Andrew Hozier-Byrne is quick to credit his influences. Known professionally as Hozier, the Irish rock musician was raised on rhythm, blues, and classical Irish poetry. His parents instilled a love for the arts in him at a young age, and his Quaker upbringing informed his views on social justice and civil rights. All of this is synthesized in his body of work, where he echoes and even name-drops the artists and activists that directly inspired his work.
In “Nina Cried Power,” an ode to protest songs which features the powerful vocals of acclaimed gospel singer and civil rights activist Mavis Staples, Hozier credits artists including Nina Simone, Curtis Mayfield, Billie Holiday, and Marvin Gaye as having spoken truth to power through their music and activism during the civil rights era and beyond. His song “Almost (Sweet Music)” is similarly chock-full of lyrical references to the music of Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald.
As an artist working in the genres of blues, rock, and soul, he is diligent in paying homage to the Black artists that pioneered the genres before him, both in and outside of the lyrics he pens. He also credits his father, a gig musician, with his love of music as well.
“I think the earliest memory I had to do with music was as a very, very young child,” he told MTV in 2014. “My father was a drummer, and he played blues music in Dublin. So I remember quite early on, somewhere between walking and crawling, being at one of his gigs at a very young age.”
When asked about other lyrical influences in the same MTV interview, Hozier cited famed Irish poets and writers including Oscar Wilde and Seamus Heaney. “I love a lot of Irish folk music and Irish folk songs. Lyrically, there’s a lot of Irish writers who inform some of the themes and inform some of the language as well.”
In an interview with Nylon Magazine, Hozier explained that while some songs can be written in a few minutes, others take months or years to come together.
“With the case of “Take Me To Church,” I had ideas for those specific lyrics for years before I actually recorded them. I feel like if you don’t have a home for those words, a real home for those lyrics, or a place to put them in a meaningful or worthwhile way, then they just stay in limbo until the time comes.”
Here he exemplifies the collection and incubation mechanisms of creativity, as he pulls from disparate sources of inspiration and holds on to them until the pieces come together the way he wants them to. He seamlessly blends rich blues and rollicking rock music with traditional Irish poetry in a way that suggests Nina Simone may have had more in common with W.B. Yeats than meets the eye.
Creative process aside, one of the reasons I wanted to discuss Hozier’s work is that he’s an incredible musician and lyricist. I highly recommend checking out both of his albums, but if I had to pick just a few, I’d recommend “Jackie and Wilson,” “Work Song,” “No Plan,” and “Sunlight.” I’ve also linked the music videos for “Nina Cried Power” and “Almost (Sweet Music)” so you can hear them for yourself.
Sources:
Almost (Sweet Music):
(Nina Cried Power):
http://www.mtv.com/news/2029578/hozier-interview-irish-bog-people-sex/
https://www.nylon.com/articles/hozier-interview
https://genius.com/Hozier-nina-cried-power-lyrics
https://genius.com/Hozier-almost-sweet-music-lyrics
I think that its awesome to see an artist credit his inspirations like this. Especially from someone who kind of shot into stardom out of nowhere. Its really cool to see Hozier pay respect to the legends who inspired him and try to mimic them in his music!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post! I think the fact that he grew up on Irish poetry is incredibly interesting. It's really cool to see how that inspires his lyricism!
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah! I really enjoyed hearing about Hozier's creative process especially how some lyrics stay "in limbo" until they have a home. Also Jackie and Wilson is one of my favorite songs at all time!
ReplyDeleteI loved hearing Hozier credit artists that paved the way for certain music genres as a source of inspiration, not only in interviews, but in his music as well. I also think it is interesting that he credits his Irish roots as inspiration, which I believe is especially evident in his lyrics.
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I'm so glad that you decided to write about Hozier for all of the amazing reasons that you cited in this post such as his role in promoting social activism and paying homage to other incredible artists in history.
ReplyDeleteBeing such a massive fan of Hozier, I am both insanely happy to see a blog post about him as well as learning a few new things about him! I always feel more connected to an artist's music when I understand some of the influence and thought behind their pieces. This is a marvelous article, thank you!
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