Sampha- 'Process' Album Review

Sampha- ‘Process’

After producing and collaborating with Drake, Kanye West, SBTRKT, Solange & Frank Ocean over the past 5 years, South-London songwriter Sampha Sisay (known simply as Sampha) has emerged from the background and soared into the electronica/soul fusion forefront with his debut record ‘Process’.

When Sisay was just three years old, his father bought a piano into the family home. This instrument subsequently became an extremely important outlet for Sisay in order to enable him to express himself, offering enlightenment in the darkest of times after his father died in 2010 and his mother in 2015. This theme is heavy throughout the album, particularly on lead single ‘(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano)’, an elegant, moving ballad that displays Sisay’s grand affection towards the piano. He sings “You would show me I had something some people call a soul”, effectively displaying the amount of gratitude he owes this instrument.

Don’t be under the impression that this album is piano heavy though. On ‘Process’, Sampha successfully displays his vast array of musical talents via heavy, electro-backed tracks which meritoriously and beautifully counter with his gorgeous, lush vocals in order to create something truly exceptional. Tracks like ‘Timmy’s Prayer’, ‘Reverse Faults’ & ‘Blood on Me’ greatly exhibit the talent bestowed on this young man.

‘Process’ feels much like a concept album for Sampha. 10 tracks which show the despair he feels from his parents’ deaths, whilst also attempting to reconnect with himself emotionally. Overall, Sampha has produced a gorgeously real and open album which gives the listener a true insight into the complexity of this songwriter. He feels pained, grieved, yet has found solace with music and is able to successfully manipulate it as a creative outlet for his emotions. ‘Process’ shows what this album has meant to Sisay, a process of overcoming personal terror in order to remain sane.

Overall Rating- 9/10

Fave songs- ‘Blood on Me’, ‘(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano’, ‘Reverse Faults’, ‘Under’

Least Fave Songs- ‘Plastic 100°C’