For as long as Sam Martin can remember, he’s always wanted to create a “proper concept album.” Now, the Grammy award-winning artist can finally say he’s done it with the release of his debut LP Alpha Omega, out today (March 8).
The singer-songwriter takes listeners on a journey of self-realization through dynamic pop anthems that speak to every important stage of his life: those that have happened already (such as being born, going through college, getting married, having children) as well as those that are yet to come (growing old and life after death).
“I give the highest respect to artists that have made concept records such as The Wall & Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd and Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band [and] Abbey Road (2nd half) by The Beatles,” Martin tells Billboard. “For as long as I can remember I have longed to make a proper concept album, and this was one of those moments that made me realize I had done it. Proud papa.”
Below, the NYC native — who’s written hit tracks for Maroon 5, David Guetta, One Direction, The Chainsmokers, Jason Derulo and G-Eazy — tells Billboard the meaning behind all of the 18 tracks on Alpha Omega.
“The Birth”
Welcome to the world! In my imagination, this is where we see, in fast motion, the creation of the universe, the creation of our sun, our planet, the emergence of life on earth and the entire process of evolution — all the way up to the birth of our character, a baby boy.
“Come On!”
Sometimes this piece is too much for me to listen to. I get emotional because it’s full of actual audio clips from home recordings of my life. It feels like a big blast of light into my soul. The song opens with a baby boy crying; it’s actually my son, Jack, who was in his bouncer in the studio with me when I was writing the album. There’s a clip of myself at two years old playing with my father, my wife, our neighbors, and at the end my first son, Augie, yells, “Come on!” Hence the title. It’s so optimistic and innocent.
“Summer Days”
The character is now a full blown kid, playing games in the streets, oblivious to the struggles that are to come, thinking they will never have to grow up, yet aware of the turmoil coming from the adults and by the end of the song the kid is now in junior high where things get pretty dark. This is almost a perfect representation of my own childhood. Looking back it makes sense, and that’s why I made the song light and dark.
“Sabotage”
Oh boy, things took a turn here. This is exactly what happened to me. I have no idea how it happened, but I turned into an angry teenager. Something that might [go unnoticed] by people in the lyrics is that we are hearing from multiple perspectives pretty rapidly. At first, you hear the counselor say, “When did it start, what set him off?” Then from the perspective of the parents, “Living in fear from my own son,” then from the kid himself, “it’s been building up and I’ve had enough,” then from the teachers, “Don’t think, don’t talk, don’t fight.”
“The Great Escape”
Shhhh, this one is a secret favorite of mine. Coming out of the rage-filled “Sabotage,” this song is about the “escapes” in life. When I wrote this song, I was mostly writing about people I knew who had been addicted to [them]. I wrote this song on the island of Kauai. This song at first was suppose to be a bridge between “Sabotage” and “Sugar Is Sweet,” but I was convinced to make it a full song by some friends. Extra thanks to Thomas Eriksen for being a wonderful guy and a fantastic producer.
“Summer Days Interlude”
Here we have the young man high as a kite, and feeling very safe. The same safety he felt as a child. There is a delusion to this feeling of safety, because not only is he using drugs to create this feeling, but he’s also transitioning from being a child into becoming a man. If he keeps wanting to go back to being a child, he won’t grow up and become a great father. A father who creates a safe place for his own child to grow. (Have I given too much away?)
“Sugar Is Sweet”
Don’t get too close to the forbidden fruit. The mistakes keep on coming in. We are now in the college/party years and he can’t get anything right. Totally tempted by this woman, he is seduced to the max, yet he is conflicted inside his own head. Everyone I know has fallen for the wrong person at one point or another. I am no different, I was in love with someone that was not good for me. This is totally autobiographical. Thank God I survived.
“Bring Me Home”
College is over, real life has begun and bang, here comes reality. I remember when I was out of college and on my own, and the Great Recession hit. I got nailed and down went my finances, and out came all the insecurities. Looking back, I’m thankful, because I think whenever we go through hard times, it sharpens your senses, gets you closer to the truth, and if you learn from it, you’ll never make those mistakes again and the cycle won’t continue. Well, easier said than done, and “Bring Me Home” is the feeling of being smack dab in the middle of suffering. Thank you to Mike Caren, Craig Kallman, Jkash, and Cook Classic for putting all your genius brains on this bad boy.
“Storms”
The prayer has been heard, but the results haven’t come in. The saddest song on the record, this is the moment when sadness and depression take such a heavy toll that the person is left in a fragile state. I remember these feelings, and I never want to return to them, but so much in my life was not working out at the time, and it even [affected] my health. I felt so fragile.
“It’s Gonna Get Better”
At last, hope! The message is from someone above watching down on the character and letting him know, things are gonna be OK. I was so pumped to have an actual gospel choir, thanks to my longtime friend Nick Seeley. I wrote the song because my wife was very sick during her first pregnancy, and she was having a tough moment. I remember looking at her and thinking, “It’s gonna get better.” Shout out to Jason Evigan and Isaiah Tejada for producing this one.
“Blue Eyed Joy”
This song opens with an audio clip from our actual wedding. It’s Joy’s grandfather marrying us on that rainy day. I wanted to write a timeless song about getting married, going through life together and sticking it out no matter what happens. This is officially the first song I ever wrote for the record. It was before we got married, I started it but I never had a chorus, and [seven] years later I dusted it off, polished it up and wrote the “Blue Eyed Joy” chorus melody to finish off the song.
“Song For My Unborn Son”
Now I can barely listen to this, it’s too much for me to take. My beautiful son — I wrote this for him before he was born. This is as honest as I know how to be. In the early stages of my wife being pregnant, there was a slight chance that Augie was going to have problems, and it hurt us bad. I tried not to let it [affect] me, but it was always there. So one day I sat down at the piano and wrote this idea saying, “I’m gonna love you anyway you are,” and it all just came out. Thankfully, Augie came out healthy as can be, but now we have this song for all time.
“Live Before I Die”
Sorry to take a groovy turn into midlife crisis mode, but this is life, baby. This is where the story begins to become fiction. A midlife crisis has not struck me just yet so I based this off some of the adults that I grew up around. While the song does express the negative feelings of the character in the moment, it also ends on a hopeful note, then it ends with a bombastic singing of Happy Birthday, that shows that the person took it all to heart and got the magic back and is living a good life.
“What A Life”
Upon final analysis…life is good. I used to seek out old wise people to help me understand the world and how I fit into it. This song is an ode to them, and a hope for me and my wife when it’s our time to be old. In one night, I wrote the start of “What A Life,” “Sabotage” and “Summer Days Interlude.” It was a burst of ideas, I’ve never done that before or since. I must say this song was transformed by Isaiah Tejada — his production brought it all to life in my opinion.
“Send Me To The River”
The old man’s body is starting to break down and his arms are wide open saying, “Send me to the river,” in other words, I’m ready to go. I’m ready to see what’s on the other side, and then all you hear is the heart beat.
“Requiem”
The heart beat continues and I imagined he is now on his deathbed, surrounded by loved ones and saying, “I’m not scared of the unknown, I’ll meet you on the other side of the road. Don’t you cry, you know I’m going home.” This was an idea that was on hold for Kanye West, which he obviously never used, so I did. [Another] fun fact, it took me forever to get the whistle. Why can’t I be better at whistling?
“Rebirth”
This is the moment of death, and the rebirth into a new form. No one knows what happens after we die, of course, what happens to our consciousness, our soul. I’ll paraphrase an idea I came across by good old [psychiatrist] Carl Jung: if people believe that life just ends and there’s nothing more, then they die before their time, but if they act as if life goes on, then they live life the way nature intended.
“Shine On”
Bringing it home with a gospel choir and Leisa Hart on the vocals. After a long life, the old man passes into the next, and this is what he’s feeling. I tried to imagine what it would feel like to be totally free from your body, similar to what it can feel like in your dreams. Now, I can’t prove any of this, but I have a hunch that life goes on after death. I tend to think truth is stranger than fiction, and nature is full of surprises, and after you hear a bunch of near death experiences you say, “Hey, they can’t all be crazy.