We all have those moments where we can get a little overwhelmed and don’t know how to deal. But maybe, instead of keeping it all in and forcing a smile, you just gotta “set fire” to something and watch it burn.
Saski lays herself bare on Set Fire as she explores a multitude of emotions, from estrangement in relationships but also guilt underlying the desire to move forward, all while reminding us of the power of music as emotional release.
Estranged relationships, the desire to move forward, and how to completely let go: Saski lays herself bare on her second single Set Fire.
Set Fire pulls you in from the first verse as Saski paints a picture of two people completely out of touch with each other, reflected in a sparse instrumental arrangement underlying the vocals.
Then the chorus is pure pop bliss as you’re enveloped in a cascade of sound, with a trap-like beat and a multitude of tightly-packed background harmonies reeling you in.
When chatting to Attwood Magazine about the song, Saski (real name Mikhail Birch) said, “Set Fire was like the finale to a series of emotions and circumstances that had struck that I couldn’t make any sense of.”
The single also marks the artist’s complete control of the creative process, from writing the song to filming of the videoclip. On Set Fire, Birch stuck to her gut instead of going by the opinions of others during sessions with her producer.
Those shots of her dancing in her room, hanging out with friends in bowling alleys and goofing around are also videos that she pulled from her phone.
The end result is a song that is insightful, revealing how we all possess multiple facets to our personality, while also reminding us of the cathartic and often powerful nature of creating music.
Set Fire is out now.
