New Band of the Week: World On Fire

If you love modern rock, synth-powered 90s rave and 80s rock, then do we have a treat for you today! On Friday, we promised our Fresh Tunes Spotify playlist update contained the latest track from our soon-to-be New Band of the Week (plus nine former ones!). And said band is exciting new Hertfordshire electronic rock outfit World On Fire, who describe their sound as “modern power rock.”

World On Fire is formed of Livvy M (vocals), Timothy Jack (guitar), Dan Short (bass), Alex Price (drums) and Luke Filsell (recording, mixing and producing) – plus their drum sample bad “Brian,” who they have to thank for triggering their synths in live shows. They tell us they’re a little different from most bands, in that none of them grew up together. Instead, they met through playing in other bands and working in studios, so being in a band together is all they know.”

They describe their sound to us as: “Imagine if the classic power rock acts of the 80s were around today with modern production techniques, synths and all that stuff. We like to say that we are what the likes of Pat Benatar or Lita Ford would sound like if they grew up in the 90s UK rave scene!”

And Luke adds: “We are trying to move past the idea that the ‘band’ is the people you see on stage. There is so much more to making music nowadays, there are so many opportunities for creative people to get together and do what they do.

Modern music is so much more than just the songs now. We are lucky that we have Dan who also creates all our digital content but in other bands, there is no reason why this couldn’t be the role of a ‘non-playing’ member of the band, that sort of thing. For us, it’s all about the team and working together.”

Our first taste of the band is their absolute banger of a new single Mountains. It opens up with a lively synth supported by darting guitars, which drop into a laid-back verse led by Livvy’s delicious vocals, which build towards a big chorus “Don’t cry for me, Don’t just say it baby, I’m tired of just barely surviving, I miss the days when I long for them, You see all the mountains we climb.”

The big synth and guitars return and drop into another chilled-out verse, then a darting riff creeps in as Livvy’s vocals build up to another catchy chorus. The pace drops with high-pitched vocals before firing into a final blast of the chorus, which by the way, we guarantee will be stuck in your head!

On the track, Luke told us: “For us, releasing music is second only to live shows in terms of excitement and really what we do all this for! Everything you see or hear from World On Fire is created by us so we really go on the journey of getting our music ready for release and become so attached to it.

“Mountains is a bit more on the rock side of World On Fire. Still, our synth layered rock vibe offers a nods to classic driving Drum’n’Bass beats bordering on punk and all the attitude to go with it. Bring the Rain was about revenge, Mountains is about rising above it.” Check it out here:

The band burst onto the rock scene with a cool electronic version of The Cranberries’ Zombie, followed by their impressive debut single Bring The Rain, which was released last month. As Luke alluded to, the track is more “synthy,” but begins with lighter instrumentals and light vocals, before big chunky synth takes over as the vocals intensify with the line “You lied to me and you’re gonna know pain,” before big cries of “I’ll bring the rain.” Check it out here:

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that the World On Fire sound has been heavily influenced by 80s synth power rock. As Luke explains: “I guess we are more influenced by an era than any specific bands. We were all young impressionable kids in and around the 80s and I guess it has stuck with us. So many of the bands back then were female-fronted, like Blondie, Heart, Roxette, and really changed the way women are expected to play music.

“We love that version of rock for not being afraid to have catchy melodies and a bit of a tongue-in-cheek attitude to the whole thing. There is also so much good stuff about modern rock bands, the power they get and the standard of musicianship is incredible. I guess we just wanted to see what it would sound like to mix the best parts of both eras.”

And on what inspires them to write music, Luke adds: “That crap future you always see in films and books seems like it’s closer than ever. People are being counted in percentages and categories, making it harder to be individual. Families and friends are falling out over what pigeon-hole they should fit and it doesn’t feel like there is much time to explore the million different ways there are to live a life.

“But people are still telling their own stories, still falling in and out of love and trying to find their place to ‘fit in’, while keeping their sense of what it means to be independent. We want our music to be a voice for these people, to be a soundtrack to their journey and to take comfort in the fact that while they may feel isolated, they are not alone.”

There’s plenty more to come from World On Fire, with the band planning to release a new song every month. And Luke tells us: “We plan to be quite an active social media band, because we want to have a place to put our story. We have so much fun doing this and we just want to show other people and maybe inspire them to dust off their old instrument, call the old gang and get back in the game.

“It would mean so much to us to inspire other people to get into or back into it or start a band. There has never been an easier time to make your own music without having to spend tens of thousands of pounds on gear or needing a record company to release your songs. The whole thing can work around anyone’s lifestyle these days, we are in a very good time for creative people. We’ve all learnt a few tips and tricks along the way, and we are going to start sharing that as much as we can.”

You can follow World On Fire on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify.