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Set Feux drops spellbinding debut single ‘Say It Again’

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Set Feux (a.k.a. Toronto based musician, Diana Planche) blends dreamy, sometimes bittersweet, nostalgic pop with lush vocal harmonies, ambient synths, guitars and sax on her debut self titled album, ‘Set Feux’,which is due for release on 19th April 2024.

Planche spent her formative years singing in church choirs and performing in community theatre productions. After finishing her studies in classical music at Queen’s University, she began writing her own songs, and eventually received an OAC and F.A.C.T.O.R grant to produce her first album released in 2009. In 2010, she joined indie rock band, The Paint Movement (Nevado Music) as a singer/keyboard player, and in 2011 released their self-titled album produced by Dave Newfeld (Super Furry Animals, Broken Social Scene). The Paint Movement toured extensively over Canada opening for bands like Yukon Blonde, Zeus and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. In 2015, Planche toured Europe with Toronto singer songwriter, Barzin. Upon returning from the European tour, Planche began working on new material with long time collaborator, Kevin Kralik (wearenotwhoweare, Mass Paves) and her husband, Barzin (Toronto based singer/songwriter) for what would become, ‘Set Feux’.

The album took over 5 years to complete, recorded in Toronto and Hamilton. The songs explore love, passion, loneliness and the overwhelming desire to unravel the mystery of one’s self. “There’s a multiplicity that exists in us all, sometimes I feel unknown to myself and I’m searching for the world to reflect who I am back”, says Planche. “On songs like, ‘Young and Lonely’ and ‘Say it Again’, I was remembering the loneliness I felt in my childhood and the close spiritual connection I felt that brought me comfort and there’s a part of me that’s still longing to recapture some of that. On other songs, like ‘Jumbotron’ and ‘Let Them Stare’, I’m exploring what it would feel like to be completely carefree and confident, to showcase one’s authentic self, no touch ups, no edits, just unfiltered and genuine”, she further reveals.

Musically, the songs reflect diverse influences, ranging from R ‘n’ B/soul to the pop/folk genres that Planche has been inspired by throughout her life. Her influences range from Debussy to Dusty Springfield, Fleetwood Mac, Pat Benatar, Kate Bush, Lauryn Hill, Imogen Heap, Wilco, Feist and Solange. But whilst Planche allows all of these influences to come forth on the album, she maintains her own distinct identity and voice as an artist, honouring the journey she’s taken to get here.

The album was mixed by Howie Beck at his studio in Toronto. Howie is a Canadian musician, mixer and producer. He has been nominated for three Juno Awards in Canada on three occasions for Adult Alternative Album, Engineer of the Year and Producer of the Year (2017). He has produced and/ or mixed albums for The Weather Station, Hannah Georgas, Dragonette, Charlotte Day Wilson and Sarah Harmer. The album was mastered by Joao Carvalho, a grammy nominated mastering engineer, who has worked on albums by some of Canada’s finest artists such as KD Lang, Tanya Tagaq, Buffy St. Marie, Carly Rae Jepsen and Charlotte Day Wilson to name a few.

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Acclaimed US singer-songwriter Juliet Lloyd to tour the UK for the first time this summer.

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Shortly after releasing her sophomore album in 2007, US-based singer-songwriter Juliet Lloyd walked away from music completely for more than 10 years, feeling burned out and unhappy with her career progression like so many other independent artists. After going through a divorce in 2019 and in the midst of a global pandemic, she found herself pulled back toward the siren call of songwriting and again making the leap to pursue it full time. Her latest album ‘Carnival’, released in 2024, is in many ways the culmination of those decisions, and the reintroduction of an artist who now has the wisdom of experience.

There’s an unmistakable urgency you can feel when a song is written and performed from a place of complete honesty. That feeling permeates ‘Carnival’. “I’ve always been envious of writers who say they write songs because they have to, because they had these things they just had to get out of themselves,” Juliet says. “I had never really felt that way until this album. I’ve become someone who writes because they have to.”

Stylistically, ‘Carnival’ draws on a range of influences from Laurel Canyon-era singer/songwriters, to Lilith Fair rockers, to confessional country/folk balladeers, to indie pop. The central theme of the record and that of its title track is not being too precious about any one experience or decision. Take them for what they are, live in the moment, and move on when they’re done. It acknowledges also that memory can be subjective, and ambiguous—was an experience ultimately a good thing or a bad thing? And whose memory can you rely on to determine the answer to that question?

‘Carnival’ doesn’t just deal with the complexities of ending relationships, it also deals with all the feelings that come with moving on. The album’snine songs feature evocative storytelling that reveals a simple truth: when the carnival inevitably leaves town, you’re left with an empty parking lot. And how you remember, it is a choice. As Juliet sings in the title track, “If only there was a way you could bottle up that feeling / and you’d drink it in / when the days are short and you long.”

Across her 20+ year career, Juliet has been admittedly stylistically non-monogamous. Her first full-length album, ‘All Dressed Up’, was released in 2005 and was heavily jazz-influenced- a label that she rejected at the time. “I am a piano player and a woman, so I was immediately compared to Norah Jones—and I bristled at that,” Juliet says. “Listening back now, I can totally see that it was true, and it of course wasn’t a bad thing.” Her follow-up release ‘Leave the Light On,’ came out two years later and featured a slick piano-pop production that led to five of its songs being placed on reality TV shows on MTV and VH1. Coming back after her 10-year break from writing and recording, Juliet released ‘High Road’, a collection of five Americana/soul-tinged songs produced by Jim Ebert (Meredith Brooks, Shai) that earned her widespread recognition and songwriting awards both in her home region of DC as well as nationally.

Now with her first ever UK tour scheduled for July 2025, Juliet has also dropped a completely brand-new single ‘Wild Again’, which like ‘Carnival’, was written with and produced by Todd Wright (Lucy Woodward, Butch Walker, Toby Lightman). ‘Wild Again’, however, charts yet another new step in Juliet’s journey.

Carnival’, is full of deeply personal songs that are drawn from my real-life experiences and relationships. Coming out of that album cycle, I was feeling a little exhausted by my own navel-gazing and I was craving inspiration elsewhere. So, a lot of the songs I’m writing now are an evolution of sorts – focused more on external stimuli and finding the personal stories and humanity in that. Wild Again is a perfect example of this,” she explains.

The idea for ‘Wild Again’ was born out of a NY Times podcast Juliet listened to about the real-life efforts to return the whale that played Willy in the iconic movie ‘Free Willy’ back into the wild.

“It’s an insane, heartbreaking story that asks all kinds of thorny questions about human responsibility and humility and what’s the “right” thing to do and is that the same as the “kind” thing to do. There was a line that one of the trainers said in the podcast, explaining that they were trying to “train him to be wild again.” The complete absurdity of that statement hit me in the moment, and I immediately started jotting down lyrical ideas”, Juliet says.

Catch Juliet Lloyd on her UK tour this July:

1st July: The Folklore Rooms / Brighton
2nd July: The Hyde Tavern / Winchester
3rd July: Hen and Chicken / Bristol (CRH Music promotions)
4th July: Artisan Tap Hartshill / Stoke-on-Trent

5th July: Waggon & Horses, Nottingham

6th July: Cafe#9 / Sheffield
7th July: Hyde Park Book Club / Leeds
10th July: FortyFive Vinyl Café / York
11th July: The Muddy Puddle / London
13th July: The Wrotham Arms / Broadstairs

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