Glassio is the Queens, NY-based new wave/dream-pop project from Irish-Iranian songwriter-producer Sam R. His debut album For The Very Last Time will be released summer 2020.
I’ve been taking it easy. I’m not trying to put pressure on myself to perform a certain way, or to be on Instagram in a way that feels unnatural to me. This is so new and so unprecedented, so I haven’t been doing much.
I’m near London right now; I decided to come home because my dad is much older, and I was a little worried about him. I love the UK so much. I grew up coming here in the summers, and I sort of associate a form of independence with being here, because I was here when I was 18 and could go out alone. We live about two hours outside of London, but still near the river so it’s really peaceful and really green.
All of my musical equipment is at home in New York, so I bought a Casiotone on eBay last week, which basically kind of sounds like a church organ if Playmobil built a church, which is very nice. I’ve also found an app that adds reverb to anything you record, so the combination of those two things has been superb.
I think reverb really calms me down. I’ve been listening to a lot of Elizabeth Fraser’s music. The “Song To The Siren” cover by This Mortal Coil has always calmed me down — it’s like the audio version of a hammock. I’ve been covering it on my mom’s piano, and I might do a little release of it. Fraser’s music in general, with Cocteau Twins and Massive Attack, just takes me back to my childhood. My mom was a singer in Ireland in her youth, in choirs working with Enya and the Riverdance in the ‘80s, so I grew up around a lot of Celtic music. Hearing that kind of takes me back to the feeling of my living room carpet. I’d like to think I took my first steps to Elizabeth Fraser, but my life didn’t work out in such a cool manner — it was probably to Enya. My mom basically only played Enya in the house. It’s kind of a weird way to start life. If Joel Schumacher directed a Forrest Gump kind of film, Enya would have totally been at the the beginning.
The coronavirus has hit many people financially, and it’s been especially tough on musicians who rely on touring to support themselves. If you’re able and inclined, check out Glassio’s Bandcamp and order a T-shirt, some vinyl, or whatever they’ve got on offer. Every little bit helps.
