PRODUCTION PROFILE: Hozier
Opposite: Andrew Hozier-Byrne playing at Manchester’s O2 Apollo on his latest UK tour. Below: Jake Ryan Foley, Tour Manager and Production Manager Sue ‘Duchess’ Iredale is at the helm of all the technicalities of the Hozier tour.
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AUDIO Taking a trip out to the main floor of the O2 Apollo, TPi met up with FOH engineer Gavin Muddiman, yet another long-standing member of the Hozier brigade. Muddiman explained: “In every country the live events sector is always a small industry but in Ireland you find that it is especially so. We all know each other.”
Muddiman was brought in as FOH engineer for several showcase shows in September 2013 when Hozier began to attract the interest of record labels. For his live show Hozier plays alongside six other musicians, all of whom sing during the show. “This show is very much a live event,” Muddiman explained. “Everything that you hear during the gig is happening in the moment with no backing tracks and none of them play to a click. My goal at FOH is to make sure you can hear every element of what is going on during the performances. This is not always the easiest task as there are so many elements to the show. However, one thing I always try and do is accent the most important parts of each song.” With so many live elements, Muddiman is constantly kept on his toes riding the show through out the performance. “This performance can be tricky especially with seven live vocals at any given time. Although I do have snapshots for each song I still find I ride the faders a lot to get the most out of what is happening on stage.” Muddiman went on to talk about his working relationship with Hozier: “Andrew has a very solid idea of what he wants to hear in his is head and luckily he communicates his ideas very well.” As stated above, this production over the last few years has had no time to have a traditional production rehearsal, meaning having to work on a lot of things while on the road. This often means that Muddiman records the gigs and then both he and Hozier go through it and make notes on what can be done to better the show. For the last two years the Hozier tour has never had a complete package but for this UK tour the production has its own audio and lighting rig, all of which is provided by UK supplier Adlib. “Last year we carried our own stage package including, monitor system, IEMs, line system, mics, stands and cable,” said Muddiman. “During a tour in America we started carrying FOH gear along with a moderate lighting package.” Muddiman had already worked with Adlib in the past at festivals and with several opening acts on European and
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tour he asked if I wanted to tag along for his shows. Before anyone knew it he had blown up so rapidly that myself and various crew members had to adapt.” It was not just the crew who had to learn quickly but as Duchess stated: “Andrew had to develop his stagecraft and the way to do that was to build a dedicated crew around him. “Andrew treats the crew as a close family and that’s what has kept him grounded throughout this whole process.” This was evident at the end of the night when Hozier thanked every single member of the crew by name. Foley joked that this sometimes caused an issue during festivals when they are on a slightly tighter time scale: “I’m sometimes on the side of the stage signaling him to hurry up but he insists on thanking everyone. He really is a great guy to work for.” For many of the crew, working on Hozier’s tour has given them a chance to experience new countries and venues, for Duchess this whole experience has given her a chance to reaquaint herself with an environment she hasn’t been able to work in for many years. “Since the late 90s I have been concentrating on outdoor events and production managing festivals,” she explained. “This whole touring ‘campaign’ has been great for me as it has given me a chance to go into venues that I haven’t been for years. I worked as a promoter rep and a Production Manager for MCD between 1999 to 2011 on all outdoor shows, stadiums, and festivals. MCD’s Caroline Downey and Denis Desmond, who manage Andrew, were the ones who asked me to be involved with Hozier Tour. I started in January 2014 and have been the full time Production Manager ever since.”
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