– Hozier – live at T In The Park 2015 – July 10, 2015 – BBC Scotland –
Another week, another festival. This one from Perthshire, Scotland – T In The Park has been around since 1994 and has been voted most popular Major Festival in 2005 and 2006 and nominated for several years, and has been on the must-play list for bands all over the world, come Summer.
Starting off in other venues and finally becoming a three-day event in July, T In The Park has attracted some 225,000 fans and over 60,000 campers. This year has been controversial with City Council threatening to pull the festival in future years, citing safety concerns. But, the festival went on – and this year it went down in music history as another blow-out for fans.
Tonight it’s Hozier, live at the 2015 T In The Park Festival, recorded by BBC Scotland.
Hozier released his debut extended play Take Me to Church, on 3 July 2013. which appeared on the Billboard 200. He initially recorded track demos in his attic studio before working on the record with producer Rob Kirwan. The titular single, “Take Me to Church”, was released in September 2013. The music video, alluding to themes of homophobia, was released that same month, having been created on a “shoestring budget” and filmed entirely in black-and-white. The video was subsequently was shared by actor Stephen Fry, appearing on the front page of Reddit, and subsequently going viral. “Take Me to Church” saw Hozier’s rise to prominence, with the song scoring top five positions around the world and gaining multi-platinum certifications; the song also garnered critical acclaim for its lyricism and messaging.[ The EP’s concluding track, “Cherry Wine”, appeared in Zach Braff’s movie Wish I Was Here, chosen for its “heartbreaking lyrics and poetry”. It was later performed on the Late Late Show. In 2014, Hozier released his second EP, From Eden.
Hozier released his eponymous album, Hozier, on 19 September 2014, including tracks from his first two extended-plays. The album drew inspiration from folk, R&B, and blues music. Hozier met critical success; Helen Brown of The Telegraph noted that it was “an intense, youthful lyrical tangling of religion and romantic obsession that regularly finds him poised ‘between love and abuse'”. Hozier peaked at number one in Ireland and finished second on the US Billboard 200. The album is certified 2x platinum in the UK and US. After the release of “Take Me to Church”, the record released five singles released from 2014 to 2016: “From Eden”, “Sedated”, “Work Song”, Someone New”, “Jackie and Wilson”, and “Cherry Wine”, which all appeared on the Irish Singles Chart. The music videos for “From Eden” “Someone New” and “Cherry Wine” featured actresses Katie McGrath, Natalie Dormer and Saoirse Ronan, respectively. He embarked on an American and European tour to support the album.
“Take Me to Church” was later nominated at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards for Song of the Year in 2015. At the awards show, he performed the song with Annie Lennox, and later at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. On 12 November 2015, he won the VH1 Artist of the Year, a fan-voted award. At the ceremony, he performed “Take Me to Church” and The Beatles’ “Blackbird” with singer Tori Kelly.In June 2016, Hozier released the song “Better Love” as part of the Legend of Tarzan soundtrack. Hozier subsequently took a one-year hiatus from his work, moving back to Ireland to “reconnect” after touring his debut album.
Here’s what Hozier had to say for his debut performance at T In The Park – thanks to BBC Scotland.
Enjoy – crank it up.
