The Making of SET YOURSELF ON FIRE by Stars - feat. Torquil Campbell, Amy Millan, Evan Cranley...
Life of the RecordShow Notes
For the 20th anniversary of Stars’ breakthrough third album, Set Yourself on Fire, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Torquil Campbell and Chris Seligman grew up together in Toronto, they formed Stars when they were living in New York City. Their first album, Nightsongs, was made with the help of their friends in Metric and several guest singers, including Amy Millan. Deciding to relocate to Montreal, they added Amy Millan and Evan Cranley as full-time members. Their second album, Heart, was released in 2003 by Paper Bag Records and the new label Arts & Crafts, which was co-founded by their friend Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene. For their ambitious third record, they brought in drummer Pat McGee and producer Tom McFall. Set Yourself on Fire was eventually released in 2004.
In this episode, Torquil Campbell discusses the early days of the band as an outlier in the New York City rock scene and how they found their people when they moved to Montreal. He describes his vision of having both male and female vocalists and how when Amy Millan joined, they could start telling stories from two different sides. Amy Millan discusses her initial reluctance to join the band, but how she was able to cement her place as co-lead singer and develop her songwriting voice. She also describes the alchemy of the relationships in Stars and how despite some romantic turmoil within the band around the time of this album, they’ve remained deeply connected to one another decades later. Evan Cranley talks about his musical partnership with Chris Seligman and how the two of them were able to collaborate to develop song structures in an orchestral pop style. Chris Seligman describes how his background in classical music, his love of string arrangements and his perfectionist tendencies impacted the music they made together. From the vibrant Montreal music scene of the early 2000s to an encounter with a stranger in a bar that led to a house where the songs were written to connecting with Tom McFall in London to a big fight in North Hatley to a mad dash to finish string arrangements at that last minute to personal lyrics about love, death and the band itself, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.
More from Life of the Record
In celebration of the landmark Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album Déjà Vu, we take a detailed look at how it was made. Crosby, Stills & Nash formed in 1968 in Los Angeles, California by Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Graham Nash. Each of them had been members of successful rock bands, including Crosby in the Byrds, Stills in Buffalo Springfield and Nash in the Hollies. After an impromptu sing-a-long at a social gathering, they realized they had a unique harmony blend and decided to form a new group. They signed a deal with Atlantic Records and released their self-titled debut album in 1969. The album became a huge hit so they began planning for their live shows and realized they would benefit from bringing in an additional band member. Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records suggested Neil Young, since Young and Stills had been former bandmates in Buffalo Springfield. They started playing live as a four-piece before turning their attention to recording their second album. Déjà Vu was eventually released in 1970.
For the 20th anniversary of the second Hot Chip album, The Warning, we take a detailed look at how it was made. Joe Goddard and Alexis Taylor initially connected as young teenagers in secondary school in southwest London in the early 90s. They bonded over being music obsessives, listening to a wide variety of genres, reading the music press, going to gigs together and eventually recording the songs they were writing. While they attended different universities, they continued to collaborate and officially formed Hot Chip in 2000. One of their early releases caught the attention of Moshi Moshi Records, who signed them to a deal. Their debut album, Coming on Strong, was released in 2004. Around this time, they developed a full band sound, adding other members, including Owen Clarke, Al Doyle, and Felix Martin. For their second album, they signed a deal with EMI Records. The Warning was eventually released in 2006.
For the 35th anniversary of Slint’s landmark second album, Spiderland, we take a detailed look at how it was made. Brian McMahan and Britt Walford first connected over a shared love of punk rock, growing up in Louisville, Kentucky in the early 1980s. They began forming bands when they were young teenagers, including Languid and Flaccid and Squirrel Bait. Another band, Maurice, was formed around this time and they began working with guitarist David Pajo. When Maurice ended, Walford and Pajo continued playing together and brought in bassist Ethan Buckler. After they performed at a unitarian church service where McMahan was in attendance, he joined the band soon after and they became Slint. They had befriended Steve Albini from playing shows with his band Big Black so they asked him to record their debut album. Tweez was self-released by their friend Jennifer Hartman in 1989. Buckler was unhappy with the sound of the record and decided to quit the band so Todd Brashear took over on bass. They recorded a single with Albini that caught the attention of Touch and Go Records, who signed them to a deal for their second album. After spending a summer working on new material, they recorded at a commercial studio in Chicago with producer Brian Paulson. Spiderland was eventually released in 1991.
For the 45th anniversary of The Soft Boys’ influential second album, Underwater Moonlight, we take a detailed look at how it was made. When Robyn Hitchcock first started a band in Cambridge, England under the name Dennis and the Experts, he recruited Morris Windsor, Andy Metcalfe and Alan Davies. They changed their name to The Soft Boys and released an EP called Give It to the Soft Boys in 1977. Kimberly Rew replaced Alan Davies on guitar as they began working with Radar Records, releasing a single in 1978. After Radar dropped them, they self-released their first album, A Can of Bees, in 1979. At this point, Matthew Seligman replaced Andy Metcalfe on bass as they began working on the material for their second full-length album. Underwater Moonlight was eventually released by the Armageddon label in 1980.
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the debut Bat for Lashes album, Fur and Gold, we take a detailed look at how it was made. Natasha Khan had grown up in Hertfordshire, England and studied art at the University of Brighton. After graduating, she taught as a schoolteacher while writing songs and performing as Bat for Lashes. Her manager, Dick O’Dell, got her a publishing deal and connected her with producer David Kosten to work on some demos. The first Bat for Lashes single, “The Wizard” was released on her own label in early 2006. After signing with Echo, Natasha and David began working on a full-length album together at Jacobs studio in the Surrey countryside. They brought in other musicians, including Abi Fry and Caroline Weeks, who had been playing as a group with Natasha at this time. Fur and Gold was eventually released in 2006.