British singer and songwriter Sam Tompkins has rounded up a collection of his buzzing previously released singles to combine with a slate of new autobiographical material for his latest EP Who Do You Pray To? The project arrives via Republic Records highlighting the moving new single “My Brother.”
“‘My Brother’ is really special to me. I love it so much,” Tompkins shares of the plucky track. “The origin of it is actually a sad but lovely story.”
He explains: “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.”
“My Brother” appears on Who Do You Pray To? alongside the emotional lead singles “Bloodline,” “Hero,” and “Whole,” which have found a home in the hearts of listeners to amass over 10 million combined streams. He’s even locked in Justin Bieber as a fan and supporter, who told him: “I watch your videos man, and you’re just so talented. You bring so much joy to people, your voice is so good. Keep going, keep singing because you’re already making such an impact. That’s what’s so beautiful.”
“When I started writing music, none of it was coming from a particular place. Then I went through something very tough and wrote about it and realised how special that song came out over anything else I had done before that and how much I wanted to listen to it and get that feeling,” Tompkins told CLASH. “From that point I wanted to make sure all the music I put out there was personal, or had a concept that spoke to me and was just more personal. Everything I’ve released for the last two years has been really personal, and I’m proud of that. In this current industry, I love the music that comes out, but it’s in a room of about 100 people and not organically made. I’m not someone who has a problem with that. I love good music, but I think a lot of people are searching for stuff which is personal.”
