To celebrate the two-year anniversary of the release of his lauded second album LAHAI, London musician, songwriter and producer Sampha has released the previously unheard song, “Cumulus / Memory.” Co-written with and featuring backing vocals from Romy, the self-produced two-part suite sees Sampha at his understated and elegant best.
The ditty was originally recorded as part of the LAHAI album sessions but remained unfinished until now, with Sampha continuing to work on it over the subsequent two years between spells of touring his acclaimed LAHAI live show. “Cumulus’ was the first song I wrote for Lahai and the last one to be finished” says Sampha. “Living with it for some time, I really feel like I wanted to share it with people.”
The Ivor Novello Awards-nominated LAHAI was originally released on 20 October 2023. Taken from his paternal grandfather’s name, which is also Sampha’s middle name, the album reveled in the awe and magic of our existence, synthesizing the exquisite chaos that one experiences confronting the cycle of life and the beyondness. Spanning 14-tracks, it featured contributions from some of Sampha’s closest friends, peers and collaborators, including Yaeji, Léa Sen, Sheila Maurice-Grey (Kokoroko), Ibeyi, Morgan Simpson (Black Midi), Yussef Dayes, Laura Groves and Kwake Bass.
In contrast to his Mercury Prize-winning debut album Process, LAHAI is a communal affair seeing Sampha explore the many ways in which we as humans connect to each other, and to something bigger than ourselves. If Process was an artist figuring out his own place in the world, engulfed in the shadows of grief and loss, LAHAI is an exercise in the radical acceptance and joy in the human condition and the beauty in the journey itself.
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