Q+A with Glassmanet
You’ll hear the groovy, floating sounds of Glassmanet’s “Onda” in episode 23 of blank mood. The song’s rolling guitars take you along a carefree soft-focus dream, returning you safely within three minutes.
Glassmanet is based in Oslo, Norway, so I assumed the indiscernible lyrics were in Norwegian. I was wrong though!
“The lyrics of the song are kinda abstract, but relate to the themes of the other tracks on the FLOW EP, such as being in flow state and floating in water or thought streams,” explained Glassmanet.
“Onda” is one of seven tracks on a double EP titled EBB / FLOW. The EP was released by Glassmanet in two parts, EBB in 2023 and FLOW in 2024. This Q+A explores a bit more about the band, the EP and what this dreamy psych pop trio has planned for 2025. They also share some great recommendations for other psychedelic sounds from Norway.
//wendy
What is the story about the song "Onda"? Are the lyrics in Norwegian?
The lyrics for “Onda” are actually in Spanish. I am half Spanish / Norwegian and wanted to try to write a song in Spanish, though I'm not completely fluent in the language. I tested out a few simple phrases based on words I knew that rhymed, and then I asked my father to check the grammar in the end.
The lyrics of the song are kinda abstract, but relate to the themes of the other tracks on the FLOW EP, such as being in flow state and floating in water or thought streams.
Glassmanet is now a trio, but used to be a solo project - is that correct? The band is based in Oslo?
Yes, that is correct. I started recording and releasing tracks by myself as Glassmanet in 2020 during the pandemic isolation. Later I worked with other musicians who could play certain instruments a lot better than me, such as bass and drums. When I moved to Oslo in January this year, the project evolved into a trio with Hannah Mørtl on bass and Embrik Berge on drums.
You are described as an audiovisual artist - what other audio/visual projects are you working on?
I do all the visual aspects of the project, such as artwork, videos etc… in addition to the music, and enjoy combining those elements to make a coherent Glassmanet-universe. Ive also contributed to a lot of different projects for other artists with artwork, vinyl design, videos, photos and music.
Your latest EP FLOW is part of a double-EP titled EBB / FLOW - what was the guiding concept behind each of the releases?
The idea behind EBB / FLOW was to create a two part “duality” project reflected in both the music, lyrics and visuals. “Ebb and flow” can also be a metaphor for “ups and downs”, so the EBB (EP) was focused around darker themes such as depression, anger, apathy and sadness, while the FLOW (EP) is a lot more dreamy and upbeat with themes of looking forward and finding inspiration. On EBB I experimented with darker sounding genres such as shoegaze, post-punk, noise-rock and ambient. I had some demos for the tracks on FLOW and a general idea of what the EP should sound like, before I started developing the songs further with Hannah and Embrik, exploring brighter sounds such as dream pop and psychedelic rock.
How would you say EBB / FLOW differs from your first "microalbum" Glassplanet?
I had already taken inspiration from the genres mentioned above on my previous releases, such as on the Glassplanet microalbum, but I wanted to make EBB even darker, and FLOW even more dreamy and pop-oriented to fit with the concept.
The songs are also a bit longer on EBB and FLOW than previous releases which were all under 2 minutes. Ive been enjoying exploring how much I can do with tracks in a short amount of time for the listener. The concept behind Glassplanet was to try to create an entire album experience of 11 minutes that could fit on a 7” record single.
Another great difference between those projects has been working together as a band on developing FLOW. As well as working with the brilliant producers Joseph Beaty, who co-produced, mixed and added some instruments on EBB, and Kenneth Ishak, who engineered, recorded, co-produced and mixed FLOW.
What do you hope listeners feel/think when they listen to your music?
We hope the listeners are floating in the sound waves and getting inspired in different ways. I always strive to add some kind of element of surprise to make it a more interesting and unexpected listen.
What would you say is the most unique thing about the Glassmanet sound?
Good question. I would perhaps say the combination of quirky and unconventional song structures that are constantly changing, mixed with a dreamy sound. There is a lot of great music out there which is dreamy and mellow, and other music that is very eclectic or progressive, but I cannot point out a lot of examples that combine those elements, perhaps because they are a bit contradictory.
What/who are your influences in psychedelic and 60s/70s pop?
Hannah: My 60s / 70s influences are Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Yes and The Beatles.
Glassmanet: I would say all the same artists as Hannah mentioned above, and I'm also influenced by a lot of 60s / 70s psychedelic folk. Some of my favorites are Linda Perhacs and Comus.
Embrik: My psychedelic influences is sort of scattered around the world and is hard to place in one place but here are some top picks that really means a lot to me: The peruvian band “Telegraph Avenue”, Pugh Rogefeldt with his album “Ja dä ä dä” and Demon Fuzz.
How would you describe the sound of your music to your friend's grandmother?
I usually describe it something along the lines of “a dreamy mix of pop and rock that is also a bit strange”.
Is there a psych pop scene in Norway?
Glassmanet: Norway is a very small country, but there are definitely a lot of great bands within the psychedelic pop / indie scene, such as FOAMMM and Dråpe that we’ve played support for.
Hannah & Embrik: We also recommend Gunerius og Verdensveven, Gold Celeste, Electric Eye, and Ekkolodd.
Glassmanet: Id also like to recommend Embrik’s other band LOOSER which is kinda psychedelic shoegaze.
Do you each have a favourite album of 2024?
Glassmanet: 2024 has been such a great year for music, so it's too hard for me to choose just one, but these are the three albums I've been listening to the most this year: Magdalena Bay Imaginal Disk, The Marías Submarine and Louis Cole nothing.
Hannah: Kaanan & Ævestaden Langt, langt vekk.
Embrik: My favourite 2024 album is Project Gemini with Colours and Light.
You have a show in London soon - what might people expect there?
We will be performing with our friends in the brilliant UK psych band Looking Glass Alice, so expect even more psychedelic soundscapes and visuals than usual when we bring our creative forces together to create a split show…and perhaps there will also be some new soundwaves from us!
What can people expect in terms of visuals at a live Glassmanet performance?
I have created a visualizer / video that we have used at venues that have a projector. "Glassmanet" is the Norwegian name of the moon jellyfish, so I often include jellyfish and oceanic elements in our visuals. The live visualizer was made with recordings I did of jellyfish at the Sumida aquarium in Tokyo when I was there in 2023, edited in lots of layers with different blend modes in Premiere Pro to create different psychedelic effects. I really like the psychedelic liquid light shows artists used at their concerts in the 60s and 70s, and in some way I think jellyfish aquariums have the same kind of hypnotic effect, especially when you add different colours and effects to it.
In addition to the projector visualizer, our stage outfits follow the same blue and pink colour scheme of the project. Hannah also recently made som crochet hats that look kinda jellyfish-like. We also bring soap bubbles to our shows that we give to the audience, so they can participate in creating a special live experience.
Do you have any live shows or releases planned for 2025?
We have started working on some new music and hope to make a full length album next year. Right now I am also researching how we can do a vinyl release of EBB / FLOW in 2025 as well. The plan is to do more shows in Norway early next year, and perhaps expand to other Scandinavian countries to begin with. We would love to perform in other European countries as well, since we have several friends and listeners in France, Germany and Spain.
Anything else you'd like to mention to listeners and readers?
Be kind and curious and keep floating! And huge thanks to Wendy / blank mood. for inviting us to this interview :)
Follow Glassmanet on Instagram and check out the video for their silky smooth tune “Lagoon (on the Moon)”… those ba ba-ba-ba-ba bas!