Set You Free (N-Trance song)

"Set You Free" is a song written and recorded by English rave band N-Trance, featuring vocals from English singer Kelly Llorenna. It was first released as a white label record in 1992, then officially released as a single in April 1994, just making the UK top 40 at number 39. A re-release in January 1995 was much more successful, peaking at number two in the UK. Same year, it was included on the band's debut album, Electronic Pleasure (1995). Later, it was remixed and re-released in 2001, this time reaching number four.[2] Its music video was directed by prolific music video director Steve Price.

"Set You Free"
Single by N-Trance
from the album Electronic Pleasure
Released25 April 1994 (1994-04-25)
Studio
Genre
Length4:22
LabelAll Around the World
Songwriter(s)N-Trance
Producer(s)N-Trance
N-Trance singles chronology
"Set You Free"
(1994)		 "Stayin' Alive '95"
(1995)
Music video
"Set You Free" on YouTube

Background

The song was inspired by a night out in the Haçienda in Manchester that N-Trance's Kevin O'Toole had in 1989. "They used to pass round pints of water, and a woman came up to me and I felt her heartbeat through her top," he said. "The songs created a diary of what was happening at the time."[3]

Llorenna was only 16 when she recorded the vocals in 1992. She told Vice: "Kevin [O'Toole] and Dale [Longworth, the other member of N-Trance] came into my college and asked if anyone sung, and everyone replied 'Kelly sings!'" They later headed to O'Toole's bedroom studio to do a vocal demo. For Llorenna, her vocals "captured that childhood moment in time. It was just me and five lads in a transit van going up to Belfast or Glasgow every week, playing the song for petrol money." She claims that when people hear the opening of the song, which features thunder, lightning and rain, "their faces light up, and they're transported back to where they were."[3]

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard described the song as a "lively Euro-NRG romp".[4] In December 1994, Music Week wrote, "This record is now on its third release simply because retail and club reaction has demanded it. With 50,000 copies already sold, this very Euro dance-style tune could finally make the big time thanks to a strong chorus and less of the normal quota of Euro cheese."[5] In his UK chart commentary, James Masterton said, "I would personally argue that this is a terrible record. It starts promisingly, with a strong melody powerfully sung. Thirty seconds in though this is all but swamped by a frantic rave beat, [...] N-Trance have been making inroads on the chart for over a year now but this is the first major hit for them. It is, as I said, a terrible record, but it has made No.6 first week out so what do I know?"[6]

Chart performance

The 1995 version of "Set You Free" was successful on the charts in Europe, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart. It peaked at that position during its fifth week on the chart.[7] The single entered the top 10 also in Ireland and the Netherlands, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it peaked at number nine. Additionally, "Set You Free" was a top 20 hit in Sweden and Switzerland, while reaching the top 50 in Germany. Outside Europe, it was a hit in Australia, where it reached number 11. It earned a gold record there, with a sale of 35,000 singles and a double platinum record in the UK, after 1,200,000 units were sold and streamed.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Set You Free" was directed by prolific music video director Steve Price and shot in various locations in County Durham and North Yorkshire. The video comprises scenes of fireworks, the band dancing and singing in a nightclub, in front of Cliffords Tower in York, England and travelling in a stretched limousine. The scene at Cliffords Tower was fortuitously or coincidentally shot on 3 November 1994,[8] which coincided with an annual Guy Fawkes Night Fireworks display organised by York City Council. The nightclub scenes were shot at Bianco's, Stockton-on-Tees.[8][9] It is claimed that the video cost around £5,000 to make.

Track listings

Personnel
  • N-Trance: production, writing
  • Kelly Llorenna: vocals
  • T-1K: raps (Lost Soul and Pop Mix)
  • Tim Russell: engineering

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[32] Gold 35,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] 2× Platinum 1,200,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 25 April 1994
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 All Around the World [39]
2 January 1995 [40]
United States 20 June 1995
Critique [41]
United Kingdom 10 September 2001
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 All Around the World [42]

Cover versions

Scottish band Frightened Rabbit included a cover of the song on their 2008 single "Head Rolls Off".[43]

In September 2021, English singer Kyla La Grange covered the song, saying "I wanted to re-work it in a way that brought out the sadness".[44]

References
  1. "Push It! Classic Party & Dance Tracks – Various Artists – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  2. "Inarguable Pop Classics #33: N-Trance - Set You Free (Original 1992 White Label Mix)". 12 April 2018.
  3. MacNeill, Kyle (11 January 2017). "It's a Quarter of a Century since N-Trance's "Set You Free" Put Clubland on the Map". Vice. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  4. Flick, Larry (20 January 1995). "Singles reviews". Billboard. Vol. 108. Issue 3.
  5. "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 24 December 1994. p. 26. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  6. Masterton, James (8 January 1995). "Week Ending January 14th 1995". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  7. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  8. "Set You Free (1995)". YouTube. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  9. redbookboro1. "FMTTM Archive".
  10. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  12. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  13. "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 9 October 1993. p. 28. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  14. "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 14 May 1994. p. 28. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  15. "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 7 May 1994. p. 4. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  16. "Set You Free", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
  17. "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. 18 February 1995. p. 19. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  18. "European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. 4 March 1995. p. 25. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  19. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 10 April 2008)
  20. "Single top 100 over 1995" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  21. "N-Trance – Set You Free" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  22. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  23. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  24. "The RM on a Pop Tip Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 18 February 1995. p. 8. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  25. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19, no. 40. 29 September 2001. p. 11. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  26. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Set You Free". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  27. "Top 10 Dance Singles, Week Ending 4 October 2001". GfK Chart-Track. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  28. "Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 50, saptamina 17.12–23.12, 2001" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on 13 February 2005. Retrieved 27 May 2020. See LW column.
  29. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  30. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  31. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  32. "ARIA Top 50 Singles for 1995". ARIA. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  33. "1995 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 51/52. 23 December 1995. p. 14. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  34. "Jaarlijsten 1995" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  35. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1995" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  36. "Top 100 Singles 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 9.
  37. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  38. "British single certifications – N-Trance – Set You Free". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  39. "Single Releases" (PDF). Music Week. 23 April 1994. p. 29. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  40. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 24 December 1994. p. 31. Retrieved 9 August 2021. Misprinted as 1 January.
  41. "Selected New Releases" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1099. 16 June 1995. pp. 30, 36. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  42. "In-Store Next Week (from 10/9/01)". Music Week. 8 September 2001. p. 16.
  43. "Frightened Rabbit - Set You Free - YouTube". YouTube.
  44. Kenneally, Cerys (17 September 2021). "Kyla La Grange reworks N-Trance's "Set You Free" on first release in over four years". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
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