Samana’s soothing vocals and sliding guitars serenade a journey to deep bliss on All One Breath

However, at that time the world gave the duo known as Samana an ultimatum at the end of their first week; head home straight away or face the inevitable border closures from lockdowns that nations were facing.

Samana decided to stay in France and continue making music, which birthed the blissfully moving new record All One Breath. The album demonstrates the duo’s sense of uncertainty whilst being trapped in the rural French countryside, and an ode to the exploration of solitude, silence and peace, but also novel chaos taking place around the world. With the album recorded in an old barn, it conjures a sound that demonstrates rawness and vulnerability, yet so beautifully alive.

The outstanding instrumentation on this record are enough to transcend the listener into a state of melancholy bliss. The sliding and hammering guitar parts beautifully accompany Harris’ low and dreamy vocals that create raw, soulful and hypnotic music. Considering most of the tracks were improvised, it’s astonishingly structured and consistent.

The strongest tracks on the record include "Live For The Road", a brilliant experimentation on progressive folk filled with gorgeous guitar riffs and rhythm, the soulful "The Beach" which blends meditative guitar parts with focused vocals, and the lead single "Patience" – 6 minutes of hypnosis from Harris and Mockett as the track slowly builds up to a crashing and euphoric coda that has the power of a grand finale.

In an alternate universe, Samana hurried back to Wales after their one week in France and we ended up with a very different album. Thank God they stayed in that French countryside with their limited selection of instruments, as Harris and Mockett have gifted us with a sonically and thematically beautiful piece of work that compliments their raw talent. Proven by their improvisation and restrictive recording process, it resulted in a record that truly inspires awe.