London-based singer-songwriter and producer Sampha has returned with a brand new single titled “Spirit 2.0,” his first fresh solo release since 2017’s Process. The single was announced one day prior to its release on June 28, and follows a small run of live performances in London and Brooklyn, NY titled “Satellite Business.”
The song’s arrangements consist of intricate drums, low keys, plucky electric guitars and flange-y synth notes over a bed of bass and strings. Sampha provides a reassuring message with the hook motif based around “Waves will catch you / light will catch you/ love will catch you/ spirit gon’ catch you.” As the song peaks, the strings swell up into an echoey bridge where Sampha speeds up his delivery as the music rebuilds.
In his Instagram post succeeding the “Spirit 2.0” release, Sampha thanks a list of collaborators who helped the song, including producers El Guincho and Riccardo Damian, and artists Yussef Dayes, Yaeji, Owen Pallet and Lisa-Kaindé Diaz of the duo Ibeyi. According to record label Young, Yaeji and Diaz provide vocals on the song. Some vocals can be heard backing Sampha on his third verse, and others on the song’s outro. El Guincho has done notable work this decade on ROSALíA’s MOTOMAMI and FKA twigs’s CAPRISONGS, while Damian engineered every song from Sampha’s Process.