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Erik And The Worldly Savages – Break Free

By Kath Galasso on November 17, 2022

Erik Mut is a man on a mission, having broken the shackles of Western society and trailblazed his own path of rebellion, adventure, leadership and musical passion. His powerful Folk Punk project Erik & the Worldly Savages musically and lyrically reflects his manifest philosophy of seeking personal freedom, cutting ties with the past, reprogramming your mind and embracing life wholeheartedly.

An expat since 2008, Erik left his home in Toronto, Canada at the age of 25 to let the cultures of the world wash over him, inspiring his life, work and music. Erik & the Worldly Savages formed in 2008 while Erik was in Belgrade, Serbia. While based in London and Belgrade, the band played over 250 shows across Europe with lineups of musicians from many countries. In 2016 he started Support Adventure, a company which gives remote jobs to expats and digital nomads, now with more than 160 staff members living in over 20 different countries, creating a business manifestation of the band’s message of trans culturalism.

Erik has worked on recordings with Dutch record producer Caspar Wijnberg since 2013 at his studio in Belgrade. His new EP release, appropriately titled “Break Free”, will be released November 23, 2022. “Break Free” tells the story of the overwhelming urge to liberate oneself from the monotony of life in the West, social conditioning, 9-5 jobs and mediocrity to discover the world. Just as Chris Cornell once famously sang “I’m going to break my rusty cage and run”, Erik has truly taken this message to heart.

Erik & the Worldly Savages raise a voice for all those who dream of permanently travelling the world. This is counterculture music at its finest, breaking cultural boundaries.

If you’ve ever found yourself feeling trapped in normality and filled with an urge to get more out of your life, Erik’s music will seep into your very being.

“I started Worldly Savages from my own need to break free and travel the world, singing songs which help the like-minded transcend culture and become global citizens,” Erik explains.

Musically dense and energetically uncaged and explosive at times, this release is a raw, untethered shriek from the void, equally utilizing punk rock, folk, reggae, heavy metal and world music influences. Most of all, the expression is authentically human.

“Brainwashed” reflects on the social engineering of society, how it impinges on individuality and breeds complacent mediocrity, asking: Is this it for humanity? “Dry Fear” takes a dark look at a society where people prefer to stay encaged in a blanket of fear and normality. “Sunshine” provides a reflection on the grind of middle class 9-5 working life, seemingly waiting for a reward and contentment which never surfaces. “Glass Cage” serves as an anthemic hymn for finally deciding to quit your job and leave your country and embrace a different destiny. “Leaving” is about the departure point, when everyone thinks you’re crazy, but you remain resolute in your decision. “Burn My Life” encapsulates the moment of departure and break from the past.

“Burn My Life” comes with an accompanying music video. Using archival video and photos from his childhood and youth, Erik explores his peaceful upbring in Canada and how he sacrificed the idyllic “1st world” life behind to embrace a life of excitement abroad.

“I wrote this song recalling a time in 2008 when I was leaving my life in Canada and moving to Serbia to launch Worldly Savages, become a singer songwriter and take music seriously. I knew that I had to leave my life in Canada behind to find inspiration and possibility in a new country. At the time, somebody said that the hardest part was to get to the airport, where you could see all of your past as a finished chapter. This brings possibility to the future.”

Watch the “Burn My Life” music video on Youtube.
Hear Erik Mut’s in-depth commentary on the song and video.

Release Date: November 23rd, 2022

Tracklist:
1. Brainwashed
2. Dry Fear
3. Sunshine
4. Glass Cage
5. Leaving
6. Burn my life

Websites:
Official Website: http://www.worldlysavages.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/worldlysavages
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6cKzRq6FdDjGl8T5kC5GN4?si=-8VBhWTiSLKgD7rNKsHlJQ
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/WorldlySavages
Artist Contact Email: worldlysavages@gmail.com

Artist Biography:
Enamoured by the Balkans, Canadian singer-songwriter Erik Mut left his home town of Toronto in2008 to live in Belgrade, Serbia. Inspired by the culture and sounds of Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, he started Worldly Savages in Belgrade, ultimately making a touring band which made crowds dance and scream all over Europe with their contagious folk punk energy playing over 250 shows across the continent.
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Worldly Savages is lively, entertaining music with a message: Go beyond your culture and explore the world. Break Free from your society. As a long term expat needing a way to pay for his life in Belgrade, Erik also started his company Support Adventure in 2016, helping expats live abroad and work online in the tech industry while living in places which inspire them, a business which mushrooms on the same message the band does (in a business which now employs over 180 people): go beyond your culture.

Representing the growing population of digital nomads who have ditched the West for the destinations they like best, Erik sings a message which radiates
the glory of internationalism and following your passion for travel and trans-cultural experiences. The songs go deep into essence of being a global citizen, providing a nuanced perspective, including songs about the dark side; reflecting on topics like loneliness, alienation and cultural displacement.

The contradictory senses of isolation and curiosity which make one become an expat and depart on a global journey in the first place are fully expressed here. This intense journeyman singer-songwriter music is as likely to make you get up and dance as it is to make you ponder the glorious possibilities of life beyond borders.