation of Donna Lewis’ iconic 1996 hit “I Love You Always Forever” and made with Mid Air co-producer Fred again.., it’s a joyous piece of ecstatic earworm pop that was accompanied by a stunning video from lauded filmmaker (and After Sun director), Charlotte Wells. She also dueted with Jessie Ware on the pair’s “Lift You Up” single in June. Produced by Stuart Price, ‘Lift You Up’ is an effervescent and irresistibly catchy, disco-infused house anthem featuring the vocals of two of the UK’s most recognisable and era-defining voices
About Sampha:
From UK breakout star to global icon. Sampha’s influence is felt throughout contemporary culture. Across a studied career, the south London singer, songwriter and producer has released a host of era-defining records including 2013’s breakthrough “Dual” EP and his Mercury Music Prize winning debut album, 2017’s Process. No stranger to collaboration, Sampha is also the inimitable voice called upon by some of the greatest artists of our lifetime, from Kendrick Lamar to Stormzy, Drake to Solange, Frank Ocean to Alicia Keys, and musical releases with the best of the underground. His work expands across multiple disciplines, with previous creative partnerships including the fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner and filmmaker Kahlil Joseph.
In 2023, he returned with his hotly anticipated second album LAHAI. Taken from his paternal grandfather’s name, which is also Sampha’s middle name, LAHAI revels in the awe and magic of our existence, synthesizing the exquisite chaos that one experiences confronting the cycle of life and the beyondness. In contrast to his Mercury Prize-winning debut album Process, LAHAI is a communal affair seeing Sampha explore the many ways in which we as humans connect to each other, and to something bigger than ourselves. If Process was an artist figuring out his own place in the world, engulfed in the shadows of grief and loss, LAHAI is an exercise in the radical acceptance and joy in the human condition, and the beauty in the journey itself.
Most recently, Sampha has continued his prolific collaborative streak, including a track with Little Simz (on “Satellite Business 2.0” which featured on the one-year anniversary bonus edition of LAHAI) and his latest contribution to “fear less” on the new Fred Again.. album ten days
About not/nowhere:
not/nowhere is an artist workers’ cooperative that programmes workshops, screenings, exhibitions and other events. Their mission is to ensure that local artists who use new media in their work can access film and media equipment and acquire the training to use these machines creatively. They are committed to Black and POC artists exploring new possibilities for owning the means of production of their work and finding sustainability in their practice. not/nowhere’s additional focus is to provide infrastructural support for artists working in all mediums, and enfranchise people living or working in London to take pleasure in expressing themselves creatively. https://www.not-nowhere.org/
FOLLOW:
ROMY: OFFICIAL SITE / INSTAGRAM / TWITTER / TIKTOK
SAMPHA: OFFICIAL SITE / INSTAGRAM / TIKTOK
