Exclusive Interview: Set It Off Discuss Their Latest Album 'Duality' And Touring The UK
Set It Off, one of our all-time favourite American pop/rock bands, visited the UK earlier this month and we were lucky enough to interview them!
Lyrically and sonically, Set It Off tick all of the boxes. Armed with theatrical lyrics and epic instrumentals, the five-piece group really do have it all and in our eyes, they deserve the same levels of success as Fall Out Boy.In support of their latest album 'Duality', Set It Off recently toured the UK as part of the Rise Of The Runaways tour alongside: Crown The Empire, Dangerkids and Alive Like Me. We went backstage at their Manchester gig and spoke to Set It Off about: the tour, their incredible album 'Duality' and their dream collaborations.
Austin Kerr and Zach DeWall were busy preparing for the show but we caught up with band members: Cody Carson, Dan Clermont and Maxx Danziger. Check out their answers to our questions below!
For people who haven't yet heard your music, how would you describe your sound?
Cody: “Energetic, uplifting, 90’s-ish pop/rock.”
'Duality' is quite different to your debut album 'Cinematics' - was it always the plan to evolve musically? What was the process behind making the record?
Cody: "I’d say it wasn’t really so much planned. It wasn’t like ‘hey, we want to change for this record’ but I know that consciously we want to be a band that evolves. I feel that bands that do not evolve don’t really continue or don’t have the longevity needed. The old school fans would be happy because they get the same record every time but as it goes on, you kind of want something new and something fresh. As we were writing, we weren’t trying to create any specific sound. We just went in to it with the idea of ‘let’s just write good songs, stuff that we love’ and that’s what sparked this new sound for ‘Duality’."
And how would you say they were different? Would you say it’s slightly more pop?
Cody: “I would say it’s slightly more pop, more influenced by the music we listened to growing up as opposed to what we thought we should sound like which is what we used to do. It was more eerie, orchestral based and now it’s just about having a good time. Dan and I grew up listening to 90’s RnB and pop like Destiny’s Child, K-Ci & JoJo and *NSync. We like everything: hip hop, soul, gospel. We get to really use all of our key influences which is a lot of stuff which I think created that unique sound.”
One of our personal favourites from the album is 'Miss Mysterious' and we reckon it could be a huge hit in the charts, it's epic. Do you think you'll release more ballads like that in the future?
Cody: “Thank you. Definitely, we try to at least do one per record. It all depends if there’s something we’re going through that merits that sort of emotion. I don’t think we’d do one because we’re like ‘we have to have one’ but yes, I'd say expect more.”
'Wolf In Sheep's Clothing' features lyrics relating to nursery rhymes. Would you say most of your songs are based on theatrical storytelling or personal experiences?
Cody: “Oh definitely. I’d say we’re more storytellers than anything. When we go into writing in general, what determines the topic of the lyrics is we’ll listen to the instrumental part first and take a step back and be like ‘ok, what does this make me feel like?’ just by listening to the instrumentals. And then I’ll think of a specific time in my life that it’s almost like a soundtrack to in my head and then that kind of creates the basis like ok, it can be about this. If it sounds aggressive, it’ll be about something aggressive. If it sounds sad, it’ll be about something sad."
The lead single 'Why Worry' received a great reaction in the UK and it was even named as one of Kerrang's top songs of 2014. Was it always the plan to release that as the lead single?
Dan: "I think we all knew as soon as we heard that song that it was definitely going to be one of the leading singles because it comes out really strong. It’s a very high energy song, it’s very swingy and it’s closest to ‘Cinematics’. Not necessarily sonically but it has the dark undertones in the verses and the really bright songs in the choruses. We felt that was the best portrayal of what we wanted the band to be and what our band is. That was our best foot forward."
Maxx: "I think it sums up ‘Duality’ really well with how different the verses are from the chorus but they all meld together. I think it really kind of gives you a taste of what you’re getting with the record."
You've just filmed a new music video - can you give us any clues about what to expect? Is it for ‘Ancient History’?
Cody: “Yes it is. *laughs* What I can say, which is something interesting, it’s the first time we’ve ever co-wrote or co-directed a music video. This guy Freddy Marschall, who does all my covers with me, we would do all our cover videos with no budget and no money at all. We just did it for the fun of it, me and him worked really well together. So we decided we wanted to put more attention into our own project because I’m pretty picky as far as videos go and I have a really specific idea of how it should look. This allowed us to do that. So far, first take back, everyone’s been saying that is our best video yet.”
Dan: "It’s definitely our favourite."
For the album, you've encouraged fans to show their duality. What's the concept behind the duality symbol?
Cody: "Behind it, it’s kind of a symbol of unity. It’s admitting that you’re human and that you aren’t afraid to show your true self to everybody because that is what ‘Duality’ is really about to us. It’s that other side that you don’t usually show: the flaws or maybe your darker side. I think the most important thing in life is to be happy with who you are and not be afraid to show who you are. As soon as you can really let that out, let that be out for the world to know and have the attitude of ‘you either like me or you don’t', you’re way more liberated and free. That’s kind of our way of being like ‘who’s willing to join us on that?’"
Have a lot of fans been holding the symbol up at gigs?
Cody: “Yeah. When we came out in London, I threw the symbol up as soon as I walked out and just kind of like *boom* they all came up. Sometimes they make me do it. It’s really cool.”
How are you finding life on the road with Crown The Empire, Dangerkids and Alive Like Me?
Cody: "Oh, it's great."
Maxx: “It’s been fun. It’s been over a year since we’ve been to Europe and the UK so it’s nice to see old friends and fans that we haven’t seen in a while. The Crown The Empire guys are great and Dangerkids and Alive Like Me are also awesome so it’s been great; drama-free and really fun.”
And how would you say the crowds here in the UK compare to everywhere else in the world?
Cody: “Last night was probably one of the greatest shows of my life.”
Dan: “Yeah. I don’t want to say that the US is spoilt or whatever but it’s a very saturated market and there’s lots of bands from there. There’s a lot of people that come to shows. It’s been a year or two since we’ve been and we’ve done at least five or six US shows in that time so we come here and would say that the kids are a little more appreciative of us making it overseas and they definitely show that through them going crazy at shows.”
Throughout your career, you've collaborated with numerous artists and recently covered 'Uptown Funk' with Against The Current. Are there any more collaborations in the pipeline soon or any dream collaborations?
Cody: “Dream collaborations, we’ve already since we started that we want to work with Kanye West somehow with a song that we think would be an interesting track. I think I’d like to write, at least once, with Fall Out Boy or Patrick Stump specifically; I think he’s an amazing writer and I think we would put together a really fun song."
Maxx: “Max Martin as well, he’s a great producer.”
Cody: “Oh god yeah, Max Martin is probably the absolute dream.”
Dan: “I think I’d love to do something with Mark Ronson too.”
What does the rest of 2015 has in store for Set It Off?
Maxx: "Touring."
Dan: "An immense amount of touring."
Cody: "You’re going to get sick of us. We’re going to try and make you sick of us. As soon as we get back to the US, we’ve got pretty much 10 days off and then we start our US headliner."
If you could leave for message for everyone who's supported you on your journey so far, what would you say?
Cody: "Thanks for sticking around. We’re going to be back way sooner than you think so we’ll see you soon."
We stuck around to watch the whole Rise Of The Runaways concert and personally, Set It Off completely stole the show for us. With upbeat performances of 'Why Worry' and 'Wolf In Sheep's Clothing', they were always going to be onto a winner. Importantly, they also had fantastic stage presence and Cody even crowd-walked.
Set It Off's latest album 'Duality' is out now and you can purchase a copy here on iTunes. Our personal favourites are: 'The Haunting', 'Wolf In Sheep's Clothing' and 'Miss Mysterious'. Their debut album 'Cinematics' is also worth checking out and highlights from that record include: 'Partners In Crime', 'Nightmare' and 'Dad's Song'.
We're excited to see what the rest of 2015 has in store for Set It Off. The 'Ancient History' video should be out in the not so distant future and as Cody said, they'll be back in the UK way sooner than we expect. In the meantime, they're getting ready to tour the US as part of the Glamour Kills Tour. You can see where they'll be heading here.
In reference to a song from their debut album, Set It Off call their fans dreamcatchers. The band's dreams have definitely become a reality in the past few years so that name's certainly very relevant. Long may Set It Off's success continue!