Tiz McNamara Takes Us on a Nostalgic Ride with His Latest Single “Far from Home”

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Irish songwriter and multi instrumentalist, Tiz McNamara released a new nostalgic single, “Far From Home” last December 15, 2023.

“Far From Home” is a song about missing your family and the place you grew up. Tiz lost both his dad and two brothers before his first birthday which for him was an incredible lesson in the importance and fragility of family.

Listen to “Far From Home,” and check out our exclusive interview with Tiz McNamara below.

MIM: Tell us about the creation process of this project.

McNamara: This song came to me in one sitting of fifteen or so minutes. Songs often fall out of me fully formed and this was one of those.

Fionn-Hennessy Hayes who drums with me as well as Cian Ducrot and several other artists adding the haunting choir like vocals which took the song to the next level. It was produced by Brian Casey of Wavefield Studios

MIM: What does this project mean to you?

McNamara: This song is the second single from my debut album and it’s the culmination of my lifes work so far. This project sums up the different periods in my life and gives the listener and overall view of me as a writer and artist and I am immensely proud of this body of work

MIM: How did your musical journey start out?

McNamara: I started out playing drums. I’d bang on pots and pans since I was three and started playing professionally when I was 14 or 15. I moved to London for college, studying under Sam Beste (Amy Winehouse’s music director) and Sandy Beales (One Direction’s music director), but unfortunately broke my hand in the second term and had to drop out.

I then applied for Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts but did not get in so I went to CSN in Cork for a year and reapplied.

I was given a place in LIPA in 2011 and studied a three-year music degree as a drummer. In second year, I dropped a piano 4ft onto my foot and suffered a horrific injury, doctors initially wanted to amputate but thankfully my mother talked them out of it and they managed to save my foot.

With the injury, I could no longer drum so I had the option to drop out and start again the following year or re-audition on a new instrument to keep my place, so I wrote some songs and re auditioned as a vocalist.

Shortly after, I was asked to sing on a Christmas charity single with Sir Paul McCartney, Shane MacGowan, Robbie Williams and a bunch of other pop stars to raise money for the court cases of the Hillsborough disaster victims’ families.

The song went on to be Christmas No.1 in 2012, beating James Arthur of The X Factor. I released my own debut single a few months later and the song has now hit more than 10 million streams, been featured in numerous TV shows, and been more successful than I could have hoped

MIM: Who are your biggest musical influences?

McNamara: Damien Rice, Bell X1 and james Taylor. All of them are storytellers first and foremost and to me that’s the most interesting things about music is the ability to create a narrative and take people on a journey.

MIM: What inspires you to create music?

McNamara: Forrest, lakes or just being somewhere quiet in nature. I hate to admit it but my best work usually comes when my life is in tatters and I’m struggling mentally.

MIM: What is one piece of advice you would tell your younger self, or anyone who is pursuing a career in music?

McNamara: Do what you enjoy not what other people care about and don’t bother chasing record labels because they needs us more than we need them.

MIM: What can listeners look forward to from you?

McNamara: I have 5 more singles followed by the full album all in 2024.

Make sure to show Tiz Mcnamara some love by giving his Spotify discography a listen.