Grammy-winning songwriter captures journey of life in short film
You may recognize Sam Martin from his collaboration with David Guetta on “Dangerous” and songwriting credits with artists such as Ziggy Marley (who he won a Grammy with), Nick Jonas, Jason Derulo and One Direction, but the songwriter has been working on his own project recently.
Though he’s thankful to have worked with groups such as Maroon 5, Martin always felt he could be doing more. Sure, he was writing and making music. However, that wasn’t enough to fulfill his desire to make an impact on the world.
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“I was afraid of it,” he says, laughing. “It was like a dream come true because of my heroes before me, like Pink Floyd and the Beatles and people that had done concept albums before.”
The singer spent weeks planning for his short film Alpha Omega, mapping out what shots he needed and even buying a new computer in preparation. Already knowing the shots he wanted beforehand made creating the final product that much easier, finishing it in three days.
“For the shoot, I was so certain that something was going to go wrong, and it was going to be a disaster, and it really it wasn’t,” he confesses to AP. “It was probably one of the best shoots I’ve ever been on. There was just good vibes, and everyone caught the vision. Those three days were magical.”
The whole project is semi-autobiographical, based on his personal experiences and those of others. The film and album are rooted in emotions felt when he was growing up, especially during his teenage years. Although drugs are presented as a vice in the visual, he says it was never something he dealt with personally.
“My escape was probably music and not drugs so much,” Martin explains. “The film took some liberties, but I just think it brought so much power to it that I don’t regret it at all. It’s just half-fiction in that case.”
Martin admits it’s a great feeling to be able to express himself on his terms. After solely writing for other musicians, he became unhappy with his career, if only because he wanted to express more than what he was being told. When he finally had the opportunity, he put everything he’d been holding in on the table and made Alpha Omega.
“Before I die, I wanted to put something out that was good for the world. I wasn’t sure I had done that with my songs for other artists,” he says. “I wanted to put my stamp on it and go, ‘Hey, this is a project I put my name on! This is the one.’’’
Martin encourages his audience to pursue their dreams and do what makes them feel like their true selves.
“Life flashes before your eyes,” he opines. “I think people forget how short we really are here, and I think people also forget what really matters in life. We’re easily distracted, and I’m hoping by watching and listening to this project, you reflect on your own life what you really want to be about and what is life about. Go searching for the true answers of life.”
The album Alpha Omega can be found here, and you can check out the short film below.
