SAMPHA at the Mod Club, Sunday, February 12. Rating: NNNN
British singer and producer Sampha has become a go-to for A-list acts like Beyoncé, Solange, Frank Ocean and Kanye West when a bit of understated soul is required in the studio.
Consequently, the 28-year-old has achieved significant name recognition as a featured artist in the past few years, but is only now moving to centre stage with the release of his debut solo album, Process.
Though the record’s emphasis on delicate emo-soul, grief and loneliness might point toward a subdued stage show, the first of Sampha’s two sold-out concerts at the Mod Club suggested he’s picked up a few things from all the superstar talent he’s been hanging around.
The first sign that Sampha was aiming big was the stylishly minimal stage set, which resembled an empty photo studio with a white backdrop illuminated by black-lit and neon LED lights that changed from blue to orange to pink throughout the show. He opened with Plastic 100°C, a song full of harp-like ethereality that would be conducive to daydreaming in close proximity to a babbling brook. But he underscored it with a huge kick drum sound that signalled the next hour or so would go in a different direction.
Sampha and his three players were flanked by a mix of synths and electronic and analog percussion that they used to pump up the anxious undercurrents on ballads such as Timmy’s Prayer and Reverse Faults, effectively preventing the set from slipping into snoozy blues territory. Sometimes he would move from behind the keys to the foot of the stage and go into full-on R&B belter mode, allowing his fragile warble and careful phrasing to loosen up and vibe with the band.
After a solo rendition of older single Too Much (a song famously sampled by Drake), Sampha picked up steam, going bigger with the polyrhythmic breakdowns and spacey synth outros that climaxed with single Blood On Me that had the audience raising glasses in the air and roaring with applause. He ended the main set by playing the elegiac ode to his late mother, (No One Knows Me) Like The Piano. It’s a simple yet evocative song that contains the most instantly satisfying melody on Process, an album big on mood and ambience but short on sticky hooks. When playing solo on the keys, he favoured windy, Kate Bush-ian piano riffs that contrasted his delicate persona with tempestuous emotion.
The packed crowd cheered mightily for an encore, and Sampha and his bandmates gathered around a single drum to pound out an extended intro for Without. That massive kick drum returned and shook the floor.
Incidentally, this concert was happening at the same time as a Grammy Awards broadcast at which no straight-up rock ’n’ roll album competed for Album Of The Year. And so – even if Beyoncé failed to win a major award – watching Sampha transform his delicate soul-pop tunes into something that could eventually work in an arena or festival setting was a visceral reminder that super-personal and weirdo soul-pop is ascending regardless of what the industry gatekeepers do or don’t do.
kevinr@nowtoronto.com | @kevinritchie
