Sampha’s Return

Sunlight poured into the airy exhibition room of Pioneer Works, matching the warmth of Sampha’s angelic voice radiating from the stage. His nearly two-hour-long set carried the audience into nighttime. This performance on June 20th served as the opening night of three performances in Brooklyn for his mini-tour, titled Satellite Business. 

A few nights earlier, he had wrapped up the first half of the tour with two shows in his hometown London. There, years earlier, he got his start as a Singer-Songwriter-Producer-Keyboardist, beginning with the piano in his childhood home (the namesake of his track “(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano”). His expansion beyond the piano led to collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Solange, Drake, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, and most recently, Travis Scott. These collaborations, along with his EP Dual and album Process, form the blend of electronic and R&B that shapes his discography. Whether in his production or singing, the delicately emotional touch he adds to his craft shines through.  

Sampha has maintained elusivity among his fans for years, so the shock and joy of witnessing a live Sampha performance reverberated continually throughout the crowd. Listeners swayed and nodded, cheered and cried, and sang along as he performed tracks from Process. 

Sampha performed not alone; the round stage that served as the centerpiece for the night was filled with an assembly of drums, keyboards, and guitars between which Sampha and the accompanying instrumentalists rotated. The unique stage setup, passionate audience, and of course, dreamy vocals and production made for an intimate yet celestial experience—the exact vibe I had expected based on Sampha’s Instagram posts announcing the tour. 

He previewed unreleased songs, including the 5-minute single Spirit 2.0 that dropped on June 28—his first release in six years (since Process). The astral theme that shapes much of his first album carries into this new song, but in a refreshing way. Sampha knows how to craft tracks that make you feel like you’re floating.

Sampha has mastered musical dichotomies, and Spirit 2.0 proves it. He moves seamlessly between soothing ballads and racing beats, as he did in “Timmy’s Prayer” from Process. He works with both elemental sounds, heard in his choice of drums, and the more spacey sounds, heard in his heavy use of synths and digital strings. Besides the instrumentation, his vocals alone convey both moods. His singing shifts from energetic bursts to fleeting hallucinations. 

The lyrics equally convey the drifting feeling Sampha achieved through production. The overall storyline is enigmatic, roughly threading his connection with his special person, but images emerge in flickers. One moment evokes comfort and intimacy between the two. Another one expresses letting go, embracing the distance, and his final release into the unknown. Sampha takes us on his flight with bouts of resistance, tension, sinking, and finally, blissful free-floating. 

“Next thing I’m drifting into open sky

And I don’t feel so scared

Dreamin’ with these open eyes

I’m grabbin’ at the air”