SAMANA by Samana
Relocating to the deep Welsh countryside over the past few years, such time and artistic maturity is giving rise to a new domain in the work that they create, with an ever-expanding audience citing their live performances through a lens of more of a spiritual, shamanic experience and service of healing than that of just a musical performance. In an increasingly online society, and a frequently fractured world, Samana’s unyielding openness suddenly seems to matter more than ever before.
Harnessing the profundity of the spirit and carrying it into the studio, Rebecca and Franklin devoted themselves to making an album that takes listeners to the origin of the philosophy and sentiment that lies at the hearts of two such trailblazers, in a truthful, honest and unflinchingly sincere body of work. Inviting kindred artists into the fold for the first time, they pushed themselves to burrow into the very roots of their life experience and love – to sink into the divine.
The result is their third full-length album, a self-titled collection which reflects the truly personal nature of the work found within. Formed of nine songs, where the pair previously pulled inspiration from the world around them, here they dig deep into their souls to thread the new pieces together.
And so, charged by the current toil we face from climate change and the geopolitical landscape, the Samana LP takes inspiration from Rebecca’s dream diary - which she’s kept for more than a decade - and offers an unflinching exploration of the alchemy of grief; a key element underpinning much of her work. It drifts - or perhaps overlaps - the very real world around us while at the same time leaning into those places we perhaps can’t see or feel but know to exist.
- Tom Johnson
Tracklist
| 1. | Into The Blue | 2:45 |
| 2. | The Knife | 4:21 |
| 3. | We Will Find A Way | 5:47 |
| 4. | Two Wrongs | 6:10 |
| 5. | The Infinite | 5:29 |
| 6. | Into The Wild | 4:27 |
| 7. | Seven Years | 6:12 |
| 8. | The Dark Angel | 5:02 |
| 9. | The Preselis | 7:47 |
Credits
Drums, percussion, bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, twelve string guitar, banjo, synthesisers, additional vocals, SFX, recording, production and mixing by Franklin Mockett at The Road Records Studio. Vocals, lyrics, photography, vinyl design and production by Rebecca Rose Harris with additional piano engineering by Owain Jenkins at StudiOwz on track 7. Mastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering.
Cello: Fraser Bowles (4,6,9)
Cello:Shirley Smart (3,5)
Clarinet: Hugo Scott (4)
Double Bass: Rhys Lovell (4,6)
Horns: Jools Owens (3,4,5,6,7,9)
Piano: James Osler (4)
Tubular Bells: James Osler (9)
Violin: Richard Jones (3,4,5)
Violin: Rebecca Bell (6,9)
Co-string arrangements: Samana & James Osler (3,4,5,6,9)
(C) & (P) 2024 The Road Records
All Rights Reserved
With a huge, sincere thank you to Heather Gratton, Judy Harris, Rob Mockett, Ken Smith, James Osler, Jools Owens, Richard Jones, Fraser Bowles, Rhys Lovell, Rebecca Bell, Shirley Smart, Hugo Scott, Owain Jenkins, Tim Hill, Dean Marsh, Nick Roberts, Nigel Boardman, Lynda Gratton and to everyone who has extended an unwavering hand and offered us unbounded support.
License
All rights reserved.Tags
Recommendations
Samana is a journey of internal and external exploration. Their music is forged with its own distinct weight and significance, born from the interpretation of dreams, the study of ancient rituals, philosophies of love, loss & death, and the quintessence of interior discovery that results from personal experience. Samana create their art in their analogue studio in the remote valleys of Wales.