Sampha's U.K. Top Ten, Mercury Prize-winning
Process capped several years of studio work primarily in service to other artists, underground and mainstream alike. The all-around collaborator -- most audibly the go-to singer for any musician wanting to make their song cry -- didn't so much respond to his debut's accolades as he continued to amass dozens of background and featured roles spanning
Actress' "Walking Flames" to
Kendrick Lamar's "Father Time." Parenthood and the passing of time, subjects of those two songs, happen to be two major themes of
Sampha's second LP, released six years after the first. Where
Process saw
Sampha projecting nightmarish visions and grieving his mother's death,
Lahai, named after his paternal grandfather (and also
Sampha's middle name), comes from a different perspective, one informed by the birth of his daughter and a fascination with both
Kodwo Eshun's genius More Brilliant Than the Sun: Adventures in Sonic Fiction and physicist
Brian Cox's theories on time travel. While this is far less downcast, the joy, wonderment, and fond reminiscences in the songs are complicated by worry, uncertainty, and longing. In "Suspended," "I've been lifted by her love" at first comes across as exultant, then
Sampha's piano starts to take on an anxious quality intensified by
Kwake Bass' fidgety drums, and there's a sense that the singer is being elevated to a perilous height, his voice fraught and distorted at the highest point. "Evidence," mostly lullaby-like piano, lapping bongos, and layers of
Sampha's voice, is radiant with parental delight yet haunted by thoughts of self-doubt. Two of the brightest songs were inspired by Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The fable is name-checked in the jittering "Spirit 2.0," where
Sampha pursues freedom and self-realization with
Yussef Dayes' intricate rhythmic propulsion in support. And then there's "Jonathan L Seagull (JLS)," acceptance of a separation communicated with choral folk-soul containing a lively hip-hop section. The number of background singers on that song alone outnumbers the sum of collaborators on
Process. It's emblematic of
Lahai's collaborative makeup, involving a lineup of producers, singers, and players --
El Guincho,
Ibeyi,
Yaeji,
Laura Groves,
Lea Sen,
Ben Reed,
Mansur Brown, and on and on -- that is almost as impressive as the varied group that has enlisted
Sampha.
Lahai ends appropriately enough with a scene of communal unity, if on the occasion of a homecoming after a long absence: "Everybody speaking loud, everybody in one house." ~ Andy Kellman
![evermore [deluxe version]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602435651279_p0_v10_s90x140.jpg "evermore [deluxe version]")
![Midnights [Moonstone Blue Vinyl]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602445789825_p0_v4_s90x140.jpg "Midnights [Moonstone Blue Vinyl]")
![Lover [2 LP]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602455556301_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Lover [2 LP]")
![Blue Suede Shoes [Sun]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0015047803866_p0_v3_s90x140.jpg "Blue Suede Shoes [Sun]")
![O Brother, Where Art Thou? [Original Soundtrack]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0008817006918_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "O Brother, Where Art Thou? [Original Soundtrack]")
![Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness [LP]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0015707843010_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness [LP]")
![Equal Strain On All Parts [Electric Blue Vinyl]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0015047809363_p0_v4_s90x140.jpg "Equal Strain On All Parts [Electric Blue Vinyl]")
![Ain't That Good News [Red Vinyl] [Barnes & Noble Exclusive]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0018771218210_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Ain't That Good News [Red Vinyl] [Barnes & Noble Exclusive]")
