Sampha by Jesse Crankson
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. Listen and watch the music video for “Only” here.
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). This fall Sampha will take an elevated version of the Satellite Business live show on the road, kicking off with multiple nights in London at St. Johns at Hackney Church in October, before he heads back to North America to perform in major cities including: Los Angeles, Toronto, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Atlanta, returning to Europe at the start of December to play Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris. Full list of dates below.
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.
