Last Year’s Man is the pseudonym of Eugene, Ore., producer and songwriter Tyler Fortier. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, his music has been featured on networks such as CBS, Netflix, Showtime, and the BBC. He has contributed music to libraries such as Warner Chappell, BMG, and Marmoset. As a producer, Fortier’s passion is working with up-and-coming artists. In total, he has been involved with more than 40 projects as producer, mix engineer, or session player—and usually, all of the above. The Last Year’s Man debut album, Brave the Storm, just released Nov. 13.
“This one (“Wild, Wild Heart”) came considerably faster than some of the other songs on the album,” Fortier says. “It wasn’t a sit down and plan to write a song type of day–it just sort of happened. I was sitting on my back patio as my wife was making planter boxes, with my 2- and 5-year-old running around the yard ‘helping.’ I actually was messing around with that opening instrumental because of a new chord my wife taught me. She was learning a song from the Frozen 2 soundtrack. It’s like an Am11 or something—something I’ve never played before and only happens once in the song because I couldn’t get my fingers back in that position.”
He adds, “I think what the song is about is that tension between feeling like your own immediate existence and surroundings are so important but then also seeing that in the larger historical context, it’s all pretty insignificant. When you start thinking about your own biographical timeline against the backdrop of history, you can kind of fall into a black hole and it’s hard to not feel like an ant when you finally crawl back out. But both things really are true at the same time. We are everything and nothing. I don’t know how else to say it. My reason to wake up in the morning, or why I write, or the things in my life that define me, are everything to me. But the overall impact I’m making in the world is so minimal, and I guess that’s where all the conflict and tension in the lyric are stemming from.”
DittyTV is thrilled to offer the world premiere video for this song now, and then tune in for a follow-up DittyTV Debut on The Curve Wednesday night, Nov. 18, at 11/10c.
