setteesounds

Good afternoon, good morning, good evening, good night.

Dylan James Savage is a Dubliner, rapper and member of ‘the raunchiest rap group in Dublin’, Creatures of Habit. From performing at the Crowbar Terrace to Electric Picnic with Smithfield Creatives to Fibber Magees, Savage has an impressive list of gigs played under his belt. His lyrics are melodic, vulnerable and unique, evolving over time. Although he has no music released on streaming platforms, all of his performances will be linked below.

Dylan Savage is the third installment of our debut evolution, as we looked for new and fresh sounds, good looking and sound musicians. Savage is definitely unique and fresh, and alongside his rap group ‘Creatures of Habit,’ he paints an honest and realistic portrait of Dublin at the minute and everything it has to offer. Within this interview, he talks about his inspirations, staying true to yourself and how his rap duo embraces the ‘stereotypical scumbaggery side of Dublin.’ 

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Savage admits he is ‘a sound enough bloke,’ when answering our question of how he fits the criteria above. Furthermore, he describes his sound as unique but admits he doesn’t want to feel tied up to any one genre. ‘I am an artist. I sit down and make music from the soul.’ He continues on, talking about the process, ‘I don’t sit down with a certain sound in mind. I just reach out into the universe and see what it gives me back…some days it’s rap, another day it’s funk. [There are] different moods for different tunes.’ This ambiguity of genre would drive some people crazy but Savage embraces it, using it to his advantage, ‘The unknown makes it more exciting…it makes it more fun and that’s really what it is all about.’

When talking about evolution, regarding our debut evolution here at SetteeSounds, Savage puts it simply, ‘Evolution is inevitable.’ As the interview progresses, Savage constantly references musicians that have influenced him, from Hendrix to Eminem. Regarding his own evolution, he claims that he ‘has always been a writer, it’s been my therapy my entire life writing down my thoughts and reading them back to understand what’s going on in my head.’ He also claims his first influences were Michael Jackson and Eminem. He was ‘fascinated by Michael’s showmanship and professionalism at such a young age…and fell in love with Eminem’s just don’t give a fuck attitude, his intense lyricism and flow patterns.’ Regarding rap, Savage states, ‘The art of assembling words and sentences that are coherent together is just something, I can’t explain what it does to me and I can’t even begin to try and tell you how much I adore the craft.’ Savage continues, saying ‘my music has evolved so much over the years… the more time I’ve put into it reflects the quality of work that I showcase…I went from mostly rapping about taking drugs and sex…to rapping about my life as a whole. Like a fine wine, I’ve matured…I look at the world differently.’

Backtracking a bit, I asked him about how he started rapping. ‘To be honest,’ Savage begins, ‘I started off MCing over the likes of DJ Cammy songs while drinking in a field as a teen…Four cans of Stone House were a fiver and so were a box of smokes I used to buy off a lady in the estate. (RIP Rita, you were a legend.)’ Savage talks more about his method of rap, ‘it can be used to tell heartfelt stories but it can also be used to put the areas you’re from into context.’

Dylan Savage is a proud Dubliner, there is not a doubt in anyone’s mind when reading that statement, ‘I’m fully embracing my accent and my culture.’ You can  feel it in the way he speaks about the city and the scene that is growing exponentially here. ‘I’ve been blessed to share the stage with some of the best talent in Ireland.  From my first time playing Circle Sessions in August last year, to getting the opportunity to play Electric Picnic alongside my long time friend Mark Lavelle at the start of this month, I’ve come across so many up and coming artists in Dublin that are insanely talented. [It’s] mad to think my first proper paid gig was in the Four Provinces as Creatures of Habit with an incredible lineup consisting of Kaycii, Ibex Sinata, Lonely Chap, student, Stikyryano, JHNDOE,  Ned Dunn, Kelsey May Daly and Curtis with FLORBIT djing.’ Savage continues on, ‘To say there is talent pouring out of Dublin would be an understatement if anything.’ 

Earlier, we mentioned that Dylan Savage is a member of the ‘raunchiest rap group in Dublin,’ Creatures of Habit. Consisting of Dylan Savage, Jimmy The Bastard (James Fortune), Dylan McGowan and Carlos Foster of Lypton Village and previously, Artsipolo. Savage says COH was formed ‘making music in Carlos’ shed or in my nanny’s kitchen. We’d all meet up…get high and make music together… This was mostly during COVID when we had fuck all to be doing.’ He claims this is where the name came from, ‘we were just Creatures of Habit doing the same shit day in and day out.’ Regarding their ‘raunchy nature,’ Savage admits it’s a lot more controversial than his own music, ‘we portray the stereotypical scumbaggery side of Dublin. It’s what we were brought up seeing our entire life…it’s a lot more energetic and comedic than my usual stuff.’ (This setteesounds writer can confirm it is VERY energetic and entertaining.) When talking about their controversial nature, Savage claims, ‘Art is art, you can’t keep everyone happy.’

To conclude, we asked Dylan James Savage for a fact about himself, ‘I was born on the 50th anniversary of Hiroshima.’ (Our fact was that one of us here at Settee Sounds used to write off their friend’s pints as spillages when they worked in a pub. We’re sound like that, you know.)

You can find Dylan Savage and Creatures of Habit tagged in our Instagram post.

Savage is doing a feature at open mic night Circle Sessions on October 23rd, not to be missed.