I discovered him on SBTRKT's first album alongside Jessy Ware. Sampha shares a lot with Jessy Ware. They are British and share a common culture and knowledge of the fiery electronic scene there. They do intimate soul tainted of electro. They exploded internationally and worked for and with international artists in the last few years. Jessy working with Haim, Miguel, Nicki Minaj and Disclosure, Sampha working with Drake, Kanye, Solange and Frank Ocean. They also worked together on a song, Valentine.
Even if it's his first album, Process is not the first thing we heard of Sampha. 3 Eps preceded it. I think he actually had entire albums lying around and he only chose the best piece each time. The previous released were only preparing us for a masterpiece. An album close to perfection.
What's interesting in Sampha's album is the way the tracks breeze. The way he layers little elements, fade them away and bring them back when you don't expect them. The apparent simplicity of the tracks. But each synth, each sound is carefully chosen.
Sampha's voice is unique. almost otherworldly. He conveys so much emotion. And the sounds around ot only reinforce those emotions.
The piano is also a big part of Sampha's album. And he explain the special relationship he has with the instrument. "(No One Knows Me) Like The Piano". A vey sad and beautiful song.
I think both thematically and sonically the song that touched me the most is "What shouldn't I be?".The last song of the album. It starts with a synth, but it feels warm not just because of how it sounds like, but because Sampha recorded the sounds of his hand gently playing the keys. It's subtle.
So subtle that you have to pay attention, listen with headphones carefully or on a nice sound system to experience it the best. You'll get closer to the sound. You'll get closer to Sampha 's soul. And Sampha has a magnificent Soul.
