Seattle-based darkwave trio, Fotoform, will be releasing their anticipated album, Horizons, on October 15th, 2021, and the first specimens off it thus far suggest a well crafted record, coming from a band adeptly perceptive of how cogent a fusion of post punk, synthpop and shoegaze sounds can be. You Set Fire to the Sun is the third single unveiled, a piece which appears as approachable as much as it is an elaborate blend of distinct sounds and intense emotionalism.
Fotoform's Kim House (bass, vocals, synths, guitars) comments on the song: "You Set Fire to the Sun is a call to redirect the negative energy that comes from the existential crises of our everyday lives and harness it as a motivation to live our fullest lives. Essentially, it’s about finding motivation in death – or at least in the realization that death is inevitable and often unexpected."
The artist continues, unveiling more about the song's poignancy: "My life has in some ways been ruled by death and loss: I lost my father last year to a stroke. We were very close. I lost my mother just three months after she was diagnosed with cancer. I lost my brother (my best friend) in a helicopter crash when I was 17. We all suffer losses on varying scales every day. We don’t know how long we have, but we still can affect others and ourselves in positive ways. In Set Fire, this existential dilemma is (nearly literally) universalized into celestial terms: 'We were broken from the start / stars exploding and pulled apart'. However, there is still hope, even if fleeting: 'Don’t fade, be brave / How long until we notice / How long until the door closes.' With this looming inevitability, we need to redirect our fear(s) toward the goal of realizing our greatest, most resonant selves – while we still can."
Fotoform are Kim House and Geoffrey Cox (guitar) together with former Death Cab for Cutie / Long Winters drummer Michael Schorr.