Second preview of 1783, the forthcoming, hard-hitting, third album from Halifax, Nova Scotia, singer/rapper/composer Aquakultre. Gallows is a profoundly reflective prison song that draws attention to the wrongful arrest and execution of Aquakultre’s great-great grandfather, Daniel P Sampson. Don’t expect an easy ride…

Release Date: 12th November 2025

Label: Next Door Records

Format: Digital

PROFOUNDLY REFLECTIVE

It’s just a few weeks since What Are You Sayin‘, the first single to preview 1783, the forthcoming album from Halifax Novia Scotia singer/composer/rapper Aquakultre (aka Lance Sampson) was featured in these pages. We were completely blown away by the smooth, rich soul of What Are You Sayin’ and we were left thirsting for another taste of what Aquakulture has in store for us. Well – it seems like What Are You Sayin’ was a mere stroll in the park, compared to some of the other stuff that he has up his sleeve, if new single, Gallows is anything to go by…

1783 will use the media of soul, gospel, R&B and folk to explore lineage, legacy and belonging within a community descended from the first black settlers in Nova Scotia, including aspect of Lance’s own rich family history. And, should anyone wish to be reminded how stark, harsh and cripplingly unfair life was for those first black settlers, then they need look no further than Gallows – a profoundly reflective prison song that raises awareness and acts as a call to action surrounding the wrongful conviction of Lance’s great-great grandfather, Daniel P Sampson. Daniel was the last person to be executed in Halifax as a result of the systematic anti-black racism in Canada’s legal system.

PASSION AND RIGHTEOUS VENOM

Lance/Aquakultre takes up the story: “My great-great grandfather was wrongfully executed in 1935. His story was told to me by my grandmother, Carolyn Sampson, who always recognised that there was something fishy – something not quite right – about what happened to her grandfather. I got on that research 90 years later and she was right – his case was a miscarriage of justice. The song is written from his perspective, in his final moments, before being hanged at the Halifax courthouse.”

For anyone with the remotest sense of humanity or of injustice, Gallows will not be an easy listen but, by heck, it stirs the emotions. The song’s opening sequence – an old lady singing a spiritual-like folk song at a piano – represents, I guess, Lance’s grandmother and her story, and it’s a novel way of setting the scene for the horrors to come. A heavy drumbeat heralds the bluesy gospel chant: “City don’t give a goddamn for a black boy like me” that drive the song along and Aquakultre’s delivery is loaded with passion and righteous venom. It’s heavy, harrowing and heartfelt and the soulful backing vocals just add to the anger and the agony.

Gallows is a song that shouldn’t be missed and 1783 already looks as though it’s going to be one of the albums of 2026.

Watch the official video to Gallows below:

Aquakultre online: Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp

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