It looks like the Hozier 'plagiarism' debacle has been resolved after his fellow musician Chilly Gonzales issued an apology last night.
It had been reported that the Irish musician had lodged a defamation case in the High Court after Gonzales - real name Jason Beck - featured in a YouTube 'masterclass' video deconstructing the song. He claimed that 'Take Me to Church' was imitative of Feist's 'How Come You Never Go There', and that Feist should consider taking him to court.
Last night, he issued a short apology via his Facebook page, which read:
"I would like to fully retract any and all implication of copyright infringement in last week’s Pop Music Masterclass “Take Me To Church” and sincerely apologize to Hozier whose work I respect. Chilly Gonzales"
Not long afterwards, Hozier released his own statement on Facebook:
"There has been some talk in the press of legal action and I'd like to clarify my position and the goings-on of the past week for fear that gossip runs unchecked, as it often does. What was sought from my end was an apology and redaction of an unfair inferral. This has been issued by Jason Beck (Chilly Gonzales), which I very much appreciate. I will continue to follow and respect his work and look forward to moving on from this issue. Jason Beck has been co-operative and understanding, and there are no hard feelings on my part.
Thank you.
Andrew Hozier-Byrne"
