While Hozier’s music might already make listeners feel like they are basking in a plush Irish meadow, a new remix from the folk-soul singer is actually a collaboration with Mother Earth herself.
A new, 10-year anniversary version of Hozier’s 2014 tune “Like Real People Do” will be released on Friday, May 16.
Hozier’s soulful, balmy pipes sound the same as the original song, but in the background, the song features “the bird song, cricket song, rain fall, and thunder” of his “beloved home of Wicklow.”
It’s all a part of an initiative from the Museum for the United Nations: UN Live called Sounds Right, which made “NATURE” an official artist on Spotify and other streaming platforms. Since 2024, the project has used this tactic to collaborate with musicians and bring in royalty dollars that support conservation efforts.
Over the past year, the project has generated more than $200,000 for conservation efforts between streaming royalties and donations from individuals and institutions, according to reporting from NPR.
Both NATURE’s royalties and donations to Sounds Right are collected by the nonprofit EarthPercent, which sends them to biodiversity conservation and restoration projects in threatened ecosystems around the world.
At least 50% of recording royalties from tracks by artists that feature NATURE will go towards the cause, including this new Hozier release.
In a social media post previewing the track, Hozier said, “50% of the royalties from this version of the track will flow through to conservation efforts around the world. I hope you enjoy and explore their other good works.”
“In addition to fans generating funds by listening to the amazing artists from around the world who are releasing new or remixed tracks that are enhanced by sounds of the natural world, there’s an additional opportunity within this initiative,” the Sounds Right project website said. “To spark conversations about how Nature can — and should — be valued in our society and economic model.”
“More often than not we have a purely extractive relationship with the environment, either treating it as a resource to be optimally exploited or a ‘waste sink’ to dump our rubbish and pollutants,” the website continued. “Sounds Right partners have created a simple mechanism that goes some way to properly valuing nature for its creative contributions to music.”
Other Sounds Right collaborators so far include artists like Raveena, SYML, Armaan Malik, Steve Angello of Swedish House Mafia, Yann Tiersen, Brian Eno, Ellie Goulding, and Lykke Li.
A playlist of 30 new songs was released through the program for Earth Day last month, but Hozier’s special track has its own moment.
It will also be part of a 10-year anniversary record for his self-titled debut album, which will include new vinyl pressings and the release of other bonus tracks.
The artist himself — whose full name is Andrew Hozier Byrne — is no stranger to advocacy and protest. Hailing from Ireland, many of his songs touch on social change and issues like climate and refugee crises, reproductive rights, and homelessness. He also often speaks up in support of LGBTQ+ people and Palestinians in interviews and at his live shows.
In fact, the song that is part of this project — “Like Real People Do” — exemplifies the singer’s desire to love people no matter their background.
“I will not ask you where you came from / I will not ask you and neither would you,” he sings in the song’s refrain. “Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips / We should just kiss like real people do.”
“Like Real People Do (featuring NATURE)” will be available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music starting May 16, 2025.
Header image courtesy of Kayla Johnson (CC BY 2.0)
