Alternative solo-artist Whozyerman? today releases new single, ‘Miles Away’ – a song dipped in youthful nostalgia and floating on alt-rock waves.
‘Miles Away’ has not been distributed to Spotify, as part of Whozyermans?’s boycott of the streaming service due to ethical reasons:
“In my opinion, Spotify is leading the charge in terms of a race to the bottom in its respect and value for music with its exploitive royalty structures and use of AI generated music. This, alongside their running of ads recruiting for ICE in America and their CEO investing in war-tech, has influenced my decision to remove my music from their service.”
The single is available to stream or for purchase on all other streaming services, including Bandcamp.
“You can argue that all streaming services are not ethical business models, but with previous cultural boycotts, what often works best is to collectively focus on exerting pressure on the market leader in order to move the dial back on the industry as a whole. Let’s not forget that these streaming services are given music to them for free in order to simply generate profit for investors, so artists can control this resource. But in doing so, artists have to make tough decisions in order to try to build better equitable relationships with these services. Right now, the best way to support new music is to buy it directly from the artist on Bandcamp.”
Originally introduced to audiences as a member of the Waterford-via-Cork outfit O Emperor, the group emerged as one of Ireland’s most distinctive bands of the 2010s. During an eight year period, the band released three critically lauded albums which garnered Choice Music Prize nominations and culminated in a win for their final album release, Jason, in 2018.
Under the Whozyerman? moniker, Savage ventured into new sonic territory as a solo-artist with his 2022 debut album Blink (4 stars, The Irish Times). The work embraced a more lo-fi electronic aesthetic, blending vibrant effluent textures around pulsing kosmishe beats. The album, inspired by the peculiarities of time and place drew comparisons to Air, Stereolab and Broadcast – all delivered through Savage’s acute lyricism to the here and now.
The album was warmly received, earning a place among The Thin Air’s Top 20 Releases of 2022 and outlets such as Totally Dublin celebrating its unique blend of balmy and captivating electronica.
Upcoming single ‘Miles Away’ is about nostalgically reminiscing the boredom of teenage years – days spent swaying in the breeze and mindlessly doodling away the summer malaise. But this reminiscing is also relational to how the older self now finds themself, perhaps also battling boredom but in a different way, now warped by technology: “And we’re falling again and again, Through those smudged screens, waiting for life to begin.”
Whozyerman? explains: “I see the song as a call back to a much loved and missed pursuit that was stepped away from – a need to play music and collaborate with fellow musicians in a shared space.”
In keeping with the theme of foggy teenage reveries, ‘Miles Away’ bops along with a carefree skip akin to Pavement or Lambchop, imbued with harmonic vibrancy and a newfound urgency – the work of an artist rejuvenated by creative discovery.
The song was one of the first that Savage brought to a jam session in 2023 with a group of new musicians, those of which would become his band for his forthcoming album: Matthew Houston (Guitar), Michael Liffey (Bass) and Daniel Nestor (Drums).
Whozyerman? will support Pádraig Cooney & Bedtime Now at Curveball, Dublin on Saturday, April 11th. Tickets are on sale now from Eventbrite.