Richard Bach’s well-liked 1970 allegorical novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull tells the story of a seagull solid out from his flock for daring to problem their worldview by flying past the clouds. Alongside his solitary journey, he finds methods to channel his sense of isolation into self-actualization; he finally ascends to a different realm, one the place ostracized gulls like himself soar throughout the sky in peace and serenity.
“Jonathan L. Seagull,” a standout monitor on singer, songwriter, and producer Sampha’s second album, the meditative Lahai, ponders the forces that preserve us tethered to the truth of life on Earth. “Seasons develop and seasons die/How excessive can a hen ever fly?” he sings, as if to actually uplift the listener. The manufacturing turns into ethereal and buoyant as Sampha alternates between his ordinary wealthy tenor and a breathy, piercing falsetto.
There has at all times been one thing transcendent, nearly religious about Sampha’s music, like listening to somebody invent their very own kind of prayer. He name-checks our avian protagonist as soon as extra on “Spirit 2.0”, Lahai’s lead single and its crown jewel, the place honey-toned synths and skittering drumbeats craft an ambiance midway between Erykah Badu’s R&B mysticism and the pop experimentation of mid-career Björk. “Identical to Jonathan Livingston Seagull/Strive catch the clouds as I free fall,” he sings, till realizing that he’s ripe for salvation: “Love gonna catch you/Spirit gonna catch you, yeah.” Compared to the remainder of the album, the manufacturing on “Spirit 2.0” is sparser, extra intentional in its empty house, mirroring the resignation that comes earlier than having to take a leap of religion.
Transcendental seabirds apart, it’s no marvel that Sampha pertains to these themes of alienation, individuality, and transformation. His 2017 debut album, Course of—which received him the Mercury Prize and made him an R&B powerhouse after years of collaborating with superstars like Kanye West, Drake, and Solange—was written and recorded within the wake of shedding each his mother and father to most cancers. On the opposite facet of the kind of world-shattering grief encapsulated in Course of songs like “(No One Is aware of Me) Just like the Piano” lies an emotional enlargement, a psychological launch when these heavy feelings lastly give technique to one thing new; Lahai celebrates that transition.
