Pop Music ⁞ New Releases⁞ Artist Interviews⁞ Music News

This song is about escaping the mundane for a hot minute

One of the fastest rising British male artists of 2022, Sam Tompkins releases the ‘who do you pray to’ EP alongside emotive visuals for new single ‘My Brother’ today.

With a host of stellar singles already released from the EP; including ‘Whole’, ‘Bloodline’ and ‘Hero’; Sam honed his craft across the collection of 7 tracks revealing his unique voice as a songwriter instilled in the narrative arc of his songs.

New single ‘My Brother’ encapsulates his intimate story telling style, as Sam notes; ‘My Brother is really special to me. I love it so much. The origin of it is actually a sad but lovely story. When I was about 18, we lost our Nana and at the funeral we had to read the eulogy. I got about 6 words in before being in floods of tears, my brother read the rest and was so strong. Flash forward to last year when my Papa (Grandpa) passed away and I decided to do the eulogy. Sadly because of covid my brother couldn’t make it as he was working away in Canada. This time I got the whole way through it and I remember getting the text from my brother who watched it through a live stream that I smashed it and I felt so proud because the only way I was able to do it was knowing I was the exact age my brother had stepped up and been brave 5 years prior.”

Sam Tompkins is a force to be reckoned with; following his own critically acclaimed singles, the TikTok trending collaboration with Jnr Choi ‘To The Moon’; a string of viral videos including impressive covers shared via TikTok and grass-roots touring; he has garnered over 11 million monthly listeners on Spotify and amassed a colossal online audience which has grown exponentially over the past year.

The release of this debut body of work is set to cement Sam’s status as one of the year’s most exciting new artists. His music has already been praised by the likes of MTV, Clash, BBC, and Notion; played across BBC Radio 1 by Jack Saunders, Scott Mills, Clara Amfo, Ricky, Melvin and Charlie, and featured on flagship Spotify editorial playlists.

Matching pop touches to a classic feel, he’s often compared to SamFender’s anthemic truth-seeking or Tom Walker’s revelatory autobiography. Yet Sam’s work stands alone and is already scaling mountainous heights. His music digs deep, explores the key topics in his life and communicates emotions we all feel, but sometimes can’t put into words.

Elton John and Shawn Mendes are fans, pop phenomenon Bebe Rexha has co-signed his work, while Justin Bieber is a prominent supporter. The two recently hung out in LA, while a video of Justin singing Sam’s single ‘Whole’ has gained more than 2 million views –and counting. Closer to home, JayKae jumped onstage on Sam’s last tour, and renowned UK artists Krept & Konan, Chip and Clean Bandit are fans.

Such a broad spread of support simply represents his audience as a whole; there’s a literal army of TikTok followers moving alongside him, with Sam amassing almost a half million followers on Instagram –that’s more than some very established artists. In fact, he already has more Instagram followers than some winners at the BRITs last year.

Selling out every venue he puts his name against, Sam’s live prowess stretches across Europe. Next month Sam will be one of the first UK artists to tour Europe in a bus since the pandemic hit as he heads out on a mammoth European tour, containing a packed out Kentish Town Forum date on the 8th April.

From his humble beginnings busking on the streets of Brighton, EP‘who do you pray to?’ is set to continue Sam’s momentum and rise on the international pop stage.

https://www.instagram.com/samtompkinsuk/

After a pandemic that severely hit the artists, keeping them away from the stage, the song ‘96, written by Runa and produced by Andy Platon, is the result of a heavy state of pain caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine.

https://www.instagram.com/timebelle/

“’96 tells the story of a child who reaches maturity and fails to find his place in this big, scary world. It is a foreign world to him, full of rules and pressure that force him to deny his true personality and to embrace superficial, petty, material values ​​that have nothing to do with him.

‘96 is not a year chosen randomly, it is the year in which Ukraine gave up the last nuclear warhead in exchange for Russia’s promise of never attacking Ukraine. The betrayed adult, who now lives in the real world, where people are constantly hurting and betraying each other, wants to go back in time to correct this mistake made in ’96, which today created this apocalyptic scenario, “says Runa.

The video, made by Leonid Cojocaru, follows the same narrative thread, of a world that has come to an end, destroyed by human nature, which sometimes can have such a harmful dimension.

The filming took place in Chisinau, in a setting that mimics a state of conflict very well, more precisely in an abandoned factory and a deserted field, to which were added apocalyptic images, processed through graphics.

“Besides the heavy and dark atmosphere, we froze as usual from the cold, which became very normal for us, if we think that in another video I had to film in a lake that did not have a temperature higher than 7 degrees. I hope you like what came out, listen to the song and buy it, it is a simple way to help those affected by war from the comfort of your home. ”

Timebelle believes that music heals, and through the new single – “’96” – they want to heal souls, but also to bring their financial support to those who had to leave their homes, their lives and everything behind.

They have many memories of Kyiv, the city where they sang for the whole world, when they represented Switzerland at Eurovision in 2017, with the song “Apollo”, which went viral in Asia, garnered tens of millions of views on YouTube and is still enjoying success abroad. Now Kyiv, that beautiful city with hospitable people, is struggling to survive.

All revenue from the song ’96 ‘will be donated to the refugees in Ukraine.