will samson

the record pulls many of its reference points from a number of the artists he’s shared a stage with over the years: from Bon Iver’s S. Carey, through to The Album Leaf, Olafur Arnalds, and Do Make Say Think. Worked on across the span of one entire year – from January of 2020 through to December – it’s comprised of nine beautiful new pieces and sits as a richly layered meditation on the idea of belonging, identity and the search for home in the most unstable of worlds. Marking ten years since the release of Balance, his 2012 debut, Will Samson’s new album feels almost like the product of his learning and growth over the past decade. For the first time, he allowed himself a dedicated studio space outside of his home, a blessing for both his mental health and workflow, while he also upgraded his tools, finally purchasing a good vocal microphone of his own, and a new laptop that didn’t constantly overheat and crash, allowing him to upgrade his recording software for the first time in years. While these somewhat mundane details may seem superfluous, for someone who’s spent so much time in flux, they brought about a stability that Samson’s work has so often been unable to find.