There’s no point throughout Sampha’s generously paced, highly detailed performance at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion where it feels like the UK singer has made any sort of mistake or taken a wrong turn. From the smart lighting to the composition of his achingly vulnerable songs, the man demonstrated exactly why he has emerged as one of the most beloved singers of the past decade.
The unique, almost heartbreaking texture in his voice is unmatched. No one sounds like him. No one has sounded like him. Sampha’s style is so one-of-one, in fact, that he has not only distinguished himself as a bankable solo performer, but as someone who can enhance other people’s work. He lent his soulful British tang as Drake sampled one of his standout tracks, “Too Much”. He was responsible for one of Kanye West’s most emotive and underrated songs, that being “Saint Pablo”. He has done god’s work on tracks with SBTRKT and Solange, and he elevated Stormzy’s style on “Firebabe”.
He is, with no exaggeration, unimpeachable as a vocalist, and the man is just as nifty on the keys, tinkling away on stage through songs like “(No One Knows Me) Like The Piano” and set-opener “Plastic 100*C”.
If it sounds like I’m a superfan, just know that it wasn’t always like that. In fact, Sampha isn’t someone I listen to religiously aside from his collaborations. And that’s entirely my mistake and a reflection of how insular I’ve become with music these days. I used to be relentlessly on-the-pulse when it came to new music from just about all corners of globe. Now, at age 37, most new music bores me in the same way it would bore anyone who has slimmed their scope to something more specific.
I would much rather listen to the same Marvin Gaye record over and over again than most new artists coming out. And yes, incredibly close-minded of me, but perhaps it’s something that comes with age. You just stop caring about “collecting” new songs at some point in your life. You become numbed to new artists with very few exceptions, and sometimes it takes happenstance for you to leap to something new and actually become excited about it.
And yet, I had an experience at Hordern Pavilion that I haven’t had in a long time. I walked in only a casual fan, and came out with a deep appreciation – feeling rather ashamed that I wasn’t as obsessed as I should have been with an artist so incredibly unique and familiar at the same time.
So yes, a great performance of course. Right before Sampha was to take the stage, local Ngaiire slinked seamlessly into the vibe with her pleasant neo-soul. As short as the set was, the Papua New Guinea-born artist proved the perfect choice to precede Sampha, sporting a similar style harking back to the likes of Erykah Badu and Jill Scott but in a more rustic, bare-bones way.
In a sense, Ngaiire mirrored Sampha perfectly. Both have delicate, beautiful voices that prefer more skeletal production. Although Ngaiire sounded much more at home over electronic beats, whereas Sampha was a classic crooner, at his best when it’s just him twinkling on his keys, standing in a circle with his band with percussion going wild.
Songs like “Too Much” were heartbreakingly vulnerable, while others had full light displays, vibrant and full of energy with explosions of brilliance dipping into softer moments. Sampha knows how to take the audience on a ride, and he is deceptively energetic in the way he moves about the stage. It’s all about being subtle for this man, and his complex way of performing just makes his music sound all the more better.
Because at the end of the day, that’s what you want, right? Yes, you want to hear your favourite songs performed as you know and love them. But you want those flourishes. Those ideas. Those twists and turns that only live music can offer. Seeing Sampha was a reminder for me that there really is nothing on this earth as affirming as live music.
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Sampha continues his tour of Australia tonight at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena. He will then play Perth’s Supreme Court Gardens on March 3rd. Tickets here.
