It’s exciting times for all synth-pop enthusiasts with the recent release of the title track from Kate Martin’s forthcoming album, Set My Life To Fire.
A swirling tempest of ethereal vocal samples and electronic drum beats tied together by a powerful vocal performance from the Melbourne-based artist, this track is an epic addition to Martin’s considerable musical resume.
Ethereal, lyrical and charged with a lifetime’s worth of emotional enlargement, Set My Life to Fire is Kate Martin’s most electric release to date.
Set My Life To Fire conjures up a strong sense of emotional upheaval, or perhaps emotional transformation. We asked Kate to talk about the experiences that inspired the new single.
“It’s a metaphor for the way fire burns but also purifies at the same time. When I wrote this song I had been living in Melbourne for just over a year and I was finding it difficult to embrace the changes and constant transitions that were going on around me at that time. I was also in the process of discovering my identity outside of music. I decided to write Set My Life To Fire as a way of channelling my thoughts and turning them into a creative outpouring… the central theme being the acceptance of things outside of my control.”
This emotional foundation certainly lends the new single a sense of gravity, underlining the already monumental soundscape. As the title track and first single from the new album, we wondered whether the emotions and themes explored in this track would permeate the entire album.
“I would have to say for the most part, yes. I was listening to my old albums the other day (something I rarely do) and I realised that all of the music I write sits somewhere on that spectrum. Even the new music I’m working on now, it all follows the linking theme of growth and understanding of the heart and the self based on observing experiences, not just limited to my own. That’s a big a part of who I am and what I think about so I naturally feel compelled to explore these themes in my music.”
This being said, Set My Life To Fire presents something of a sonic departure from Kate Martin’s previous work. Compared with the simple, lyrically focused tracks like Friendly Fish, Set My Life To Fire definitely moves in a different direction.
It’s far more production heavy, with a bigger sound than many of her previous tracks. Given that Martin spent some time with Jon Hume of Evermore in the studio as a producer, it wasn’t totally unexpected.
“I did two songs on the record with Jon, he is a great collaborator. I think the really good thing about collaboration in general is that you get the benefit of two different creative perspectives, two minds coming together and moving in sync, when it works out it really is a beautiful thing. Jon comes from more of a pop background than myself so when we got together it became a fusion of our own unique styles and sounds blending together.”
With the power behind this new single, you can bet the music video is going to be more than worth a look. We asked if Kate could hook us up with some deets or cheeky spoilers regarding the clip.
“It’s an animated music video by the team at Oh Yeah Wow in Melbourne. I’m the only thing in the video that was shot in camera. We decided to run with the notion of gradual change and interpret it by having me in an environment that degrades and transforms independently of me throughout the song.”
Safe to say that anticipation for this clip, and indeed the whole album, will be building once listeners get a chance to wrap their ears around the new single. We are all hoping for big things from Kate Martin in the coming months.
This Friday, 24 March Kate Martin is launching the Set My Life To Fire single at the Grace Darling in Collingwood. Grab all the info and your tickets right here.
