VĀ
A listening-led, place-based album recorded across the island of Upolu, Samoa
VĀ
Vā is the Samoan concept of relational space — the space between people, between sounds, between self and world. Not empty, but alive with connection. Eleven tracks made in Samoa over two and a half months, woven from field recordings, hydrophone explorations, found sounds, and bass-heavy electronic production.
The Place
The Residency
In 2025, Matt Sephton and ceramic artist Caitlin Moloney undertook a joint residency at the Tiapapata Art Centre on the island of Upolu, Samoa. Two artists. Two disciplines. One place.
They worked separately — Sephton recording the island across its interior and coastline: underwater textures from the Pacific, the sounds of markets, forests, and daily life in the village. Moloney worked the clay in the shared studio, drawing form from the same earth, the same heat, the same light.
But proximity shapes everything. Ideas moved quietly between practices. The island they were each listening to, touching, responding to — it was shared terrain. A silent collaborator present in both bodies of work.
One track makes that connection explicit. Clay was created from the sound of clay dissolving in water — a collapse of form captured beneath the surface. Material giving way. Structure becoming formlessness. A point of contact between the two practices, and a moment of undoing translated into sound.
Vā is the result of these explorations — a listening-led, place-based album shaped by movement through Samoa: its coastlines, villages, forests, and the shifting space between people, materials, and sound.
A sonic journal of place, time, and connection.
The People
- Tau'ili'ili Alpha Maiava Fagufagu/noseflute on Horizon, vocals on Turtle and Horizon
- Badi AKA Moonshine OSKK Vocals on Siva
- Ben Percival Percussion on Siva, Horizon, The Sky, ukulele on Lava
- Awal Muhammed Spoken word on Paper, paper rustles
- Steven Percival Foa/Conch on Horizon, local guidance and support, cultural guidance
- Students from the National University of Samoa Participatory recordings and community contributions
- Caitlin Moloney Ceramics collaboration & sound-material experiments
- The Family at Tia Seulupe in Si'ua'i, Sa'anapu Umu sounds, spoken word, hot koko
Mastering by Chris Chetland at Kog Studio.
A heartfelt thank you to Steven and Wendy Percival and the staff at Tiapapata Art Centre for their generosity of time and space — for welcoming us into the family and providing the platform that made this project possible.
