glaston is a post-rock band formed by four passionate individuals. Selina on the piano, Timo on the bass guitar, Jake on the guitar, and David on the drums. Music is one art form and has much in common with other artistic disciplines: Finding inspiration in melodies, fellow artists, personal experiences, and emotions; Transforming a passion into something more serious; Expressing thoughts and feelings; Seeking to touch others…
glaston uses instrumental soundscapes and narrative-like structures to evoke profound emotions. Their new album, I Am Whole, honors the next step in their evolution as a band. Listeners are taken on a journey of exploration, emotions, and deeper feelings through 11 different songs.
Their story explains how they evolved as individuals and as a band, what inspired them to create the songs they have released, and what helped them become a little better, song by song and album by album.
Each of the members has a musical background with which they contribute to the band’s success today. You can read more about each member at the end of the article.
When Timo’s and Jake’s school band project found an end, we – Timo and Jake – wanted to try out something new and decided to join forces with a talented young Pianist, Selina. Inspired by the music of Radiohead, Sigur Ròs and God Is An Astronaut, we started jamming around and through the process wrote our own music.
Shortly after we found David via an online ad on a musician’s forum and it was an instant match: We were looking for an experienced drummer who could play odd times and experimental types of music, and David, with his metal/rock background, was also looking to play more experimental and progressive music. Although the songs weren’t mature at all at the time, we met to jam around the rough material and instantly felt some kind of magic and potential in the air. It was time to think about a name for our group.
We came up with glaston, which is a play of words derived from German: Glas & Ton which means the sound of glass. Between the lines, it could be translated as ‘a fragile set of tones’ (Ein Ton aus Glas). We all loved the meaning, and that was the beginning of glaston (with a non-capitalized G).
The band’s style and musical character evolved over time and were a result of our 4-piece constellation, where every band member contributed musically with their own unique background and preferred genres. With the piano as our “voice”, we pursued an atypical post-rock direction – an experimental genre that is largely driven by (sometimes psychedelic) walls of guitar sounds. With Selina on the Piano, our sounds somehow got that unique spin and something we’re thrilled with and proud of. In our earlier days, we primarily built the songs around the piano, which is something that has evolved a little on our latest album ‘I Am Whole’: other instruments or experimental elements such as synths and strings take over the main voice on some songs, which wasn’t by design, but rather a result of us changing our approach to songwriting a little.
Whenever possible, we try to avoid categorization of our style as we truly just follow our heart and do not try hard to “stay true” to our sound. Compared to classical post-rock bands perhaps, we might change things up every other bar to keep the audience on their toes, instead of creating these huge build-ups with the inevitable climax (which is awesome of course, but something we only rarely leverage in our songs). We often try to find a fine balance between being playful and not being too disruptive with the overall flow of the song. Something a little more cinematic. Something that tells a story despite the absence of lyrics. And we think it’s also what influenced the album ‘I Am Whole’; a lot of personal stories and heart went into the songwriting – it’s our most personal record to date.
“I Am Whole” is about our inner selves as humans, the infinite range of emotions, a certain kind of uncertainty, and the unpredictability of life – and with that, ultimately to trust yourself and accept yourself as who you are. Our music on I Am Whole presents itself as a versatile expression of feelings – it reflects different facets of everyday life, as well as the challenges and tiny beautiful moments that come with it.
In the past we tried to put as many ideas into one song as possible – we did comprehensive demo recording sessions to evolve the songs and experiment further with yet more ideas and song elements. For ‘I Am Whole’ we pushed each other to become better at our craft, but we were also more honest with feedback and tried to keep it simple and more straightforward at times. This approach created much more space for guest musicians and layers that didn’t make things more complex but rather gave the songs more depth through Synths, Subbass elements, viola, and string arrangements.
Paul Seidel and Peter Voigtman co-produced the album. They are both fantastic. It still feels surreal that we got to work together with them. They’re both part of the German post-metal band ‘The Ocean’, a band that we like and that also inspired us in a way. Both Peter and Paul understood our music from the start – we didn’t need to pitch our ideas or give much information, we just clicked working together and we all agreed that whatever last-minute changes we would do in the studio, it would be to make the song better, deeper, more polished. Before the actual recording session, we set up our gear in the recording room of Peter’s studio “Die Mühle” and played every song live for them. They gave us immediate feedback and we tried out a few things, like changing tempos or simplifying certain parts – which sometimes felt odd at first, but later always turned out to be the right decision. We feel like with their warm and professional personalities, they helped us bring out our best versions while recording and they were a huge help with synth arrangements and sound development – something we’re very very proud of.
There’s a whole creative process for writing and recording an album.
Most songs start with a basic arrangement idea around a piano lick or guitar riff.
Then everyone contributes to the concept with their instruments by recording multiple demo versions which we then share with each other online.
We provide feedback and then develop the songs further (it’s a bit of an agile and experimental approach) – with that, we already have a solid baseline to build on when we meet for real to polish the songs in a band room setting. While some of our songs may sound flowy and jamy, they’re actually carefully orchestrated, sometimes note by note.
Writing a song never goes without challenges. In the early days of the ‘I Am Whole’ writing process we were all in a different place. Selina and David were in a flow of inspiration and active with songwriting, while Timo and Jake had really busy personal lives and needed some time off.
If you listen carefully, you may notice that some songs on the new album have a stronger interplay between the piano and drums (e.g. Tearing Apart, Colder Than Eris, Midnight). At some point, Timo needed a bigger break and temporarily left glaston to pursue other band projects, which left us with the challenge of finding a new bass player… which was incredibly hard. As mentioned earlier, glaston is the sum of its individuals – the bass is a key element and Timo’s creativity on the instrument is truly unique.
We auditioned countless talented new musicians during rehearsals, but none really clicked. And then the pandemic happened – another challenge, but with a happy end for us. Not only have we used the concert-free time to finish writing our new album, but we were also offered the unique opportunity to play a live-streaming concert via one of the biggest and most important Post Rock-based Youtube channels, WherePostRock dwells. Still missing a bass player, we asked Timo if he would step in for this one show, which he did and luckily also re-sparked his flame for glaston.
With the motto “there’s still so much to feel”, we leave it up to the listeners how they interpret our songs. Each individual walks in their own shoes and has their personal joys and little fights to fight. With ‘I Am Whole’ we aim to make listeners feel safe and comfortable, surrounded by warm sounds and a cozy atmosphere – it should feel like a heartfelt hug. We’re curious how it makes YOU feel.
Feelings inspire us too when listening to other artists. Often it is certain albums of other artists that deeply illuminate us and ultimately also influence the licks and beats we play on our own instruments. We all listen to such a broad spectrum of music that we rarely have one favorite album in common…except Agent Fresco’s Destrier back in 2015 – that one has touched us all. Karnivool’s Sound Awake album and Hania Rani’s Piano music to a certain extent too!
Besides artists, we are also inspired by music scenes in specific countries, primarily by Scandinavian, UK, and American music. While we had the opportunity to play at some really awesome festivals and concerts in our environment (Basel and Zurich), the music scene is in general very saturated and tough. And as a niche genre band, we feel that.
We have a feeling that in today’s fast-paced times and generally oversaturated music industry, there will be a time again to slow down, be in the moment, and appreciate carefully crafted art such as post-rock music. The genre already has a very dedicated fan base which is growing daily thanks to more Post Rock presence in movies and TV shows, as well as streaming services that suggest experimental music to sometimes unlikely new audiences (haven’t we all discovered some exotic cool bands like that?)
A dream of ours would be to supply a TV Show or Movie sequence with the soundtrack through our music, or maybe a creative director discovers us and decides to make a Reel of one of his sequences using our music (Rotbuch could be a good fit :)).
There’s still so much to do, to achieve, to enjoy, to feel – as individuals, and as a band. One emotion that we, as a band, would like to explore and feel in the future, and hopefully convey through one of our songs, is Wholesomeness.
Selina had a piano at home when she was growing up. As a child, she was drawn to the instrument and was always fascinated whenever someone would play it. This initial exposure sparked her interest in learning to play the piano. Over the years, she also tried other instruments, including the violin for six years, and a bit of guitar and drums. However, the piano has remained the most beautiful instrument to her.
Timo relistened to the same Papa Roach album over and over on his cd player while taking a bath and learning every Blink-182 lyric by heart. These are just two examples of how music has always been a central part of his life. He got to play bass guitar because of Jake, who was in a band that was looking for a bass player. Timo joined them with a bass he received from his godfather. Playing the instrument felt natural to him and although he enjoys playing diverse instruments nowadays, the bass guitar is the one closest to his heart.
Jake has always been fascinated by music and how many emotions can arise through it. The thought of writing songs himself and arousing such emotions motivated him to learn how to play an instrument. Since he listened mainly to rock music, the guitar was the most logical choice for him. Together with Timo, they founded a band before they truly mastered the instrument. That didn’t matter; the main goal was that they could make music together, which turned into a passion and a lifestyle.
David’s mom was a part-time piano teacher and his dad was a guitarist. They would listen to QUEEN, The Police, and Guns’n’Roses all the time, which inspired him to start jamming around on his mom’s kitchen utensils at the age of 5. Instead of telling him off, his parents got him his first drum set and lessons when he turned 6. Over the years it became a deep passion and an essential part of his life.
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