Music

Interview: Cody Carson- Set It Off

unspecifiedThe spectrum of progression and where it is applicable is ever expanding as our knowledge as humans grow. This growth in itself can be seen as progression too; enlightenment stimulates advancement and development. From the simple idea of a sequence of numbers in the mathematical world, to the more complex biological evolutionary processes that are being discovered daily; progression surrounds us in abundance. To quote famed American chemist James Bryan Conant: “Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.”, a statement involving both evolvement and courage.

Whilst Floridian band Set It Off are far from a turtle as musicians; they certainly can relate to “sticking their neck out” and ultimately progression. Vocalist Cody Carson generated a colossal following via his YouTube channel which led to the quartet signing with Equal Vision Records, an ideal reward for exposure and courage. The four-piece have since broadened their sound from their earlier pop-punk beginnings to an expansive take on pop-rock; a vastly evident progression as heard on their very recently released third album ‘Upside Down’; as Cody elaborates from a stop in Nashville: This record derives inspiration all across the genre board from soul, big band, pop, hip hop, r&b, disco, pop punk and more. I have my parents, sister, and friends to blame for the musical ADD that I have (laughs). But I think that’s what makes us who we are as a band.” 

With variation comes an inherent risk in the world of music. Whilst Set It Off have the excellent artistic ambition to constantly push their boundaries as song-writers and improve as musicians, their devout fanbase from the early YouTube clips could become dismissive of the outfit’s amplification in sound. Having road tested some of the new tracks live, Cody had quite the surprising response when questioned about the reaction to the quartet’s new material. “I gotta tell you man, the release is going better than we could have imagined, we are very fortunate to have the fans and support that we do. We are so proud of this record the extremely fun part live is that we get to really try out different arrangements; adding guitar parts, taking parts out, switching things up, it really makes me a better live arranger and it’s such a fun challenge because the live reaction has been so great!”

The online acknowledgement to Set It Off’s singles from this third record has been in short, monstrous. Considering the keyboard-warriors who prefer to randomly dismiss and bully releases of any artistic nature, the overall adoration must have been quite exhilarating for the band? “It really is man, that’s all you can hope for being a writer, you have to write songs that you would love and hope because you love it, everyone else will. It’s a really trust fall, but luckily everyone seems to be catching us and lifting us up, we are thrilled!”

As aforementioned the four-piece approached new grounds of music when crafting this new LP and on numerous songs throughout the twelve tracks. Diamond Girl has a 1980s feel channelling both Michael Jackson and Phil Collins rather brilliantly, Upside Down has a brass and horn section that is beautifully cinematic; and on the other end of the spectrum, Hypnotised is nearing hip-hop territory not dissimilar to favourite Childish Gambino.

“I would LOVE to work with not only Childish Gambino but any rapper that I like who would be interested in collaborating, a couple to note would also be Hopsin and Futuristic, and the dream collaboration would be Eminem of course, his unfiltered anger is what fuelled my ability to unleash mine in Hypnotised.”

Referring back to the original topics of this article being “progression” and “advancement”, this actually applied quite heftily to Set It Off just one year ago. Former bass player Austin Kerr was accused of sexual misconduct with underage fans online which understandably brought negative attention to the band through arguably their most successful duration in the music world. An episode which would cripple most outfits, respectably Set It Off dealt with the situation admirably, dismissing Austin from his duties and persevered to advance to their next stage stronger than ever.  “Whenever you hit a rough patch you have two choices, let it crush you entirely, or turn the negatives upside down into a positive, that’s the theme of this record. We are Set It Off and we will not be broken, we will not be stopped. That drive and love for what we do is what keeps us going.”

A similar scenario occurred with titans of pop-punk New Found Glory who also carried on in a remarkable and thriving manner, it plagued this writer to ask if their response had helped Cody and co. with their issues in any form? Furthermore if New Found Glory were an inspiration musically? “Absolutely NFG is an inspiration to us, one of my favourite bands of all time, they’re the reason I approach my lyrics the way I do. Poetically to the point. They’ve helped me through a lot of hard times through their songs and I hope we can continue to do the same for others.”

Finally it seemed necessary to ask when observing the band’s touring schedule whether the quartet will be making the short flight to Australia from Japan when they are touring the nation to allow their Aussie fans the striking Set It Off live experience? Or any other time soon? Or any other interesting plans for the near future? “You have no idea how badly we want to come to Australia and tour. All we are waiting for is the right tour to come along and ask us to support; as soon as that happens, and it will, you’ll be seeing our happy asses out and about! As far as what else is in the cards? You’ll have to follow us on our socials and find out!”

By Will Oakeshott

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