Anger, Self Destruction, and Infatuation

Los Angeles Queer punk band Praise Kink shares the video to their single, “Set Myself on Fire”. Band member Chanel and video Director Melanie talk about challenging each other, themes of breaking up and sexual positivity, and the ultimate goal of feeling whole.

Los Angeles, USA

What’s the story behind Praise Kink? What is your music all about ?

Chanel/Praise Kink: We just wanna be told we’re doing a good job! We all came together during the pandemic jamming on rock riffs and learning how to scream. At the time, it was for my solo act Chanel & the Circus, but as we collaborated more, we realized we should rebrand as an equal band. We spent months trying to find a new name, then one night someone I was dating told me they had a praise kink and that was it.

How is Praise Kink different from your previous projects ?

Chanel/Praise Kink: I think my previous projects were more pop focused and shiny. I was also changing genres all the time because I had no one to rein me in. This project is raw. Because of the collaboration we’ve really shaped a specific sound and gained some traction with that consistency. We all challenge each other and make each other laugh, and I think you can hear that push and pull in the music.

You are sharing the video to your single, “Set Myself on Fire”. What sort of themes does the song touch on.

Chanel/Praise Kink: The song was written about our guitarist, Chris when they first joined the band. We dated for a month or two and decided it wasn’t working, but after some time we healed that heartache and became close friends. The relationship brought up a lot of insecurity for me with anxious/avoidant attachment styles and sent me on a path of really looking at myself, what I want, and how to communicate that. This song explores the crux of that emotion…the anger, the self destruction, the manic high of infatuation.

How does the video reflect the themes of the song ?

Melanie/ koh’lectiv: With this video, we ran with the chorus —“Set Myself on Fire”-- what does it look like to self-destruct as a distraction from the pain of a break up? Set Myself on Fire’s video then captures the emotional rebellion to avoid heartbreak; the repulsion from memories and grief of a broken romance. The avoidant destruction unhinges to finally break open to the truth— that in order to heal, one has no choice but to finally walk through the fire.

We wanted to explore a modernized punk; what is the force of rebellion and freedom today feel like? Punk made derivative can look like mere destruction— but that is a superficial way to look at Punk. Punk at its core aggressively looks to the truth. And today with a world drawing us to distraction, chaos and disconnecting from ourselves— modern punk then punches us to connect back to the core of ourselves.

When you watch Praise Kink perform, they’re badass. They are each such creative and performance power houses. The sexiness, freedom and spectacle can distract you from all of what they are presenting. If you listen closer— the themes they cover are about sexual positivity, mental health, and the realities of living today. I feel they represent a modern rock/punk for our times. You don’t have to choose to be punk/ a rockstar or to be a kind, loving being—- you can be both. And I think that’s hella punk to not fit into the binaries—- and this band is definitely in the business of breaking binaries.

So in a way, this music video was a reintroduction to Praise Kink—- that yeah, there may be moments of freedom, and perhaps exploration into chaos— but the north star of the music is connection— the goal is community—-the goal is feeling whole.

How did the video come to life? What were some highs and lows?

Melanie/ koh’lectiv: Well— let’s say it was birthed quickly. We wrote the idea on a Wednesday and filmed that following Sunday. Working with Chanel creatively is very special— its electricity; a mix of philosophy, storytelling and playfulness all-in-one.

It first started with a sample vertical video they sent me— that had a series of still photographs superimposed on each other. We liked the feeling of discordia, of the jarring lack of presence that the stills gave. This and an idea of them in the rain/shower cooling off from setting themselves internally on fire. This was the sprout of our visuals.

As far as the story, with this being a break up song, we started with the truth: that Chanel had dated their guitarist, Chris, a year ago and was completely heartbroken. This was the song's inception. I was thrilled when Chanel and Praise Kink said yes to going after the truth, and of course, making it an exaggerated and stylized version of the truth.

Chanel is brilliant at the wit of storytelling and performance, and we worked together to keep grounding this story in the truth of heartbreak. That feeling that you want to run away from the massive pain that comes after you like a tsunami; of having to truly accept that that you cannot have a person stay— and that your romance now only lives in memories of the past.

What’s next for “Set Myself on Fire”? What’s next for Praise Kink?

Chanel/Praise Kink: Well we hope people can relate to the video and gain some catharsis with their breakups. Musically, we’re releasing a new song and video every other month and playing a bunch of venues around the city. Our next single “Crying All the Time” comes out May 12th at our residency The Secret Circus, taking place at Bar 10 DTLA. It’s an emo themed show so dress accordingly.