Inspired by a childhood tale, Sampha takes to the sky on 'Lahai'

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Sampha Jesse Crankson/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jesse Crankson/Courtesy of the artist

Sampha

Jesse Crankson/Courtesy of the artist

In Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the 1970 novella by Richard Bach, the titular sea bird transcends the meager life assigned to his species by taking to the sky.

Flying high above the empty bustle of his flock, Jonathan discovers a deeper sense of self. That feeling — of weightlessness and freedom — is what English musician Sampha wanted to capture on his sophomore album, Lahai.

"A lot of the themes of [Jonathan Livingston Seagull] kind of spoke to questions I had presently," he told World Cafe during a video call. "Questions of spirituality and also limits, of pushing boundaries, of the unknown."

The Mercury Prize winner experimented with new music equipment to capture that weightless feeling. Sampha says the skittering synths heard in "Spirit 2.0" helped guide the sound of the record.

"For whatever reason, they just spoke to me," he says. "It felt like a bath. They just transported me to a quite serene place."

In this session, Sampha talks about making the album; about the lessons he's learned in fatherhood; and he and his band perform songs from Lahai, including one involving a drum circle that was captured live in the World Cafe studio.

This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Miguel Perez. Our senior producer is Kimberly Junod and our engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.