Irish-Born Musician Hozier "Slithered Here From Eden" To Bring Us His Gospel

Hozier may not have been a household name this time last year, or heck, even five months ago, but the Irish musician is certainly on his way to being one now. Putting his own spin on the blues and gospel of the 1950s, Andrew Hozier-Bryne is exactly how he appears to be: charming, soft-spoken, intelligent, modest, and incredibly sweet. At just 24, the musician has recently released his self-titled debut album—which fans (including myself) had been waiting for ever since his first EPs, From Eden and Take Me to Church—and is selling out every show he announces.

I jumped at the chance to interview him (okay, so I may have harassed charmed some people to get the interview) and chatted with him right after he completely nailed a performance on Saturday Night Live, something he was pretty nervous about having just lost his voice prior. We talked about what it was like chatting with fans after having given his phone number out on social media, who his favorite authors are, writing about happiness, and why he doesn't consider his songs poetry.

If you take one thing away from this interview, let it be the burning desire to get to one of his live shows to stand (you better stand up!) transfixed. 

Mila Pantovich: Your mom has been quoted as saying that you can be very shy and slow to open up; is it hard doing these types of interviews?

Hozier: It can be, but I mean you kind of get used to it. I much prefer interviews that are [in person]. It's conversational; you feel like you can get to know somebody a little bit easier. It can be interesting when you do a phoner 'cause sometimes people can ask very heavy questions, sometimes quite high concept questions; they'll ask me about the nature of God, or something like that. You're starting a cold conversation on a phone call and that can be..."where do I begin? I just woke up."

MP: Needless to say, you were amazing on Saturday Night Live; what was that experience like?

H: I was nervous. They made us feel so comfortable, the cast and crew—they are the nicest people. By the time we had done the sound checks, the run-through [and dress rehearsal], on Thursday for camera [...] I was feeling a lot better. But yeah, I was a little freaked out; live television is scary. And I had lost my voice a week previous and we had to move a lot of shows around, so I was worried that I wasn't going to be in top form. But I was happy; I think it went okay.