Praise for Process:
“’(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano,’ a gorgeous ballad and one of many standouts from Process, Sampha’s remarkable debut album.” – Pitchfork
“Easily one of the most talented artists of our time.” – Complex
“A modern-day masterpiece.” – DJ Booth
“(known for being) a hook man to pop’s most advanced megastars but his debut album proves him their peers.” – Rolling Stone
“The English singer Sampha makes new versions of the R&B ballad: he’s not taking its conventions and form for granted, singing emotionally over strange or haunting backgrounds.”
– The New York Times
“It’s a weighty, powerful album with an identity entirely of its own. And while clearly not constructed with commercial ambition at the forefront of its mind, it’s certainly good enough to make an unlikely star of the man behind it.” – The Guardian
“a finely crafted and devastating take on the loss” – NME
“‘Process’ is a triumph not only of feeling and melody, but also of patience and efficiency.”
– Loud & Quiet
“Sampha executes a sonically adventurous vision that’s entirely his own and builds on his enormous potential” – Entertainment Weekly
“He beautifully floats between delicate falsetto and gorgeous tenor as the instrumentation builds underneath him, transforming the song from a warmhearted ballad to a compelling experience.” – Stereogum
Today, Sampha announces the full details of his highly-anticipated, sophomore album LAHAI, out October 20th on Young. 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. Spanning 14-tracks, with contributions from some of Sampha’s closest friends, peers and collaborators including: Yaeji, Léa Sen, Sheila Maurice Grey (Kokoroko), Ibeyi, Morgan Simpson (Black Midi), Yussef Dayes, Laura Groves and Kwake Bass, LAHAI, in contrast to Process, 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. On the album’s latest single “Only,” premiering today via a new music video directed by Dexter Navy in collaboration with Sampha, which follows the recent “Spirit 2.0,” we meet a newly energized Sampha, as he spits melodically over a fragmented hip-hop hued beat with co-production from El Guincho.
In June Sampha returned to the stage for the first time in five years for his Satellite Business residencies in London and New York. The unique set up of Sampha and his band performing in the center of the room allowed fans intimate access to the improvisational performance of new, unreleased music and alternate arrangements of Sampha’s catalog, that left the audience “transfixed” (Pitchfork).
Not unlike its maker, LAHAI defies clear categorization. Spanning jazz, soul, rap, dance, jungle and west African music, LAHAI sees Sampha elevating his production and vocal ambition to great new heights. A notable singer, songwriter and producer, it’s no wonder that artists like Kendrick Lamar, Stormzy, Travis Scott and previously, Drake, Solange, Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Lil Wayne and Alicia Keys have all tapped the artist for his inimitable voice plus songwriting and production contributions to their music. His work expands across multiple disciplines, with previous creative partnerships including the fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner, the Shy Light zine with Durimel (who also shot the LAHAI artwork) his Process film with director Kahlil Joseph, and most recently creative director Jonny Lu, with whom Sampha worked to create the LAHAI album artwork and logo, and which will be part of a new merch line that is printed with water-based ink logos and custom dyed long sleeve tees. The new Sampha merch will be available for pre-order starting today via this link: https://sampha.ochre.store/. Alongside a deluxe edition of LAHAI that includes a 12” and two exclusive bonus tracks, also available for pre-order today at Sampha’s and Young’s webstores.
If Process, Sampha’s 2017 Mercury-Prize-winning debut album, 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. Welcome to Sampha’s next musical chapter: LAHAI.
Pre-order/ Pre-save LAHAI: https://sampha.ffm.to/
Sampha – ‘Only’
Listen/ Stream: https://sampha.ffm.to/
Sampha – ‘Spirit 2.0′
Listen/ Stream: https://sampha.ffm.to/spirit
Sampha – LAHAI
Track list:
1. Stereo Colour Cloud (shaman’s dream)
2. Spirit 2.0
3. Dancing Circles
4. Suspended
5. Satellite Business
6. Jonathan L. Seagull
7. Inclination Compass (Tenderness)
8. Only
9. Time Piece
10. Can’t Go Back
11. Evidence
12. Wave Therapy
13. What If You Hypnotise Me?
14. Rose Tint
Sampha – LAHAI is out October 20th on Young
Follow Sampha:
Official Site / Instagram
