Dan Samsa, the South London multi-instrumentalist, sound artist, pianist and composer releases new single Impression. Taken from Samsa’s debut album Contours which is forthcoming this April, Impression is accompanied by an official music video recorded in 360° audio / visual which arrives next week.
Already picking up early support from Gilles Peterson on BBC Radio 6 Music and Worldwide FM, Impression is the second single taken from Contours and pays homage to Samsa’s early drum & bass, jungle and breakbeat influences. As a name who continues to pick up acclaim as one of the UK’s most exciting experimental jazz artists, Impression is performed and played out by Samsa and his ensemble of classically trained musicians, merging both old and innovative recording techniques. Rekindling sampling methods which were prominent in 90’s drum & bass music, the abstract vocal textures on Impression were recorded within the ancient religious space of London’s Southwark Cathedral using a 360° microphone – a production approach which is present across the full album.
Set for release in April, Contours is Dan Samsa’s anticipated debut album and features collaborations with vocalists Zosia Jagodzinska and Rosie Strobel, whilst the arrangement skills of Raphael Clarkson form the inspiriting brass section. Spanning the realms of jazz to experimental electronics, there’s an obvious IDM element present across each of the eleven tracks. Having grown up in South London and regularly performing live and DJing, it’s Samsa’s classical training and experience of performing with live acts such as Kae Tempest which has enabled him to construct an LP that embodies both the impeccably trained jazz musician alongside his influences from Kamikaze Space Programme, Dillinja, Photek and Special Request.
As an artist who operates with innovation always in mind, Samsa sees music not only as an auditive phenomenon, but also as a spatial and social manifestation; he therefore meticulously curates his recordings to allow for the impact of space, then performing it in a way that envelops the listener and challenges their notions of what sound and music can be.
Incorporating recording techniques via a 360° microphone on the album whilst performers and collaborators were being directed around spaces including Southwark Cathedral to create atmospheric vocal textures, 2021 saw Samsa perform a new and immersive 360° live show with the London Contemporary Orchestra, the Southeast London dance group Birdgang and some of London’s finest jazz musicians titled SPECTRUM°. A compelling live display of the Contours album, the sell-out show received outstanding reviews, including 8.9/10 by DJ Mag.
Having produced his forthcoming album as an ode to time and the potential of change, in Samsa’s own words “It’s the sheer diversity of music as an artform that excites me” with Contours bringing together time, space and a wide range of musical registers into a seamless whole where all are designed to be equal. Contours has been recorded and produced to work as a live surround sound show as well as in stereo and an online 360° VR-experience. It’s outcome, is to demonstrate an entirely new way of approaching music that Samsa hopes will influence many in the years to come.
Taken from Dan Samsa’s forthcoming album Contours which is set for release this April, Impression is out now via Apollo Records.
