I don’t watch Eastenders anymore. There aren’t enough mike Reid dressed in only his bow tie to woo Pat (perish the thought), and too many Den and Angie divorced at Christmas type bits. In short, all the funs gone out of it – and let’s be honest, there wasn’t a great deal in it in the first place. It’s not that I don’t like things that are sad or downhearted, but I like them wrapped up a bit in glittery packages.
Coming out on July 29th is the new EP from sometime SBTRKT collaborator and singer, Sampha. It’s him stepping out of the shadows and making a (pretty bold, by the first impressions) statement that he is an artist to be reckoned with in his own right. He made his way back to his childhood home of Morden to write and record the six tracks that make up the EP.
He’s made himself busy since touring the world with SBTRKT, and has remixed the likes of his Young Turk labelmates The XX, as well as more collaborations, this time involving Jessie Ware, Drake and Koreless.
The first glimpse of what the EP might be like is the track ‘Without’. It’s a laid back, warm vibe, that takes some of that dubsteppy flavour found in SBTRKT and James Blake. It’s a sort of downcast tune, but it builds up from these almost jazz chords and drum/drumsticks accompaniment to feature more layers, more meaty bass and more keyboard lines added, without ever losing it’s original vibe. I suppose you’d say that unlike Eastenders, Sampha has managed to wrap this little sad, downcast tune up in a glittery package. And it’s gripping.
http://www.soundcloud.com/samphamusic
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