Sam Tompkins Releases Debut Album “hi, my name is insecure.”
British singer-songwriter Sam Tompkins released his highly-anticipated debut album “hi, my name is insecure.” on July 26, 2024 via Island Records.
The album comprises a 16-track, produced by Sam Tompkins, along with Andrew Wells, AyyoBrad, Couros, DANNY CASIO, Joel Malice, Jordan Riley, Mark West, Matthew Koma, Phil Cook, RISC, Sam Beresford and Sillkey.
Additionally, he released the extended version of the album, called “hi, my name is insecure. (more)” on July 29, 2024, which features 23 songs.
The album features deeply personal songs, and is designed to make anyone else going through the same things feel a little less alone.
Sam Tompkins said of the album, “They don't know about the couch surfing at 16 years old, all the open mics in bars you were too young to get into, the shitty record deal you regretfully signed and the tens of thousands of pounds of your own money it took to buy yourself out of it 4 years later. They don't know about the depression you faced being locked in that deal for 4 years whilst so called adults that cared for you just saw you as a commodity and couldn't wait to get a check out of you. They don't know about the sleepless nights teaching yourself guitar, playing it til your fingers bled just so you could be good enough to play it on stage and write songs with it, they don't know how many people rejected you, told you that you couldn't do it and just plain threw hatred your way. They don't know how many times you've looked in the mirror and told yourself that your ugly or that you're not good enough or that you shouldn't be here anymore. they don't know any of it. YET. but when they listen to your debut album, which comes out at midnight tonight... they are going to know. Because it's all in there. 'hi, my name is insecure.' Everything I am and have ever been is in there and it's out tonight at midnight. My fucking debut album man. I can't believe it. you did it, man. you really fuckin did it.”
The album is dedicated to his father, who died before the release of the album.
Sam Tompkins said, “I have gone through so much to be here especially recently and it's finally happening. I've put my heart and soul into every single piece of this album from the writing, to the production, to the artwork, mixing, mastering, Everything. I'm so grateful for all the amazing support that has facilitated this dream that I've had since I was just a child. thank you to every single one of you who made this happen for me by sticking by me throughout the years from busking on the street, to playing music on stages I could only dream of being on. thank you to my family, my friends and my team for putting all their faith in me over the years and a special thank you to my dad. I so wish he could've seen this, but I'm so glad he got to see what he did. Hope I'm doing him proud up there. This whole album is dedicated to him.”
Sam Tompkins explained about some tracks for the album.
“dead to me” “'dead to me' came at a time when I'd supposedly finished my album. I was actually writing it for another artist entirely but it came out and I just loved it. I have always compared breaking up with someone to grieving in a way. When you have to cut contact with someone, it's almost as if they're not with you anymore. As someone who has experienced both sides of the spectrum of it, I feel it's a lot similar in feeling than people might say.
'dead to me' comes from a point of anger; when you've finally said 'enough is enough, I can't do this with you anymore. It's a cycle and I need to break it'. The 'I hope you rest in peace, because you're dead to me' came to me first and then the rest of the song just wrote itself. I think because I wrote it from another person's perspective, I was a little bit more free with how I presented the song and that's why it sounds the way it does. It's one of my favourite songs I've ever written because of that. I'm really excited for the world to hear it!”
“phones in heaven” “When I originally wrote 'phones in heaven,' my real intention was to write a song for young people, especially men who have lost a friend early. As I've got older and meet more people, most people I know have at some point lost someone they loved prematurely through illness, suicide or other things; myself included.
It's coming from a place where you want to enjoy your life and move forward, but in a lot of cases because you didn't get closure, you feel as though you can't. You honestly think maybe just one call from that person would give you peace, but sadly life doesn't always work like that. When I lost my dad to suicide in November of last year, this song felt even more powerful to me, so it felt like the most fitting way to come into 2024. To show others that they are not alone in their struggles and that we can all get through these things if we just open up conversation.”
“lose it all” “The reason I'm so proud of Lose It All is because it's a symbol of how hard I've worked on getting this next wave of music ready. It's been a year of constant sessions, soul searching, meeting new people, experiences and it's all lead to this first song; a song that's really heartfelt and honest. I'm so excited for it to not just be my song any more and for it to be everybody else's. I've never worked so hard on anything in my life.”
“die for someone” “You know that feeling where you're just like: I kinda wanna fall in love but I'm also scared to do it because of what happened last time? Die For Someone is the soundtrack to that feeling.
Never been so anxious, nervous and scared to release a song in my whole life. having said that, you guys have been so supportive of it that i'm starting to shake those feelings now and just be excited. Thanks for getting behind me, means more than ever before right now. always so scary doing something different, but I'm hoping it'll all be worth it when 'die for someone' is yours.
This song might not be what you expect from me or even what you want from me. as you know I love making heartfelt, slow songs about serious topics and really sharing my deepest most inner thoughts, but there is another side of me that wants to essentially do the opposite. I am in love now and this song was written at a time when I realised i was ready for that to happen to me. that feeling (for anyone that hasn't felt it) is one of the most powerful I think i could describe and it just makes me happy. so i decided to make something upbeat to really reflect it and I personally think I nailed it, but with that comes the anxiety of sharing that with others. I cannot tell you how much the worry has plagued my life for the last 2 months. I even cried to my mum on the phone about it last night haha. but today and right now I am ready to let go of that and just be happy that I made something cool.”
“numb” “'numb' is all about the feeling of wanting to feel nothing at all. Sometimes when you're struggling that's the only thing you want. An escape. That's what I want this song to be... something you can scream in the car or in your room when you feel like the world's not listening. I really hope people like it.”
“someone else” “'Someone Else' is more of a concept song than an experience I have personally felt. Being in love with someone who's in love with someone else is a feeling that I'm sure quite a few have felt, but I think I liked the idea of it going on and on. You're in love with someone else, who's in love with someone else, who's in love with someone else etc. After 'Lose It All' was released, I wanted to create something that felt as powerful as that. I'm really proud of this song.“
“see me” “It's like I'd needed to write it my whole life. I'm glad I have now, and hoping others can now resonate with it.
This song stems back to last year in a pretty dark time in my life. I had a conversation with my life coach about how insecure I was becoming, constantly fearing how I was being perceived by others. After a long emotional conversation, we had worked out and pinpointed a pretty sad moment from when I was a kid at school and how I have carried it ever since. So much so that I had internalized that comment and begun to believe it. It's like I needed to write [this song] my whole life. I'm glad I have now, and hoping others can now resonate with it.”
