Andrew John Hozier-Byrne, known mononymously as Hozier, is an Irish singer and musician. His music primarily draws from folk, soul and blues, often using religious and literary themes and taking political or social justice stances.
real name: Andrew John Hozier-Byrne
labels: Rubyworks Records, Island Records
genres: blues, blues rock, rhythm and blues, traditional folk music, soul, indie rock
awards: Time 100
plays: acoustic-electric guitar, voice, piano
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
Hozier was born near Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland on 17 March 1990, the son of Raine Hozier and John Byrne. He has one older brother named Jon. Around the time he was born, his father John worked as a local banker and in the evenings played as a jazz and blues drummer. His mother Raine was a stay-at-home artist. When Hozier was six years old, his father underwent spinal surgery, and although he survived despite numerous complications, he needed a wheelchair from then on. Hozier's father was unemployed for a few years, which put a severe financial strain on the family.
While at Trinity, Hozier became involved with the Trinity Orchestra. He was a member of and toured with the choral ensemble Anúna from 2009 to 2012 and appeared as a soloist on their 2014 release Illuminations singing "La Chanson de Mardi Gras". Hozier played at the Oxegen 2009 and Oxegen 2010 festivals.
As a result of his countryside upbringing, much of Hozier's early music exposure came from his parents' blues, jazz and soul record collections, incorporating artists such as John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Bukka White and Tom Waits. His first musical memories were drawn from his father's career as a drummer playing music in Dublin. He has stated that his musical education was "grounded" in Chicago blues artists such as John Lee Hooker, Otis Redding and Nina Simone, to whom he pays tribute in the track "Nina Cried Power". As a child, he was a fan of the bands Stereophonics and Daft Punk.
Are you them, or do you know them? The mail slot is open.
"Take Me to Church" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier. It was released as his debut single on 13 September 2013, originally featuring on his extended play of the same name, before being featured as the opening track of his 2014 self-titled debut album.
A struggling musician at the time of its composition, Hozier wrote and recorded the song in the attic of his parents' home in County Wicklow. A mid-tempo soul song, its lyrics use religious terminology to describe a romantic relationship in the face of Church discrimination.
In 2013, Hozier was a struggling musician, often seen in Dublin-area open mic nights. During this period, he penned "Take Me to Church" at his parents' home in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland, and recorded a rough demo in their attic with a programmed backing track. He wrote the song after a bad breakup, as he later remarked that "the vocals were recorded in my attic at 2 o'clock in the morning. So it's a real homemade job." It took him three months to write the song; only two musicians feature on the track: Hozier and drummer Fiachra Kinder. The demo caught the attention of independent label Rubyworks, which paired him with producer Rob Kirwan. The song was overdubbed with live instrumentation, but the original demo vocals were kept...
The music video for "Take Me to Church" was made by Brendan Canty and Conal Thompson of Feel Good Lost, a small-scale Irish production company hired by Rubyworks, and was released on 25 September 2013. The video was filmed primarily in the city of Cork. According to Canty, the video was made on a budget of €1,500 (equivalent to €1859 in 2023). The story for the video came from Hozier himself, who wanted to bring attention to the repression and persecution faced by the gay community in Russia.
"Too Sweet" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier. It was released on 22 March 2024, through Rubyworks and Island Records in the UK, and Columbia Records in the US, as the first track from his seventh EP, Unheard, and was released as a single on 29 March 2024.
The song has topped charts in 14 countries including Australia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Suriname, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela. The track ranked as the fifth best-selling single of 2024 in the United Kingdom.
On 14 March 2024, Hozier announced his fifth EP, Unheard, that features four previously unreleased tracks taken from sessions for his third studio album, Unreal Unearth (2023). The singer clarified that the songs "could not make the original release" for various reasons, but still fit the themes of "gluttony, limbo, violence and the outward 'ascent'". He first teased the song the same day on TikTok in a clip that features him drawing a sketch of a skeleton. "Too Sweet" was surprise-released as the opening track to the project on 22 March.
"Too Sweet" sees Hozier meeting the "rhythm of a true night owl", sipping whiskey and drinking black coffee. Additionally, it shows the facets and multitudes of a relationship, as the singer talks to his significant other. While she prefers to lead a healthy lifestyle, he makes use of the various "pleasures" of life. The singer favours the rawness because his partner is "already too sweet". The song further explores the theme of how differences can evolve during a relationship. Musically, Rolling Stone writer John Lonsdale described the song as "tough, catchy retro-R&B groove."
"Too Sweet" received positive reviews from music critics. Rolling Stone named it among the best songs of 2024. The Guardian also praised the song as among the best of summer 2024: "It's fired by a sly funk beat primed to pack a sweaty dance floor or beach party..."
"Work Song" is a song recorded by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier for his 2014 eponymous debut studio album. It was released on 16 March 2015 as the fifth single from the record, appearing on the Irish Singles Chart and Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.
An accompanying music video was released in March 2015. The song appeared in the fifteenth episode of the eighth season of the American procedural drama 9-1-1.
On 5 March 2015, Hozier played the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The song impacted United States Rock Radio on 16 March 2015. "Work Song" was featured in the trailer for George Tillman Jr.'s 2015 film adaptation of The Longest Ride, a novel by Nicholas Sparks as well an episode of NBC's occult drama Constantine.
"Work Song" is a gospel-blues song listed as the ninth track on the album, written by Hozier. Hozier cites the song as one of his favorites from the record. "Work Song" has "nuances of soul" with a "strong melodic bass", composed of percussion, tambourines, guitar, and "murmurous" vocals, while the lyrics describe a love of "undying sweetness" and devotion. The song possesses gospel backing vocals and church-like hand-claps, with literary themes of love, sin, and religion returning to the record.
"Work Song" received acclaim from critics; The Arts Desk described it as an "elegiac spiritual head-nodder" that Hozier sings through with "easy familiarity", while The Irish Times described it as "mental-good", establishing him as "far from the boilerplate soul/blues of today". It is often cited as one of the strongest tracks on Hozier.
The official music video for "Work Song" was released on 23 March 2015. Hozier shot the video the day after the Grammy Awards, and reportedly woke up with an "outrageous hangover" during the shoot. The video features him performing for a crowd, where the audience begins to break out into synchronized, slow, dancing, that "verges on performance art", embodying the romantic lyrics of the track. The video has amassed over 118 million views on YouTube.
"From Eden" is a song recorded by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier for his 2014 eponymous debut studio album. It was released on 9 March 2014 as the second single from the record and peaked at number two on the Irish Singles Chart and number fifteen on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.
An accompanying music video was released in November 2014, featuring actress Katie McGrath.
"From Eden" is the sixth track from the album and written by Hozier "From Eden" is one of the experimental tracks on the album, with Motown influences breaking down a flamenco bridge while returning to religious metaphor; the lyrics contain "torturous Biblical ponderings", with Hozier slithering from the Garden of Eden to confront a love he deems "familiar/like my mirror, years ago". The song is also distinctive for its 54 time signature.
"From Eden" received praise from critics; The Irish Times commended the track for its "grit and substance" and exclaimed that Hozier's vocals contained a "blue-eyed, soulful delivery", while PopMatters stated that the song saw the Four Tops quartet "put their arms around young Hozier" as he realises a "journey as much about finding himself as it is about finding the girl."
Released on 18 November 2014, the official music video for "From Eden" was directed by filmmaking duo henry/ssong (Henry Chen and Ssong Yang). Actress Katie McGrath and child actor Tate Birchmore star alongside Hozier in the video, which contrasts a "life of crime" with the breezy melody and lyrics, resulting in conflicting emotional circumstances. It depicts Hozier as an outlaw with his companion, McGrath, and young boy they've taken into their company while on the run. Hozier robs a gas station and the trio commandeer a house in which to spend the night; the pair are subsequently caught, with the boy being taken from their custody. It is revealed that the couple had found the boy alone in a dilapidated house. The video has garnered over...
Eat Your Young is the sixth extended play (EP) by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier. The three-track collection was released on 17 March 2023 through Rubyworks Records, to celebrate the singer's birthday, St.
Patrick's Day, the ten-year anniversary of his debut, and to tease his then-upcoming third studio album Unreal Unearth. At the time of the EP's release, all three of its songs were slated to appear on Unreal Unearth, though "Through Me " ultimately was absent from the album.
In a review for Mxdwn, Blake Michelle praised the songwriting of the EP, writing "The title track falls into the same category of 'Take Me to Church,' in using a mix of religious and sexual imagery to create social commentary—in this case, consumption and prioritizing war profits over alleviating poverty. It turns the need to produce and consume into an almost demonic urge, fitting for a song based on the Gluttony level of hell. The following two songs stare into the abyss, and yet find comfort in the knowledge that everything is temporary."