Sam Tompkins’ 2024 debut album, Hi, My Name Is Insecure, floats along a mood of deep reflection: his unflinching lyrics detail scenes of grief, insecurity and displacement — heavy feelings all bolstered by cavernous drums and rhythmic momentum.
‘My music pulls from my own story, but at its centre is a desire to give a voice to people who perhaps feel voiceless,’ he tells M. Having paused playing his acoustic guitar in his cosy Brighton flat to speak to us, Sam reveals that he’s been working on new material ‘for the first time in months’.
‘I always write my most personal songs when I’m at home, as there’s no judgement in this space,’ he says. ‘Emotionally, you can go to darker places — no one ever has to hear what you’re coming up with in the moment. Being here, alone, helps me to get my ideas out fully.’
'At the centre of my music is a desire to give a voice to people who perhaps feel voiceless.'
To say that 2024 was something of a whirlwind for Sam would be an understatement. Hi, My Name Is Insecure arrived in July — five years after the 27-year-old first signed a record deal — and he celebrated by playing a hometown show that was followed, he says, by ‘screaming a whole lot afterwards’. This cathartic release stemmed from losing his ‘hero’ father, with whom he shared his pop star dreams as a child. Then, in September, Sam became a victim of burglary, losing his laptop and his late father’s silver cross pendant before a social media callout helped police return these valuable items within a few days.
It’s this juxtaposition of suffering such emotional extremes alongside celebrating the biggest achievement of his career that, understandably, left Sam at an impasse. Over time, though, he has come to understand that all this has been a learning process. Within weeks of his father’s passing, Sam headlined London’s Hammersmith Apollo, performing part of the show in the round. It was a night as rich with love as it was heavy with loss, allowing him to ‘find human connectivity’ surrounded by thousands of fans singing songs he made at home.
The title of his debut LP may read as a declaration, but its songs are clear-eyed and softer than imagined, passages of ambience (Numb) and fingerpicked guitar (Phones In Heaven) reflecting the shifts in mood that can accompany personal upheaval. Sam recorded it, unknowingly, with pre-nodules on his vocal cords, keeping the original takes of his damaged voice so that the album felt ‘raw and real’.
For a musician who began forging their path to stardom as a teenager busking on the streets of Brighton and uploading pop covers to YouTube, it’s been paramount for Sam to retain creative control throughout his career. It’s why he racked up production credits on Hi, My Name Is Insecure as well as its predecessor, 2022’s Who Do You Pray To? EP.
As Sam explains, early financial support allowed him to purchase his first MacBook and teach himself how to make beats, as well as gradually expand his guitar collection.
‘I soon came to understand how vital PRS is, especially in terms of collecting royalties for emerging artists,' he says. 'In this industry, it’s good to recognise who is actually keen to support you. A lot of people you may meet on this planet may not be looking out for you, but PRS are a friend.’
Growing in confidence as a songwriter helped Sam devise a winning formula. During those long, shapeless lockdown days of 2020, Sam began uploading content to TikTok. His soulful, ragged vocal, complemented by his affable demeanour, struck a chord and his music began to flood all corners of the internet, helping him build an international fanbase he commands to this day. A rendition of Bruno Mars’ Talking To The Moon was even sampled by Gambian-British rapper Jnr Choi, with the resulting track becoming one of the biggest songs on TikTok in 2021.
While some have noted that TikTok’s algorithm can prioritise short, sped-up snippets of music, Sam embraces the platform as part of his origin story. Experiencing viral fame has allowed him to find fans in the likes of Justin Bieber and Fred again.., though he is intending to take a prolonged break from social media in the future.
‘I’m a really open, vulnerable and sensitive person, and I’ve always been proud of that. Being honest in my music is second nature to me,’ he tells M. ‘But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve felt like I don’t need to express everything online. It’s not for me to judge others, but I see so many people bleeding themselves dry by doing too much on social media and then regretting it later.’
'In this industry, it’s good to recognise who is actually keen to support you.'
This level-headedness crops up a lot when talking to Sam. He is quick to affirm that sharing his experiences of grief on the internet ‘opened the floodgates’ for people to exchange their own traumas with him (‘a heavy but powerful thing to navigate’). He is a thoughtful and measured conversationalist, radiating a peace that comes from knowing that, despite it all, he is accepting of himself.
Sam’s lyrics have always expressed big, universal statements: we’re learning together, we’re all human, as he sings on Time Will Fly. Going forward, though, there’s a desire to make ‘steadier and more upbeat’ music that seeks personal solace in the chaos.
‘If I can get through this year, I can get through anything in life,’ he concludes, breaking into a gentle smile.
This article is taken from M's special Future Makers edition — you can read the magazine in full here. Sam Tompkins' Australian tour kicks off in St. Kilda, Victoria on 26 February.
