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.

This music video is a powerful call for awareness and compassion, giving a voice to animals that silently cry out for their freedom.

https://www.facebook.com/shalibi.leoralala

Hailing from Germany, DJ/producer Tim Plvnk has been making a name for himself within the electronic music scene. Seeing his signature sound being implemented to the utmost of perfection in each of his productions to date. This time sees Tim delving even deeper into the spectre of house music & to great success.

https://umg.lnk.to/SHAWTY_

His latest release, ‘Shawty’ [signed to Virgin Records] offers the most captivating of elements throughout its entirety, with its rolling groove and infectious vocal elevating this track to even further heights.

Songwriter and actor Ian Lake uses his musical gift to connect people through the unifying bond of our shared human experience. Powerful, textured vocals and brutally honest lyrics, and soulful melodies, give Lake’s songwriting immediate impact, and leave a lasting impression.

“Fishing for Promises,” his third offering from this record, is a piano and cello ballad, about feeling misunderstood, and the imagined conversations that come out of it. It is easily his most raw and vulnerable song to date.

“The song is about unrequited love, and feeling misunderstood,” said Ian. “It’s an imagined conversation that will never take place. What would I say if I actually got the chance to explain myself to the person who’s been occupying my mind? The song is equal parts clinging to hope, and calmly accepting whatever comes.”

The upcoming debut album What It Is (out April 22nd) finds Ian Lake on a journey from fragile vulnerability to courage and resolve.

Thank you for listening! Find the full bio, photos and socials for Ian Lake here.

http://auteurresearch.com/artists/ian-lake/

https://www.facebook.com/IanLakeActor

Artist said about this song:

“On the 30.01.2022 we arrived in Lauchernalp, Switzerland with the aim to shoot a music video for this song over the next 4 days. We had been planning this video for the last 2 months and had everything organised and set to start filming at sunrise the following morning. The night before we checked the weather report and saw that we had some bad weather coming in over the following 4 days which unfortunately would affect our shooting plan. We noticed that there was a small window the next morning which we could use to get some of the snowboarding shots we had scheduled in and therefore we all agreed to use this window of opportunity effectively (so we thought)

We got up that morning before sunrise as planned to capture some timelapse’s and to get ready to make the first lift up the mountain. After 2 hours we finally made our way up to the top of the mountain to find ourselves snowboarding and filming in pretty cloudy weather but good enough visibility to make our way down the mountain a few times so I could get some shots boarding my brother. It was about time for lunch when we decided that we would do our last run down as the weather was getting worse minute by minute, making it very difficult for us to see. As we made our way down filming the last run, we got hit by a serious snowstorm that literally came faster than we could ever imagine with wind speeds and thick snow coming down that I have yet to experience in my 23 years of snowboarding.

In split seconds I completely lost control due to the lack of sight and howling winds and found myself flying down the slope with full speed into a solid wooden pole about 2 metres long and 15cm wide located on the side of the slope. I had collided leg first into this pole with such force that I knocked it completely out of its placement, throwing me on my back about 10 meters away from the impact zone. I was in such shock that I immediately tried to get up and that’s when I felt the bones in my right leg directly below my knee slide and scrape away from each other like two freshly broken branches from a autumn tree. In that moment I thought to myself “oh fuck, I think I just broke my leg”

My brother called the mountain rescue team but because of the snowstorm they were unable to fly a helicopter to pick me up and therefore had no choice but to pick me up with a rescuer sledge, strap me in and ski me down to the cable car. In this moment all I remember my brother saying was “breathe JP, breathe”

After getting X-rays taken down at the mountain station, they discovered that I had broken both my Tibia and Fibula bones meaning that I would need to be rushed to hospital for an immediate operation which would be my first time to hospital and first time having an operation.

While I found myself in a complete daze between drugs and pain, everyone around me was telling me “breathe in, breathe out, everything will be ok”

What blows my mind is that the name of the song which we were shooting a music video for that morning while this all happened is “Breathe” ”

http://www.jpsonmusic.com/

https://music.thisisfyfe.com/nightsky

Fyfe and Iskra Strings today share a fresh glimpse into their eagerly anticipated ‘Interiority’ album by sharing the brand new track ‘Night Sky’. Set to be released on June 10th, ‘Interiority’ will be the duo’s first full album together after previously releasing two self-titled EPs, which were combined in 2019’s ‘Extended Play’ collection.

‘Night Sky’ perfectly encapsulates the duo’s ability to conjure evocative images with their multi-textured soundscapes. Initially the song establishes that nocturnal mood by drawing heavily on Iskra Strings’ neo-classical roots. Suddenly and surprisingly it takes flight, with swooning vocal layers and increasingly bombastic strings adding an adventurous streak to its beguiling beauty. Listen HERE.

https://music.thisisfyfe.com/biglink

‘Night Sky’ is indicative of the broad scope of the ‘Interiority’ album. It’s a track that offers something completely different to the existential, ethereal alt-kilter pop of the previously released title track or the hypnotically haunting ‘’, which features Mysie. Despite those sonic differences, there’s a cohesive sense of boundary-breaking throughout, especially with the input of further special guests including Ghostpoet, Rae Morris, Aquilo and Kelly Lee Owens.

‘Interiority’ is available to pre-order or pre-save HERE.

https://fanlink.to/fyfe-iskrastrings-biglink

All vinyl copies of the album will be produced using recycled vinyl. The Super Deluxe package is also sure to be a future collectors’ item. Limited to just 25 copies, it features a section of the original painting of the album’s sleeve which will be signed by artist Dan Whiteson; a personal handwritten note from Fyfe & Iskra Strings; and copies of the album on both vinyl and CD.

While ‘Interiority’ often pulsates with an otherworldly ambience, the duo’s back story is completely down-to-earth. The duo first met in the London suburb of Acton almost twenty years ago, when Iskra Strings (James Underwood) was hired to give Fyfe (Paul Dixon) violin lessons. They remained friends as their careers took off: Iskra Strings becoming a go-to collaborator for the likes of The xx, Maribou State and Sufjan Stevens, while Fyfe released acclaimed solo albums such as ‘Control’ and ‘The Space Between’. Their collaboration on ‘Extended Play’ showed the endless possibilities that could come with a full album project together – and that will be fully realised with the release of ‘Interiority’.

Artist said about this song:

“The main topic of this song is sex , to put it plainly. I remember sitting at work one day and going through beats, and then beat for Freaky Gyal popped up. The words to the chorus immediately popped in my head. Which means it was probably on my subconscious at the time. That hot, steamy, inhibition less night you had with that one person that you guiltily reminisce from time to time. I think we all think about sex a lot more than we’re ready to admit The song is a source of positive energy and relaxation for all afro-fusion and afro-pop lovers out there.”

https://www.facebook.com/AYOMainMusic/

Circular Motion is written and performed by Josh Berkeley and Esor Rose. Released on Valentines Day the song reflects on love, lust… and being in your feelings. Featuring terrific solos from Tristan Scott Sayah on guitar and Nate Sears on bass, the song is a perfect mix of Soul and RnB with just a hint of Rock. https://www.facebook.com/esorrosemusic