Breaking fame in late 2012 on Disclosure’s hit ‘Latch’, Sam Smith has been in the spotlight ever since, with hit tracks like ‘Money on my mind’, ‘Stay with me’ or ‘Leave your lover’. His distinctive tone of voice, his style and overall style of music and artistry have provided him with the success and attention he’s been enjoying over the years. So how is this song any different from what we’ve been listening over the years and what elements of originality can be distinguished in this very fresh hit?
Watch Disclosure’s Omen Music Video featuring Sam Smith
First of all, the song ‘Omen’ is probably most about setting a mood and, as every hit’s wish, to take the listener and audience to the right destination. Coming from an ambient music scene, I immediately sensed the artist’s intention to set the atmosphere- it’s about another kind of party, a classy and ‘members-only’ type of thing, a place where you could easily get lost, in the most emotional way.
The Meaning of Omen Demonstrated by Disclosure and Sam Smith
As the title goes, ‘Omen’ is defined as “an event regarded as a portent of good or evil.” Right from the start, the song is set as a mystery left to be discovered, not knowing which side it is or what consequences it could have. The video does not follow this same frame of mind, including fascinating and rich key symbols.
We come across a very beautiful but peculiar tattoo artist, the two twin guards at the doors of the club where the main action happens, and the story within all this that is interrupted and ends with the classic ‘To be continued’ sign at the end (hint for a future collaboration?).
The cinematic mood of the video is in great relation to the slomo-druggy-chill vibe and beat of the song. The two go together perfectly and describe a modern, twisted love story, but also a place where everyone can get loose and lose themselves to the music.
The beat is minimal but very well constructed, the interlude is soft yet firm, and the chorus is powerful and catchy. Personally, I think this collaboration is a successful one, as Disclosure know how to spice up and bring a new level of dynamics to modern-day songs with their nominal style (as heard on ‘You & Me‘) and Sam Smith’s smooth voice that has yet to be discovered and polished to the standards of global, all-time R&B music.
