Jazz, Lofi and Self Sampling: Dive Into Psalm Trees’ New Albums From Scratch & Spirit Of Naima

author - Alessio Anesi (linkedin)

“It’s funny how, no matter how hard man tries, he can never create the perfect circle. And I’ve often thought, but why would you want to?”

These are the words that Psalm Trees uses to open the video teaser for his latest opus, the double album From Scratch and Spirit of Naima. One simple, whispered line with which the British producer stealthily introduces the quintessence of his vision for this release. A project that is miles away from the philosophical concept of the aforementioned “perfect circle”.

If you look for tutorials on how to draw that shape, you’ll find countless examples that teach the same technique: a single, clear-cut movement aimed at getting you from one point to another as efficiently as possible. No deviation. No hesitation.

From Scratch, and its spiritual sibling Spirit of Naima, are instead the result of a divergence, a breaking of the loop in which Psalm Trees had found himself trapped. They are the outcome of a story that is anything but brief, predictable, and linear. Frustrated with the state of sampling, by 2020 he reportedly began searching for unorthodox ways to revive his sense of exploration and inspiration until he asked himself perhaps the simplest of questions: “Why don't I just make a jazz record and sample that?”. That was the seed that three years later blossomed into this double album.

The journey began with the British producer linking up with Rotterdam-based jazz pianist and composer ALEXANDER. With the assistance of Chillhop Music and a full team of classically trained musicians, the duo embarked on an offbeat creative journey that gave birth to the 40-minute jazz album Spirit of Naima. “Being able to work with ALEXANDER together on composing the jazz record and seeing it all come to fruition in the studio was something else” Psalm Trees explained, adding that “What I lack in technical ability, he has in spades”.

Philantrhope (credits - Mélanie Girard / @melw00t)

Although functioning as a sample pool that he would later use to create From Scratch, Spirit of Naima stands on its own. It is a full-fledged jazz album with its own identity and quirks. It might not pick the interest of the average Lofi listener, but it will certainly find its niche among aficionados.

ALEXANDER (credits - Cye Wong Loi Sing / @cye.bng)

With this fresh batch of sounds to draw from, Pslam Trees eventually went on a solo adventure into the rabbit hole of sampling. By flipping and manipulating the echoes of Spirit of Naima, he resurfaced with the second album, From Scratch. In this 10-track collection, the jazz ingredients are distilled and served to the listeners following a more traditional lofi recipe. The trumpets, saxophones, violins, pianos and electric guitars are chopped up, shaken, and cleverly recontextualized alongside an array of creamy beats and spiced grooves that act as enhancers for the oaked smoothness of the organic instrumentation. “The easy way would be just to add a kick and a snare but he really was able to take [Spirit of Naima] to a new place.” ALEXANDER commented, “It was so impressive how he flipped those songs. To access that creative space in your mind after having heard the original music for months is a lot harder than it seems”.

Either From Scratch and Spirit Of Naima are two self-sufficient bodies of work that do not necessarily live in symbiosis. Listening to them both in combo, however, is the true way to get the most out of the artistic experience they offer. The lore that Psalm Trees has created within these two sonic journeys is remarkable.

Listening to From Scratch right after Spirit Of Naima feels like experiencing a long déjà vu. What you hear is familiar, you know you've been there before, but you often can't pinpoint the exact moment. Jumping from one tracklist to the other to hunt down the specific segment where Psalm Trees extrapolated that string sample, or that bass line, or those vocals from is fascinating but above all, it’s so much fun. It shows how deep the artist went into the creative process, and how much dedication and passion went into the realization of this concept.

The experience will be further expanded with a third album, From Scratch: Remixes, a collection of nine remixes from the likes of Swum, Moods, and Philanthrope. While it’s set to be released in early 2025, it’s possible to get exclusive early access by purchasing the From Scratch vinyl, which contains all of them on its B Side.