Samana have announced details of their new EP, Dharma, released 26th May 2023 on The Road Records plus UK Tour dates.
Samana have spent the last few years building a studio by hand in remote Wales and their new EP Dharma is the first fruits of that labour. The first track to be shared is ‘Seven Years’ a gorgeous skeletal-folk song scattered with tenderly drawn instrumentals and the majestic vocals of Rebecca Rose Harris that remind me of Karen Dalton waltzing with Joni Mitchell.
Representative of a metaphysical dawn, it searches for forgotten memories, drifting between – or perhaps suspended within – both piercing light and enveloping dark. It’s wonderful. Rebecca explains;
“‘Seven Years’ evokes the liminal exchange between oneself and the embers that burn within an entrancing fire, fusing fragmented memories and abstract visions, as they emerge, collide and transform into a dream-like sequence. The allegorical tapestry of ‘Seven Years’ is woven with motifs, representative of the physical and metaphysical periods of growth and change, offering us a passage into an artistic exploration of the ancient notion of the seven year cycle; of life itself and that of renewal.”
A year on from the acclaimed All One Breath, Samana’s new EP Dharma sees multidisciplinary pair Rebecca Rose Harris and Franklin Mockett sharing the first songs they’ve completed in their new studio in the Welsh countryside. Diligently using traditional building methods, the pair have been renovating the old farmhouse they now call home over the past four years, pouring their energy into the construction before adding the new creative space.
The fruits of that labour can be found on Dharma, a line-in-the-sand moment for the band that gets closer to the core of Samana’s expression than ever before. Both artistically and creatively rich, the songs here delve into the very essence of who they are. “These songs are an ode to our lifestyle.” Franklin explains, “from our relocation to the middle of nowhere to the nature we surround ourselves in and the solitary way of life it brings,“
June Tour
6th – The Castle – Manchester
7th – Kitchen Garden Cafe – Birmingham
8th – Omeara – London
9th – Hope & Ruin – Brighton
Photo Credit :Daisy Wingate- Saul