Following a year of solid R&B releases that brought the standard of the genre ever higher, London-based artist Sampha faced the challenge of creating something powerful and unique, a project worthy of Rihanna’s Anti or Solange’s A Seat at the Table that broke away to earn its own distinct acclaim. And he did just that with his debut studio album Process.
Sampha has released two extended plays, Sundanza in 2010 and Dual in 2013, and has collaborated as a singer and songwriter with some of the biggest names in music. In 2016 alone, Sampha lent his voice to Solange’s “Don’t Touch My Hair,” Frank Ocean’s “Alabama,” and Kanye West’s “Saint Pablo.”
Written after his mother passed away from cancer in 2015, Process carries the weight of the loss and Sampha’s grief, reflecting a change in tone from Dual, which was stylistically similar but less emotionally charged. The album balances instrumental and synthetic melodies, but Sampha’s beautifully gritty vocals give the album a cohesive identity that is at once fraught with pain and compelled by an exploration and quest for understanding.
“Plastic 100°C,” the album’s intro, is an ethereal track that is carried by a light, stringed melody but grounded by layers of production that underscore a sinister tone. Sampha’s lyrics offer a frightened plea for help as he finds himself desperate to understand his anguish.
From the beginning, he sets into motion a narrative that is revisited throughout Process, a title which refers not only to the artistic process of creation, but also to the more personal effort to come to understand the loss of his mother and his changing artistic identity.
Each of the ten tracks on Process offers something different for listeners, making them each a valuable and unforgettable addition to the sequence. One of the standouts is “Kora Sings,” which is buoyed by scattered, interwoven percussive rhythms, field recordings and electronic harmonies.
Sampha dwells on the importance of his mother as well as his own mortality in this track that at once perfectly contains the grander thematic considerations of the album and has a musical identity that is entirely its own.
“Kora Sings” also marks the conclusion of the project’s opening trilogy, initiated by “Plastic 100°C” and sustained by Process’ lead single “Blood On Me,” which delve into the depths of the artist’s heartache and fear. These culminate in the cathartic “(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano,” which feels like a deep breath letting go of the tension built up in the previous three tracks.
“(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano” is the album’s third single and by far its most musically reductive, allowing Sampha to showcase the full power of his expressive voice accompanied primarily by a piano.
It is a slow ballad, an homage to his musical roots, before his rise to fame and before the loss of his mother, as he sings about the piano he would play in his mother’s home. Though the subsequent tracks do re-engage with some of the early heaviness, it is less chaotic and gains precision as the artist gains understanding and control of his pain and grief.
Another top hitter from the album is “Under,” which hearkens back to the frightened confusion of “Plastic 100°C,” with dissonant layers of synth production but shows more self-awareness from the artist. The track is distinct because of the heavy synth and the visually compelling lyrics that contain the full evocative power of the album.
It almost feels like an answer to some of the questions posed in the opener, allowing the remaining three tracks to move forward with a progressive narrative.
Process, despite its successful effort to create one engaging narrative, also ends on a question mark with “What Shouldn’t I Be?” This track echoes a universal question that suitably caps Sampha’s journey to process his pain and find understanding.
While it is not quite as solid an outro as this album deserves, it stands as a gorgeously tender effort in healing. It leaves the listener not with the tense, sometimes panicked anguish established in the intro but with a soulful tranquility that feels genuine and well-earned.
If you’re looking for easy listening with catchy choruses and banging melodies, be warned: You won’t find those on Sampha’s Process. Instead, you will find an honest, emotional and very private narrative about dealing with loss and grief and coming to terms with one’s identity.
However, Process is gorgeous, superbly building on the R&B genre with its own nuanced themes and musical production to earn a place among the top albums of the year.
Sampha announced a tour of the United States in conjunction with the release of Process. Unfortunately for those wanting to see him locally, he performed at the D.C. venue, The 9:30 Club, last night. Fans that are still interested in seeing the artist will have to wait a few months before his follow-up performance on May 6 at the Merriweather Post Pavillion. At the Merriweather show he will open for the British band The xx.
