Crate Digging: Sophie Faricy, Executive Producer and Music Supervisor

Sophie Faricy, executive producer / music supervisor at Native Music, discusses her top two finds from Concord Label Group.

Sampa The Great – ‘As Above, So Below’

I first came across Sampa after falling in love with one of her very first releases; Birds and The BEE9 mixtape via Big Dada (where I interned close to 20yrs ago). It was 2017 and I’d just returned from maternity leave after having my second child and remember having it on repeat in my headphones every time I got the train into work, in an attempt to absorb some of her swag and boost my shonky self-esteem. Then in 2023, once again she came with me on another pivotal journey in my life, when she released this glorious LP ‘As Above, So Below’. I had the euphoric Let Me Be Great blasting at every opportunity whenever I felt my confidence wavering, which at that point was pretty much on the daily.

I’ve loved everything about her from the get-go, her tone, her powerful self-love, her poetry, her hybrid hip hop blend of South African roots with jazzy, neo-soul and soaring gospel harmonies. No one can truly categorise her music though, it’s all been thrown at her, from jazz, hip hop, neo soul, kwaito, amapiano, R'n'B, trap bass, zamrock. It’s all in the pot, and on paper it sounds like you’re in for a bit of a box around the ears, but everything she touches (in my eyes) is an absolute triumph. Mask On – I mean, try and categorise that banger! - there must be about 5 different genres within it, but I’m an absolute sucker for a warped, wobble bassline that runs through it and rolls on into the next track, Bona. Another absolute belter. 

‘As Above, So Below’ (which is nuts that it's only her 2nd album, even more nuts that she nailed it in 2wks) has Sampa’s unwavering, recurring, and powerful message that weaves in and out from start to finish; her unshakable belief to embrace your true self and kick back against oppression and intimidation from others. It doesn’t seem to be written about much, but I feel there is such a warm undercurrent running beneath all her releases, this album is no different and I feel it throughout. Maybe it’s the family input she’s enlisted this time, with her little sister Mwanjé jumping in on Never Forget.

The Pharcyde – ‘Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde’

I was 13 when this album was released, and I discovered The Pharcyde. I used to listen to pirate radio stations back then, with a coat hanger for an aerial out of my gnarly old ghetto blaster (that makes me sound like was some cool cat in high-tops living in the Bronx, I was in Hi-Tecs living in a pokey rental in Northampton with my mum and little brother).

I couldn’t bear the relentless tirade of brit pop and indie at the time, which was the only thing being played out on mainstream radio. Me and my school mates were passionately into jungle, drum n’ bass, hip hop, soul and RnB, making endless grainy sounding mixtapes for each other from the pirate stations, to swap at school. American Hip Hop was dominated by Gangsta rap/West Coast hip hop, whereas I was much more East Coast leaning and into the boombap vibes of Tribe Called Quest, Jurassic 5, De La Soul etc as they were so much more playful. Even though this fell under West Coast, this was alternative hip hop, it suddenly merged everything I was discovering at the time, which was primarily hip hop & jazz (I was also tuning into Gilles Peterson's acid jazz sessions). Plus the tracks are ridiculous, like a group of mates dicking around and I always related to that. 

I’ve seen them live a few times now too, they’re amazing. I’m glad I’ve dug this one out of the archives, I reckon this might well be the album that sways my kids, they won’t listen to anything I play but I reckon they’ll be into track 2 for obvious reasons. That will be an interesting letter home from the school.

If you’d like to know more, or you’re keen to discover more of our repertoire, please contact: labelsyncuk@concord.com.