Meet the Color Set, the enigmatic musical duo who are creating their own sonic landscape with their genre-bending fusion. With influences ranging from shoegaze and disco to post-punk to new wave, and goth, the Color Set has constructed a musical universe that is as captivating as it is mysterious.
I caught up with the duo who choose to simply be addressed as The Color Set, to talk about their early musical experiences, how they began playing music and the making of their new album “Said, Unsaid”.
CMM-What was the first music that really made an impact on you all as kids, and what artist or band did you all enjoy the most?
The Color Set-The first music that made an impact on us as kids (that we can remember) is Prince and Michael Jackson. We remember hearing their music everywhere at the time, at the roller rink, at the daycare center, on the radio, and on TV. Prince has had a huge impact on us artistically in our later years. The artists and bands that we enjoyed the most as part of our foundation and musical expression are the Velvet Underground, David Bowie, and the Smiths. Apologies, we couldn’t help but mention more than one artist/band.
CMM-When did you all start playing music and writing songs? What eventually led to the formation of the Color Set?
The Color Set-We started playing and writing songs together all the way back in 1999 during our college years. We played locally, but we never launched formally until this year. Our formation and reuniting were partially due to the pandemic. It gave us time to reconnect and collaborate again.
CMM-The band recently released an album called “Said, Unsaid”. What was the writing and recording process for those songs like, and what gear and instruments did you all use during the sessions?
The Color Set-Said, Unsaid is our debut album. The writing and recording process was long and drawn out. We hadn’t played or collaborated for a very long time. After reuniting, it took a year to relearn how to play our instruments and write music together. The second year, we focused on recording and mixing. The third and fourth years were focused on re-recording and eventually mastering our tracks.
Since this was our first real go at recording, we decided to use the instruments we could afford and use only what was around at the time. We used a Squire Stratocaster for all guitar parts, a 1st generation iPad Pro for sequencing, an M-Audio Oxygen Pro 25 Keyboard, and the Shure MV7 microphone for all vocals and live instrumentation.
CMM-If the band could compose a score for any film director, who would it be and what would the film be about?
The Color Set-Our background is in filmmaking and graphic design. Cinema has always been a big influence on us creatively. Our two favorite directors are Wong-Kar Wai and Nicolas Roeg. What we love about these directors is how they have used music as part of their cinematic expression. If we had a chance to compose a score for a film, the film would be about isolation, loneliness, and alienation.
CMM-What do you all have coming up next?
The Color Set-We’re in the process of promoting our album and creating artistic content around it. We’d like the audience to digitally experience Said, Unsaid as an immersive art and music project. In between the promotion, we do have ideas for the next album. There are no plans to play live at the moment.
Thank you, Custom Made Music, for getting in touch and giving us this great opportunity.
