Sampha - Lahai - White Vinyl LP Record

Sampha’s highly anticipated second album LAHAI starts how all the best projects do: “I was just dealing with a few things” he offers plainly. It’s a statement that only hints at LAHAI’s immeasurable scope and ambition. If Sampha’s debut Process was the sound of an artist figuring out his own place in the world, engulfed in the shadows of grief and loss, LAHAI opens to new life and lives in awe of what the future holds. LAHAI is an album that searches for what Sampha terms “beyond-ness”, time travelling through generations of people, sounds and places, exploring the multitude of ways we as humans try to connect to each other, and to something bigger than us.

Much like our dreams, LAHAI defies clear categorisation - both captivatingly vivid and blurred at once, almost impressionist in nature. Spanning jazz, soul, rap, dance, jungle, and west African music, LAHAI captures the expanse of Sampha's ever-versatile musical inspirations. 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. Taken from his paternal grandfather’s name, which is also Sampha’s middle name, LAHAI revels in the awe and magic of our existence, examining time, science, family, love, and spirituality. It’s no wonder that throughout LAHAI there are sparkling glints of sci-fi, afrofuturism and magical realism that seamlessly coalesce, transporting the listener into the supernatural world.

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 Tin