Video: Sampha, ‘No One Knows Me (Like the Piano)’

Shay Mehr on February 7th, 2017

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Sampha’s aptly titled “Process” came out Friday, and the debut full-length from the British singer-songwriter-producer (born Sampha Sisay) is already garnering buzz for England’s Mercury Music Prize. With a who’s-who list of music collaborations on his resumé — including Solange, Beyonce, Drake, Jessie Ware, Frank Ocean and Kanye West — Sampha teamed up with director Jamie James Medina on the videos for the song “No One Knows Me (Like the Piano).” Featuring model and activist Adwoa Aboah, the videos come in two formats, virtual reality and traditional.

The visuals give an eye into deep emotions behind “Process,” a starkly honest, meditative work charting Sampha’s journey from trauma through anxiety and arriving at catharsis. With a tumultuous family life caused by his parents’ battles with cancer, Sampha indeed has had plenty to process, and he shares it with overwhelming realism. The single “Blood On Me” opens with catchy percussion, out of which a breathy Sampha emerges to describe hooded figures who are pursuing him. Somehow this musical panic attack allows the listener to both hear his story and want to move. Illustrations of losing grip litter the album. “Plastic 100C” admits the fragility of Samphas’ mental state by describing him as melting plastic. It samples a speech from Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon, cleverly tying in the emptiness of space with the line “Houston can-can-can you hear?”

Sampha will be performing at Coachella and supporting The xx on their world tour.

||| Watch: Both versions of the video for “No One Knows Me (Like the Piano)”