Hozier has just released the new video for his latest single Someone New. Featuring Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games star Natalie Dormer, the video sees Dormer on a night out and cuts between her actual night and her imagination.
Speaking of her involvement Dormer said: “It was a joy to be a part of the ‘Someone New’ video, which for me explores the struggle in all our heads between the real and imaginary; it plays with ideas of how loneliness and isolation are two different things and the weight or lightness we can attach to loving another person.”
Hozier added: “I was thrilled to be able to work with Natalie Dormer on this project. She’s an actress of incredible talent and intelligence, and a joy to work with. It was also a pleasure being able to work with my brother, Jon Hozier-Byrne and David Reilly of Stoneface Films on the treatment, and the fantastic director Anthony Byrne.”
The brothers have worked together on previous videos, including the breakout hit Take Me to Church, but Jon Hozier-Byrne feels that the involvement of bigger names and studios hasn’t dampened their creativity.
“I've only served as a consultant of sorts on his previous videos, this is the first time that David Reilly or I have had a hand in writing a video for him,” Hozier-Byrne says. “With that said, working with Andrew hasn't changed much. His studio seems to really get what he's about, and support him presenting narratives that challenge people, or that propose a feminist or pro-LGBT viewpoint. As for the actors and directors, I have to say, they were a blast to work with. Natalie and Anthony are staggeringly talented people, and it was a humbling experience watching them bring our idea to life."
Writing music videos can be very challenging, but as writing partners Hozier-Byrne and Reilly seem to be of one mind. “Jon and I separately wrote some ideas for videos to accompany the song, and when we got together we found that they were surprisingly similar,” Reilly explains. “We worked together to take the best of both concepts, trying to create a dark, challenging tone to contrast against the lighter points of the song.”
“With music videos you're working to a specific length of time, as well as to the mood and themes of the song, so if you want to tell a story in the video you've got to fit it around the existing structure. You've to build the narrative and the emotional feel of the piece in accordance with the beats of the song.”
