Bearing yourself for all the world to see as a musical artist is incredibly difficult. You open yourself up for the public to criticize you, chastise you and sneer at you — yet for an artist like Sampha, emotional vulnerability is nothing new.
After six years, Sampha Lahai Sisay — or Sampha for short — has released a new full studio album, and it is well worth the wait.
After winning the 2017 Mercury Prize for his debut album “Process,” Sampha went into a hiatus for six years — with minimal social media presence indicating his return. He has appeared on records in-between, like Solange’s “When I Get Home” and Kendrick Lamar’s award-winning “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers.”
The title of the record, “Lahai,” is “My grandfather’s name/My middle name/My next musical chapter/My next album,” Sampha explained on X.
This theme of self-identity and actualization is not new territory for Sampha. On his last effort, he put forth several tracks like “Plastic 100°C” and “(No One Knows Me) Like The Piano,” which dealt with topics like his own emotional fragility and newfound fame as an artist.
The album consists of 14 concise tracks over 41 short minutes. In a world full of hour-long, overly complex and bloated records — even in the world of alternative R&B — this is a welcomed surprise.
Sampha opens the album with “Stereo Colour Cloud (Shaman’s Dream).” In the first verse, he reflects over a whirling piano and a scattered liquid drum and bass pattern. “Hard wired, forever seeking out/Subjects mysterious like time and love/Walking through them now/I see you mirror me, we oscillate.”
Sampha lays out the themes for this album: family, time, love and self-reflection. The musical elements of this record also give credence to these themes — softer piano-driven melodies and solemn electronic beats.
“Suspended,” the fourth track, is a deeply intimate song where Sampha sings about his troubles with love. “Still a mystery the feelings I ignore/Like running from what I’ve been looking for” Sampha sings.
Sampha’s storytelling on “Lahai” is one of the most refreshing things to come out of music this year. In an era where artists’ lyrics tend to be on the empty side, Sampha’s honesty and openness is amazing.
On other tracks like “Jonathon L. Seagull,” “Only” and “Can’t Go Back,” Sampha continues flexing his production as well as his songwriting skills — composing even more beauty through a mix of electronica and classical instrumentation.
The penultimate track, “What If You Could Hypnotise Me?” has some of Sampha’s most devastating lyrics. His desperation on this track is palpable.
“Is it ’cause memories break, why I feel lost in time?/Is it ’cause I’ve made mistakes, karma taking flight?/But if you could hypnotize me/Then maybe, then peace would find me,” Sampha sings.
Sampha’s realness, combined with excellent instrumentation and production — all created by him — makes the six-year gap between records no big deal. It’s a wait I’d be willing to go through again if it means getting incredible artistry such as this.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
