London singer/songwriter, LAYKS, wants his fans to feel seen and heard.
Bridge: Hey there! Thanks for chatting with us!
Let’s start by having you tell the readers who you are…
S: Hi! My name is Sam James Martin, I’m a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from London and my music alias is LAYKS.
Bridge: Awesome! You know I’ve been super curious, what is the story behind your name?
L: So I was releasing music under my own name with Warner Music for about three years which was so much fun, i’m eternally grateful for everything that music gave me and all of the experiences it afforded me, then in 2019 I flew to Los Angeles completely alone and met a friend of mine out there and we started recording all of this new music with so many new elements incorporated into it. I grew up a guitar player and a singer and I was suddenly diving into all of these new ideas and when I got home I thought “I want to release this under a different name”- it wouldn’t have felt genuine if I just put my name to it, so LAYKS was born. I wanted something super minimal and memorable for the name and thats where it came from.
Bridge: It sounds like you have had an incredible journey so far!
Who are you main musical influences?
L: I think I’m inspired by more or less everything I hear in some regard. i grew up listening to amazing singers and guitarists like Hendrix and Clapton, but then also listened to artists like Joni Mitchell and Jeff Buckley who inspired my writing a lot. I’ve always had an affinity for 80’s pop so i think i wanted LAYKS to combine everything i love about instrumentation with the infectious nature of pop.
Bridge: How would you describe your sound?
L: I think it’s pretty dreamy, it’s very nostalgic and hopeful. The other day someone described us as “colourful” which I love so much! I always had this idea of LAYKS being good for every point of the day. I have songs that feel like sunrises and other feel like a sunset. I kind of like that! It gives me so much to play at shows and I’d say our sound is very human. I just want people to dance, smile, laugh and maybe cry a little (happy tears obviously) so I wanted it to be pop music that makes you feel good.
Bridge: Sunrises and sunsets? I think that is the most beautiful description of music we’ve ever heard here at Bridge!
Have you ever considered pursuing anything other than music?
L: When I was a kid I was convinced that Boba Fett from Star Wars was a real person so I really wanted to do that for a spell (laughs.) But no honestly, it’s always been music. it’s my everything. It’s my day in and day out, it’s in my family and my blood. I don’t think I would know how to do anything else all the time. With that said, I think just creatively speaking I’ve always been a little bit of a scatterbrain, O love fashion and clothes and style and for a little bit of time I worked at Ralph Lauren and Gucci in this little place near my hometown. So maybe somewhere in an alternate world there’s a Sam who’s the head of a brand or something. Maybe I’ll do that as well, who knows!?
Bridge: (Laughs) Maybe so! The sky is the limit for you it seems!
You describe you music to us but what do you want your fans to get out of your music?
L: To feel seen and heard. To feel as amazing as I feel when I listen to something that speaks to me. There is so much I always want to say about this because my fans and the people who listen to me are the reason I do all of this. It’s my life and I just want people to get anything they can from the music. Whether it’s laughing, dancing or crying, I’m happy with it all!
