With 1783, his sweeping new 17-track concept album, Aquakultre turns ancestral memory into living music. The record unfolds across 11 songs and six interludes, tracing Black Nova Scotian history through family stories, intergenerational reflection, and deeply personal storytelling. Rooted in gospel, blues, jazz, soul, and vintage R&B, 1783 is both a historical document and a present-day conversation, shaped by the lived experiences of artist Lance Sampson and the generations that came before him.

The story begins in 1783, when the American War of Independence ended and more than 3,000 people of African descent left New York aboard 81 ships bound for Nova Scotia. Promised land and freedom, they instead encountered poor housing, limited food, and scarce resources. Yet they survived. From those early settlements emerged a resilient culture that continues to define Black communities across the province.

Sampson is descended directly from those original Black Loyalist settlers, and that lineage gives 1783 its emotional gravity. Each track builds on inherited memory, connecting the past to the present with clarity and intention. The album moves patiently through history while keeping its focus on people rather than dates.

Standout moments arrive with striking impact. “Scotia Born” leads with regional pride, a celebratory anthem grounded in place and belonging. “Gallows” delivers one of the album’s heaviest chapters, giving voice to Sampson’s great-great-grandfather Daniel P. Sampson, a World War I veteran wrongfully convicted of murder who became the last man executed by hanging in Halifax in 1935. “The Avenue” offers a nostalgic walk through a once-thriving Black neighborhood in Dartmouth, now nearly erased by gentrification. “Matriarchs” captures the tension between a man drifting toward danger and the single mother who fought to raise him differently.

Across the album, Aquakultre balances sweep and intimacy, pairing historical weight with human detail. These songs keep history close, grounded in lived experience rather than distant retelling, and remind listeners that the past continues to shape the present.

Since winning the CBC Searchlight competition in 2018, Aquakultre has grown into one of Canada’s most compelling cultural voices. With two Polaris Prize nominated albums and a wide range of collaborative work behind him, Sampson continues to expand creatively while remaining anchored to his community. His live shows reflect that same spirit, welcoming and joyful, driven by a commanding presence that turns shared history into collective experience.