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Hozier

Hozier

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

News
Hozier Dissects His Moving Song "Nina Cried Power" hozier-opens-about-nina-cried-power-reveals-whats-his-playlist

Hozier Opens Up About "Nina Cried Power," Reveals What's On His Playlist

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The soulful Irish singer/songwriter tells us about his new single featuring Mavis Staples, how music remains a powerful vehicle for social change, and what's currently on his playlist
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Oct 5, 2018 - 9:00 pm

Just as singer/songwriter Hozier seemed to sing with a conviction stronger than you might assume from his age on the GRAMMY-nominated smash hit "Take Me To Church," his latest offering, an EP and its title track, "Nina Cried Power" featuring soul legend Mavis Staples traces an even deeper through-line into music's past. Summoning images of some of music and society's most revolutionary figures, the song puts Hozier's swagger and soul on full display while teasing a glimpse of what might still come from his own musical legacy.

Hozier On "Nina Cried Power," ACL & More

We spoke with Hozier backstage at Austin City Limits prior to his Friday set to hear how "Nina Cried Power" came together, how he sees music as a vehicle for social change and what is currently spinning on his timeless playlist.

How did "Nina Cried Power" come together with the great Mavis Staples?

I wrote the song at some point last year. I came off the road, and I think geopolitics was in an odd kind of place, certainly at home and I'm sure abroad, too. There was a very divisive rhetoric... being given a fairly mainstream platform 24/7, so I just wanted to write something that was not cynical, that was hopeful and came from a place of solidarity. Even though it acknowledged the difficulty of, "How do you start addressing these things? Where do you start and what's worthwhile about addressing them?" I just wanted to point to the legacy of other artists that we refer to as heroes and that we call heroes for a reason. In far more difficult circumstances, they sang about what was important to them, they spoke about what was important to them and what affected real people, what affected people at the time; artists like Mavis Staples. So, it was really important, I think, to have her involved in that project. I was super proud that we were able to get together and do it.

What do you think it is about music that has played such a role in social change over the years?

I think music is a vehicle for anything… When artists are honest about things and honest about the circumstances that they find themselves in or honest about representing the human experience in music, it can be a vehicle for our best selves and I think it can be a lovely reminder of what makes us people and what the best of us is at our best intentions. But, either way, music is a vehicle for the zeitgeist and whether we're aware of that or whether we engage with that, it's a vehicle for our times, it's a vehicle for the lives that we live.

As such, it remains as a document far beyond ourselves. I think what's awesome about songs like that, songs that Mavis Staples would've sang on, songs that the Staples Singers or Bob Dylan or Pete Seeger or Billie Holiday sang on, they're documents we can look at now and say, "Look, these are the difficulties that these people faced," and there's something that's worthwhile about that, I suppose.

What's inspiring you now, and what are you listening to now?

My head is still buried firmly in the 20th century stuff like blues music and folk music. Before this record, I was listening to a lot of Alan Lomax's field recording, which I thought again just as documents, it's so worthwhile that they exist. More recently, I was listening to a bit of Margaret Glaspy. Bahamas. Maggie Rogers, as well, too. I'm really excited about her. I think she's awesome.

What's next for you, musically?

So, the rest of the year I will be, for the most part, touring this. I have another single that we're hoping to release in a couple of weeks' time. I'm really excited about it. It's one of my favorites off of the upcoming record. But the actual album proper would be early next year, so I think in the first quarter of 2019, so February/March time would be the actual full length. I'm really excited about that.

Victory Boyd Gives Soulful Performance In New Series, Press Play

Khalid

Khalid

Photo: Jim Bennett/Getty Images

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Backstage At Austin City Limits Festival 2018 inside-austin-city-limits-festival-2018-recording-academy

Inside Austin City Limits Festival 2018 With The Recording Academy

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Whether you made it to Austin for this year's ACL Fest or not, we'll take you backstage for an exclusive look at some of the festival's hottest artists
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Oct 7, 2018 - 11:22 pm

Festival season comes to an official—and incredible—close each year with Austin City Limits Festival inTexas. For two weekends in October, Austin's Zilker Park is taken over by multiple stages featuring artists spanning a multitude of genres and styles for three days of great music and rich Texas culture.

Backstage At Austin City Limits Festival 2018

This year's ACL featured headliners Paul McCartney, Metallica and Travis Scott, but the weekend was also chock-full of special performances from all over the musical map, everything from great Texas artists to international artists and more. The Recording Academy is on-the-ground in Austin to bring you all the action right here on GRAMMY.com.

Elle King On Self-Love & Individuality: "You Don't Get What You Don't Ask For"

GRAMMYs

Elle King

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

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Elle King On Self-Love, Nature & New Music elle-king-self-love-individuality-you-dont-get-what-you-dont-ask

Elle King On Self-Love & Individuality: "You Don't Get What You Don't Ask For"

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Backstage at ACL, the GRAMMY-nominated pop rocker dishes on her latest single, her upcoming album, what she does to unwind, and why she loves Austin
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Oct 7, 2018 - 2:39 pm

Roaming backstage at the Austin City Limits Festival, wearing a big cowboy hat and an even bigger smile, Elle King's energy is contagious. It's the same blend of confidence, character and creativity that launched her into the budding star she's become since releasing her 2014 breakout hit "Ex's & Oh's," which earned her two of her three GRAMMY nominations. With a new album, Shake The Spirit, on the way and several sizzling new singles teasing what's next, King is primed for a full-blown gritty pop rock takeover.

Elle King Talks New Music, Brandi Carlile At ACL

The singer/songwriter sat down with us backstage at ACL to talk about her latest single, recording her new album in Texas, what she loves to do outside of music, and much more.

Your latest single, "Little bit of Lovin'" came out just yesterday. Tell us a little bit about how that song came together.

It's my favorite song with the [new] record. It has like some of the most meaning to me and I wrote it on the first night of recording, actually. I stayed up late, and the guy who runs the studio in Texas, he let me stay up late, and I was really going through a lot. Somehow this song just like came through me, and it was the first song that I really thought about, like, what message I'm putting out into the world? I was really struggling with a lot of things personally. I had no idea or concept of what like self-love was, and for some reason there was just this message that had to come through me.

And I'm really glad that it did. And I had no idea that I could write a song like that… I'd never been like, "Let's write a universal song about self-love and blah, blah, blah." And I just probably would have laughed at an idea, a song like that. But it came through me and it was a beautiful moment and that song made me snap back into my body, you know? It's kind of because of that song, which is how we got the title of the whole record. It's just a special, special thing and I hope that one person can hear that and be like maybe I should think about the way I feel about myself, and I should love myself. So it's an important song, I think.

Speaking of the new album, where were you able to take this project musically that was a new place for you, considering all the success of "Ex's & Oh's" and Love Stuff?

The special thing about "Ex's and Oh's" and Love Stuff was that, it really, it gave me a really magical platform. It gave me some say so on my own ideas, and I had no idea that I would be able to produce something, or make a record and have it be [my vision]. I didn't know that I had any kind of sonic vision at all. And so, I just asked my label, "Just let me make this with my band." And they did. You know, you don't get what you don't ask for right?

And so to go through all of this and have people around me, you know, men surrounding a woman and listening to her ideas and having really great support and not just musically, but emotionally and everything, I made this tangible thing that was such a cathartic process that is so me in every sense of the word. And there was so much freedom in it and it was just a really incredible experience.

You've been such an impactful artist in today's industry and society on issues like gender equality, authenticity and self-love. "Naturally Pretty Girls" is a bold, empowering example of that. How does it feel to have had that impact on music and on culture, all stemming from trying to write a song that mattered to you personally?

I never, ever, set out to be like, "I'm gonna make a difference," and "I'm gonna do something," but I knew that I would be a different type of person. Because there really is only one me. There's only one of every type of person. You know? And that's what's beautiful and we should celebrate individuality in every sense of the word. So I never set out to do anything like that, all I did was wanna play songs and you know, it took a long time for people to listen to me. So I fought louder and I sang louder and played harder, and then this theme came up with like people being like, "I agree with you." And like, I was singing about things, even on the first record and to now, like I sing about things that not a lot of people want to sing about.

When I see people come let loose at my shows, it's a beautiful, beautiful thing. And it's great, and you know people should be able to do that. People should celebrate themselves and their individuality. I don't want to sound like anybody else.

Before the interview, you mentioned you went hiking earlier. What else do you like to do outside of music?

Over the last like year and a half I've really had to find something other than music. Because, you know, music is a hobby, it's my "jobby." [laughs] It's like everything, you know?... But there can come a time in it where like, "Oh well this isn't gonna be a hit," and I don't want to finish writing a song. And there's like all this pressure that I was putting on myself and so I would go out to the desert, and it was very like healing for me. And then I got really into stones and I really like rock hounding. I'm not like a physically fit person, but I like to be out in nature, so I'm really into hiking and looking for rocks. I got a rock in my pocket right now. I found a really cool agate at Pedernales Falls, and I found some really beautiful agate, feel that, it's really soft. It's a healing stone. It's a grounding stone.

https://twitter.com/ElleKingMusic/status/1038072729809944576

“You have to shake yourself. You have to shake yourself out of it.” This record was a crazy, beautiful, enlightening, scary process and I can’t wait for you all to hear it and feel it within you. Excited to announce that Shake the Spirit is out 10.19.18! https://t.co/UdrpHWlr8h

— Elle King (@ElleKingMusic) September 7, 2018

You've traveled and lived all over. What is different about Austin as a music town? And maybe specifically ACL, what sticks out to you?

Well, this is my first time playing ACL, so I don't really know anything about it yet, all I know is that like, like I've never played it in the past, because only the cool people played it in the past. So now I'm like, I'm playing ACL. I feel cool! But I love Austin, my music broke here, and so I owe so much to this town. I think that you have to be cool for Austin to like you. And you have to be [yourself], like keep Austin weird and everything. There's a really big celebration of individuality here, when everything is super, super special. And so, for someone to just show up in Austin, like me, and stick out and have people kind of gravitate towards me, that was a very, very cool thing. And so I've always felt very at home here. And I love Austin to death, I really do.

Hozier Opens Up About "Nina Cried Power," Reveals What's On His Playlist

Amber Mark

Amber Mark

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

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Photo Gallery: Backstage At ACL Festival 2018 backstage-acl-fest-2018-recording-academy-photo-gallery

Backstage At ACL Fest 2018 With The Recording Academy | Photo Gallery

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Visit stars you know and will want to know backstage with us at Austin City Limits Festival
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Oct 15, 2018 - 11:08 am

Multiple stages with artists across wide ranging genres bring festival season to a spectacular close in Texas as Austin City Limits Festival makes Zilker Park the center of attention for two 3-day weekends filed with live music in October. We were backstage filming up-close interviews and taking portraits with some of the festival's hottest up-and-comers and most-established artists. Take a look at who we hung out with backstage at ACL.

GRAMMYs

"I love Austin, my music broke here, and so I owe so much to this town," Elle King told us in her interview, remarking that it was her first time playing the festival. "I think that you have to be cool for Austin to like you."
 

Hozier

Hozier spoke to us about how his 2018 track "Nina Cried Power," with its shout-out to Nina Simone, made him feel more connected to voices of social conscience from the past.
 

Asleep At The Wheel

Pioneer of western swing, Ray Benson and bandmate Katie Shore of Asleep At The Wheel spoke to us about their latest work and the pleasure of playing "hometown gigs."
 

Jackie Venson

Emerging singer/songwriter Jackie Venson is from Austin herself and shouted out her thanks to ACL for not "forgetting about the locals."
 

The Wombats

From Liverpool, England, the Wombats were among ACL's many international artists and notably brought a wombat mascot that started a conga line in the audience.
 

GRAMMYs

With backgrounds from around the world and changing performance configurations, the Mariachi Flor De Toloache emerged from New York Clubs with their eclectic blend of tradition and innovation, winning their first Latin GRAMMY last year for Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album.
 

Yungblud

Brit Dominic Harrison's Yungblud blends rock with hip-hop with Harrison's signature high energy. Watching his performance at a recent Lollapalooza afterparty, our writer remarked he got the crowd jumping and might "single-handedly save rock n' roll with his inspirational lyrics."
 

GRAMMYs

Norwegian electronica duo Lemaitre took their name from the Belgian priest who discovered the big bang, which fits their smart grooves well and scientifically suggests that they keep getting more cool.
 

Bishop Briggs

The dark pop musings of Bishop Briggs are often explosively fun, but she shared with us that while playing her new single "Baby" for her parents, her face felt like it was burning when the song reached its chorus.
 

The Revolution

GRAMMY winners the Revolution — (L-R) Bobby Z, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Matt Fink aka Dr. Fink, and Mark Brown aka Brownmark — created legendary recordings with Prince and have been keeping the purple flame burning with their live performance sets.
 

Mikky Ekko

Eclectic songster Mikky Ekko began with songwriting, added singing, and has his sophomore album, Fame, coming out next month. In our interview he said he was, "super stoked." In our picture, his blur seems a metaphor for his busy career. His collaborators include David Guetta, Rihanna and Ryan Tedder.
 

GRAMMYs

Sharon Van Etten was a multi-instrumentalist and singer as a child, and she later learned the music business behind the scenes. As a performer and recording artist,  2012's Tramp and 2014's Are We There were favorites with the critics while both also charted on the Billboard 200. Anticipated in 2019, the indie folk singer's next release will be Remind Me Tomorrow and she spoke with us about her evolving  "new sound."
 

Amber Mark

Emerging artist, R&B singer, songwriter and producer, Amber Mark blends international elements into her own widely admired mix.
 

Fickle Friends

(L-R) Lead vocalist Natassja Shiner and Jack Wilson of Fickle Friends share keyboard duties for the the synth pop quintet whose first album, You Are Someone Else, came out in March 2018.
 

Sweet Spirit

Live rock/pop favorites Sweet Spirit are Texas' own and their musical range makes for memorable sets.
 

Jungle

(L-R) Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland of Jungle grew up childhood friends in London. They expanded their duo to a seven-piece soul collective, to consistently raise spirits with their rich, funky and inspiring mixes live.
 

Gryffin

A skilled pianist and guitarist, Gryffin also got his electrical engineering degree before putting it all together as a DJ, producer, remixer, and dance-genre hitmaker.
 

Japanese Breakfast

Michelle Zauner claimed her stage name Japanese Breakfast because growing up Korean in the U.S., she identified with the influence of Japanese culture here. Beyond being a singer/songwriter with pop influences, her indie stripped-down sound rocks gently while being ambient and transporting.
 

San Holo

In our interview, San Holo called his first full-length release, September's album1, "A hybrid between an EDM and indie kind of album." His blend of electronic music with organic samples creates his own emotional worlds.
 

GRAMMYs

After a childhood spent listening to movie and vocal classics followed by a college education in jazz, singer/songwriter Molly Burch moved to Austin where her retro-yet-fresh ballads to loss and heartache have helped her break through.

Check out our recap for more from Austin City Limits Festival 2018.

Backstage At Lollapalooza 2018 With The Recording Academy | Photo Gallery

Sharon Van Etten

Sharon Van Etten

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Exclusive: Backstage With Sharon Van Etten At ACL sharon-van-etten-love-austin-her-synth-return-comeback-kid

Sharon Van Etten On Love, Austin, & Her Synth Return On "Comeback Kid"

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Find out what the indie/folk artist has to say about her new single and forthcoming album
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Oct 7, 2018 - 6:19 pm

With a new single, a new sound, and a new perspective on love, Sharon Van Etten is evolving before our ears. Her unmistakable voice and melodic prowess earned her a spot on indie folk playlists everywhere with 2014's Are You There. Now, after re-releasing her debut LP last year, she's taken a new tack toward her upcoming album, Remind Me Tomorrow, due out Jan. 18. We linked up with Van Etten backstage at the Austin City Limits Festival to talk about her new single and how her forthcoming album came together. 

Sharon Van Etten On Love, Austin, & "Comeback Kid"

Hozier Opens Up About "Nina Cried Power," Reveals What's On His Playlist

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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.