Sampha did the most today – thankfully. This afternoon alone, the British musician managed to unveil the tracklist for his first album in six years, LAHAI, confirm its forthcoming release date, announce two new sets of tour dates, and drop a new single “Only” alongside its music video.
LAHAI, Sampha’s sophomore album, is an authentic and personal exploration into the chaos and the calm of human existence; the album shares both his middle name as well as his paternal grandfather’s first name. The album also sees contributions from some of Sampha’s closest friends, including Yaeji, Léa Sen, Sheila Maurice Grey of Kokoroko, Ibeyi, Black Midi drummer Morgan Simpson, Yussef Dayes, Laura Groves, and Kwake Bass.
Yesterday, Sampha took to his Instagram to announce “Only”‘s next-day release. When delivering on his promise this afternoon, Sampha also dropped LAHAI‘s October 20 release date in the caption.
“Only” got quite the trippy visual treatment. In the Dexter Navy-shot music video, Sampha effortlessly slides over the contagious hip-hop-hued beat – and taps into some other supernatural skills. Check it out above.
He also dropped off LAHAI‘s full tracklist, which sees “Only” at number eight and “Spirit 2.0” – vibey cut from earlier this summer – at number two. See the full tracklist below.
1. Stereo Colour Cloud (shaman’s dream)
2. Spirit 2.0
3. Dancing Circles
4. Suspended
5. Satellite Business
6. Jonathan L. Seagull
7. Inclination Compass (Tenderness)
8. Only
9. Time Piece
10. Can’t Go Back
11. Evidence
12. Wave Therapy
13. What If You Hypnotise Me?
14. Rose Tint
And for the melodist’s final act of the day? New tour dates. Sampha will be continuing his run of Satellite Business shows – after returning to the stage for the first time in five years for his Satellite Business residencies in London and New York earlier this year. This time, the artist is taking the intimate performance series to theaters in London and Los Angeles in October. “In the round, evolving the sounds,” he notes in the Instagram caption.
He’ll then hit the road on the Lahai Tour in November, kicking it off in San Francisco. See the full list of dates – for both the Satellite Business shows and the Lahai Tour – in Sampha’s Instagram post below.
He paired “Only” with “Spirit 2.0” on the Only two-pack, available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music now.
For more on Sampha – revisit our exploration into his unparalleled talent and versatility.
