If you’re not an avid follower of modern Soul and R&B music, Sampha’s name may not mean much to you. Even the fact that he has worked with names known to practically everybody, Beyonce, Kanye West and Frank Ocean, might not have given you too much alert. But then “Process”, his first solo album comes out, and Sampha gets full-fledged features in not only “Rolling Stone” (could fall under routine), but “New York Times” (not exactly a daily output on soul there). A slew of everything, from just blurbs to sung praises follow all over - practically every music, culture or news site came up with a Sampha feature.
The first thing that comes up to mind is - here comes another hype. And like in any other similar situation, you cannot resist but take a listen. Well, one thing for sure, to these ears, this is one of the best and most original soul albums in a while. No hype here, just true value.
The moment the introductory track, “Plastic 100C” starts sinking in, what gets you in its grips is Sample’s voice and sense of re-arrangement - taking all the elements you might be familiar with in today’s modern Soul music and putting them in a place they were not in before. And it all feels natural, as it should have been there all the time.
“Blog On Me” and “Kora Sings”, show absolutely the same qualities but pick up the tempo considerably, but give you the sense that you have to get up and sit down at the same time.
As the album progresses, you keep on getting the surprises - “(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano” is such a smartly constructed ballad that it could only come from a personal feeling. Expect at least 10 versions of this one from all the soul artist around.
Yes, this Brittish boy has been for a while now hanging around some of the most commercial names in today’s music in any shape and form. But, he has still come up with an initial album that truly confirms that Soul word in describing the music. This one will be hard to beat this year. In any genre.
