The Colour You Bring Their Sound in “Set Me Free” Interview

By: Sara Jameson

A complete blend sometimes takes awhile to find its way and blend into a team that is making its mark in the music world. The Colour You has created a tantalizing mix on their debut release “Set Me Free” that deals with the question of “whether or not someone could/should be a means of escape from the hell in your head.” The Colour You brings the rock to the pop with a mix of hard rock and an unidentifiable complexity that makes them a genuine multi-genre band.

Julian, Bemo, and Robbie- the three of you together have created something unique in a sound. Let’s start with each of your backgrounds are you all from the area of Baton Rouge?

Bemo Barnett – I am, I grew up and went to school in East Baton Rouge all my life. That’s where I found my first garage band and the music scene that inspired me to hit the ground running.

Julian Comeau – I’m from California, but ironically I feel very at home in Louisiana. We’ve got a real family down here, it’s something special.

Robbie Buisson – I am actually not from Baton Rouge. I’m from a small town called Ponchatoula. The local band I was in played in Baton Rouge sometimes with Bemo’s band at the time which is how I met him.

How did you all come together to form The Colour You?

Bemo Barnett – Robbie and I had known each other for years and always remained close. When I was in Cane Hill, Robbie even came out on tour with us a few times to help out. Around the time that I left Cane Hill, Robbie had just gotten out of a band that was also on the rise with me called “Favorite Weapon”, he was one of the first people I asked to join me in the project.

Then it was time to find a singer, we went through a few different guys before we landed on Julian. I knew Julian through a mutual friend of mine that just moved from Baton Rouge to Los Angeles where Julian lived; They were playing music together at the time and had me produce a few tracks and I fell in love with Julian’s voice immediately. I sent Julian some of the stuff I was working on, thinking it was a long shot because of him living in California, but he came back the next day stoked on everything and got on a plane the following week. The rest is history

Your sound in “Set Me Free” is showing there is a mix of musical influences and an understanding of what it takes to create hit music. Let’s start with music that you grew up on that you feel has become apart of your mix.

Julian Comeau – I grew up with a lot more of a pop background. Bands like All Time Low, Mayday Parade, My Chem, Fall Out Boy, a big one for me was Linkin Park.

Bemo Barnett – I actually listen to a wide variety of music. I love bands like Slipknot, Korn, Motionless In White, Sevendust, Seether, Shinedown all the way to stuff like Sam Smith, Taylor Swift, Charlie Puth, Florida Georgia Line, and Kendrick Lamar. There really aren’t any boundaries with me and my taste in music. If its good, its good.

Robbie Buisson – Growing up Bemo and I played in local metal bands around Louisiana then started touring nationally with metal bands, so I believe you can definitely hear that influence but you also hear an alternative/pop sound in our music which that’s basically what we listen to when we aren’t playing music. It works out best because Julian comes from a pop background which completes the sound that we wanted to go for with this project.

Looking at your previous music backgrounds talk about the other previous bands or bands you are connected with and how they mesh with The Colour You.

Bemo Barnett – I’ve always been in much heavier bands but have always loved music more on the pop side of the spectrum, I’m sure we could mesh well with a multi-genre tour if that were to happen but we do have a few songs that are just a tad heavier than “Set Me Free,” But it’s nice being in a different spotlight and catering to a different market. That’s new for me right now, so I’m having fun.

Music some may say has nothing new to offer, yet every time a new artist brings their own perception or interpretation to a note something new is created. Can each one of you describe the sound, the feel of what you are creating?

Julian Comeau – I think we have a really eclectic sound, we’ve got edgy dark ballads and upbeat anthems. So the sound is really whatever you need it to be, but we bring a level of intensity and emotion to each song that really captures you and brings you in.

Bemo Barnett – I would say that were a rock band flirting with the pop world, there are a good bit of both worlds throughout our record. I just want to create something that everyone can enjoy, regardless of preference.

Robbie Buisson – I guess you could say that our music is pop/alternative/rock. We have multiple songs with a different variation of those 3 genres, but a unique enough sound for you to know it is a song from The Colour You.

“Set Me Free” is your first release, always curious as to why bands chose a certain single to be their first.

Robbie Buisson – When releasing songs and trying to figure out how they will roll out is sometimes pretty difficult. Especially if you’re a new band like us and don’t have any music already out. You have to figure out which songs represent your sound the best and what order to release them that make sense to the fans you’re trying to target; you have to be careful and try to do it right. The first impression is everything and you only get one shot at it. If you come out too heavy for your first release, then that’s typically what people will expect for the follow-up. The same goes if you come out to pop. You have to look at your entire catalog and find the track that fits right in the middle so that it’s not too extreme of a change from track to track and you’re in a safe position to go either way without completely alienating your fans.

The reaction to this single has been very good. The females like the sexual prowess of Julian and the males like the feel that teases NIN, The Used and Taking Back Sunday. Who was the producer for this single, and who did you work with on the video?

Bemo Barnett – We worked on the writing side of this track with some extremely close friends of ours, Kile Odell and Joshua Landry; who have both done work with Motionless in White, Letters From The Fire, and Cover Your Tracks, just to name a few. I actually did the mix myself and our other good friend Lee Rouse did the master for me. The video was done by Sidney Lee Lopez. I sent him the track and he pitched back a rough idea of how he wanted the video to look and we just let him run with it.

Your fan base is already asking what’s next… can you give them a taste of what else is to come from The Colour You in 2018?

Julian Comeau – The Colour You is going to take the second half of 2018 by storm. We’ve got tons of music and content in the works, and it only gets bigger and better from here.