Sampha stopped by to talk to Carbon Sound’s host Sanni ahead of his performance at First Avenue on April 6. The two talked about the response to his most recent album Lahai, intentions behind his music, his relationship with fame, and more.

Sanni Brown 

Ladies and gentlemen, you are tuned in to The Message here on Carbon Sound Music for Life. We have Sampha in the building on The Message on Carbon Sound. Thank you for being here Sampha.

Sampha 

Hello. Yeah, it's a pleasure.

Sanni Brown 

You're performing at First Avenue. So you excited? What are your feelings on the performance?

Sampha 

Yeah, this is one of the ones, you know, sort of like a legendary town. I'm looking forward to playing tonight and seeing what the energy is like and seeing what the people like.

Sanni Brown 

Can you give us a taste test of what we can expect on the stage? Is there going to be a drum circle or something like that?

Sampha 

Yeah, there's a drum circle. It's just five musicians — I mean, including myself. It's quite simple. Like understated, but it's very much about the sort of instruments and musicians and us connecting with each other and the crowd and, you know, and that's it. It's kind of like, sort of back to basics I guess.

Sanni Brown 

How do you feel about the response to this album (Lahai)?

Sampha 

It's been wonderful, you know? There's a lot of people who have connected with it in different ways. And it's great going out and playing live, because you can kind of see that kind of pure connection. The difference between before like, you know, I released the album, I played a bunch of shows. And then after releasing the album, and seeing people connect to these songs, it's slightly like, an out of body experience as well, because it just feels like the music goes beyond yourself, you know? Becomes other people’s, and they take it on and give it a new life and new consciousness.

Sanni Brown 

So I hear you talk about coming from an intuitive place and conscious, and I'm sensing a lot of that in the music. I felt like it made me go deeper within myself. Was that on purpose? Or that's just you being you?

Sampha 

I think it's a bit of both, really. You know, I was going through a period of questioning, I guess. Questioning what kind of spirit meant to me and also just the mechanics of life and through the lens of COVID, which gave everybody that time to sort of slow down and sort of recognize the patterns you're in, the sort of social system you're in and all these different — your relationships, personal relationships. And me personally, I was like — I felt like maybe a slight disconnect, or I was just going through the motions. And there's times where I felt like I needed some sort of bird's eye view. And I feel like this idea of practice or spirituality or discipline is something I needed in my life. And the music was a bit of like, I don't know, me sort of just documenting those thoughts and feelings.

Sanni Brown 

Okay. So you've been on tour, it started April 2?

Sampha 

If you say so (laughs).

Sanni Brown 

That's what the paper say, I'm trying to be professional (laughs). How's tour been so far?

Sampha 

It's been really good, yeah.

Sanni Brown 

What is really good? What makes it good?

Sampha 

It's quite a privilege, I think. Touring is a weird thing, because there's one thing you know, I miss — I'm not with my family. So that part is difficult. But I'm also like, surrounded by really nice people. And they're all musicians, everyone's into music and philosophizing about life and having jokes. And then also, I guess this experience of connecting with people sort of deeply, night after night, and sort of just preparing for that it's quite like — it does feel like a practice of sorts, like it's a discipline of sorts, and so it's nice to sometimes be forced into that. As much as I don't like — I actually find playing live — I get so anxious about it. It's not the first thing that I would like want to do. Like, "oh, yeah, can't wait to play this live."

Sanni Brown 

Okay, so you get anxious too?

Sampha 

Yeah, like about preparing it. And the way in which I play is relatively complicated, but you know, it's so special going out and seeing how much crowds are able to will you on to do well. People aren't like, coming to watch you fail, you know? It's really nice having that sort of symbiotic kind of relationship between, music I make and people who listen to it. Yeah, it's cool.

Sanni Brown 

You're a father. And so I presume that there's some fatherhood elements that are onto your album. Everything that you're talking about in fatherhood, or that you're bringing it up, is it things that you figured out? Or things that you still don't understand?

Sampha 

There's a lot of things going on. It's a big, big, big sort of learning curve and lesson. It feels like a really strong mirror. One just brings someone else into the world — I mean, I didn't — I helped (laughs). I didn't personally. It's very humbling having a child.

Sanni Brown 

What was humbling about it?

Sampha 

Well, one, you know, my own existential sort of dread sort of just moved. So instead of thinking about "how old am I gonna be before I transition?" Now how many more years of my daughter's life am I going to be around to help her? You know, you kind of transition to that. Which becomes an anxiety in its own thing, but it's a different sort of thing. That's like one of the main things that happens. And then also just like, sort of extra ordinariness of life you know? Like through my daughter I kind of see myself, or I see my parents, my partner. And yeah, just watching someone else grow. And then also being able to empathize. Like, recognizing unconditional love isn't necessarily just like — it just doesn't happen, you have to work on it.

Sanni Brown 

You gotta put some work into it, right (laughs).

Sampha 

It's not something that just — "okay, you're a father now, so here's unconditional love. You don't have to do anything." It's like, you have to be even more hyperconscious and really empathize with something. Like go out of your own sort of self and go back in time and being like, "oh, she really actually is struggling" or "she actually is tired." Yeah, so there's a lot of deep breaths (laughs).

Sanni Brown 

This album marked your own journey of self-improvement. You said "rather than being genuinely interested in things just for the sake of focusing on them, I got into this frame of mind where everything was a currency for music." Before I even get to the second part of that, what does that mean?

Sampha 

It could be like "I'm gonna like get fit blah blah blah so I could like sing better and you know look more like this" and "I can be more fashionable" or whatnot, you know? Or like reading something, like "if I read this it's gonna somehow seep into songwriting." Rather than just the thing of like, being interested in something for the sake of it. For me music just somehow encompasses, like, almost everything.

Sanni Brown 

Hey, Music for Life.

Sanni Brown 

What's your relationship to fame? How has fame and success been?

Sampha 

Interesting, you know there's different, obviously levels to fame. And I'm not someone who's — I'm not of extreme fame (laughs). Like I can go out and every now and then someone might recognize me. But even within that, there's definitely an awareness of like, I'm somewhat in the public eye people know of me as this thing that they sort of perceive through my music. And that comes with its things, you know? It's a big balancing act, because even that brings its own rewards in terms of the circuitry of being rewarded all the time, being so sort of mirror focused, you know? It's definitely tricky land to navigate, because you can sometimes be overly self-aware or too self-conscious or even vain. But at that same time, it's a beautiful thing you know, thinking that I'm making music and it's actually connecting to people, people actually listen to these things that on some sides I'm deeply insecure about, or I put so much time and effort into, and I'm like, "is anyone really gonna notice this?" So it is nice and rewarding, but it's definitely a balancing act, you know?

Sanni Brown 

As an artist who has been successful and has, as you describe, some degree of his visibility — we can see you we know who you are — do you feel like how you handle fame and success, is that a part of your strategy as an artist?

Sampha 

It's tricky. I mean, I have a nature to me that is quite reserved and hermit-like, I'm just naturally not that out there. So I'm not like, sort of documenting my life and sharing it on social media, every — I feel like sometimes I need to do a bit more in fact. There's a lot of to and fro —because that is also attached to your kind of livelihood sometimes. Like how famous or how famous you're perceived to be — either numerically or whatever — can sometimes I guess, translate into a booking, or this and this amount of money. It's definitely that art and commerce kind of tug of war, that goes on alongside things, you know? There are these kinds of outcomes to fame, and I have to set then my own sort of expectations and like, "okay, maybe I don't need the biggest house in the world, and I don't need the fastest car, and I'm gonna sort of just stay more true to myself," or maybe I should embrace this thing, and not try and be too cool, or like, make pop or — you know? It's not like a fixed point of understanding. It keeps on moving, like my sort of relationship to it.

Sanni Brown 

I want to dig into your collaborations. You said you find it easier to work on other people's projects than your own. Why is that?

Sampha 

Sometimes, like maybe in some aspects of things. Like saying, "well, that's a good idea" or maybe "oh, yeah, no, this is fine" or like letting go of things. With my own stuff, I'm really like, the policeman, I'm the doctor. I'm the mayor. I'm always thinking about 10 billion different angles, while with somebody else I'm just thinking about what they —

Sanni Brown 

What they need.

Sampha 

What they need, and sort of like just listening to them and someone else is captaining the ship. So I can let go of that sort of birds eye kind of inquiry.

Sanni Brown 

What makes you go "we gotta get in the studio. I gotta put this down. We gotta make this"?

Sampha 

Well, there's times maybe when I've been listening to something, and you know, in the middle of the night, I get like an idea and I'm like "I need to lay this down."

Sanni Brown 

Do you wait? Or do you jump up and do it immediately?

Sampha 

Sometimes I put it down. Sometimes I'm like, "alright if it's strong enough, I'll remember it." Even like last night, I had some ideas. And I was like "oh yeah I'll remember them."

Sanni Brown 

I was gonna ask you, are you creating on the tour still?

Sampha 

Yeah I'm trying to, it's difficult. I think in terms of being able to, on a tour bus, capture things and do things — it can be difficult. But I haven't made too much on tour that I've actually used (laughs) like, started making on tour. I can work on stuff that I'm already working on, on tour and it's really cool actually. Because sometimes, like the change of scenery, can be a nice sort of perspective shift on what I'm doing, and give me a new perspective on what I'm doing. No, no, I'm gonna step out and get some sun.

Sanni Brown 

I'm enjoying your vibe. You got a real dope vibe, but you gotta get ready for your show. And you probably should get out maybe taste a little bit of the Twin Cities. Shouldn't just be work, work work.  Has anybody suggested anything to you? Any places to go? Have you heard anything you wanted?

Sampha 

Not really, Ruthven an artist who plays on my band, said he's gonna go to Paisley. Otherwise, I'm gonna either take any suggestions if anyone's got any for any good museums or something. But usually, to be honest as well, I'm so focused on the show that sometimes I'm like, "okay, I need to not talk and I need to just go." It's kind of like, slightly sad.

Sanni Brown 

Well come back to the Twin Cities just for a taste test on the low. I mean, you got the vibe, you can do it on the low low. Thank you so much for being in today Sampha.

Sampha 

My pleasure.

Sanni Brown 

This has been Sampha on The Message on Carbon Sound Music for Life.