Whozyerman? | “one of Ireland's most inventive and incisive songwriters” - New Single ‘Long Stretch’

Alternative solo-artist Whozyerman? will release new single, ‘Long Stretch’ on Thursday, June 18th.

The single follows reflective latest release ‘Miles Away’ (live video here) - a song imbued with harmonic vibrancy, newfound urgency and a youthful nostalgia that earned support across RTÉ Radio 1, Newstalk, RTÉ 2FM and more.

Upcoming single, ‘Long Stretch’ explores the inner journey of an artist as they ebb and flow through the love–hate experience of developing creatively, with the line “High hopes will come in time” ushering in the chorus of the tongue-in-cheek release.

Taking a satirical look at an artist trying to make ends meet in an increasingly hostile, commercially driven world, the dire circumstances of the “tin-can alley” whereby the artist is no longer paid for their craft, are further exacerbated by the rise of ‘hustle culture’, where there is “always a guru to hang on every word” - promising to help individuals “get ahead”, but rarely addressing wider social ills.

Answering an earlier line from the first chorus - “I beg my mind to tell my heart, it’s a crime to play a minor part” - the tension between head and heart is rarely resolved, as the artist struggles to balance egotistical desires with the need to stay true to a more universal sense of beauty.

The title, ‘Long Stretch’ refers to the surprise and appreciation of how long a song can take to develop. Whozyerman? explains: “Often, the initial burst of creativity brings a surge of excitement, but there is usually a long journey ahead before that embryonic idea becomes fully formed.”

He continues, “While creating the artwork for this song, I happened to look back through an old hard drive and found a demo of the track titled ‘Summer’, created in 2019. It made me realise just how long the song had been taking shape and knocking around. In this sense, ‘Long Stretch’ reflects the idea of appreciating the time it takes for something to evolve, trusting the process and embracing patience along the way.”

As with previous single ‘Miles Away’, ‘ Long Stretch’ will not be distributed to Spotify upon its release, 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 will be 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 are being forced to balance ethical decisions with how their music is accessed, which further exacerbates the issue of musicians being squeezed out of music. Right now, the best way to support new music is to buy it directly from the artist on Bandcamp.”

PAUL SAVAGE BIOGRAPHY

Originally introduced to audiences as a member of the Waterford-via-Cork outfit O Emperor, Paul Savage emerged as the frontman of one of Ireland’s most distinctive bands of the 2010s, releasing three critically lauded albums which culminated in an RTÉ Choice Music Prize win for their final LP, 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.