It’s unclear how much it pays to appear on albums by Drake, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar, but it’s fair to say that Sampha Sisay has been in no great rush to return with solo material. The south London singer-producer has rarely been completely silent (you’ll also find his unhurried, lightly husky voice on albums by Stormzy, Solange, Loyle Carner and Travis Scott) but with his own work, he prefers a longer run-up.
Having first come to attention as a singer with electronic producer SBTRKT in 2010, it took him until 2017 to come up with a debut album: Process, a collection of piano-led soul sprinkled with modern digital touches that sounded so mature and beautiful that it went on to beat Ed Sheeran, Stormzy and The xx to become the deserved winner of the Mercury Prize. More than six years later, here’s the follow-up, slowed by Covid and fatherhood but also by a sense of perfectionism that makes this an intricately detailed collection.
