With the release of his full length self titled album, Glotis takes a fresh approach to genre clashing to give the record a life all its own.
As the artist himself puts it, “It’s like bedroom pop with anger issues”.
Lush with provocative production, a passionate and indie vocal approach, and deep synth overtones, the record boasts the aesthetic of alternative pop anthems.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Glotis about the new album, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I’m from St. Louis, MO originally but am pretty location agnostic, I’ve worked in cities all over the country. I make music to be the soundtrack to all the moments in life no one writes songs about. Late, sleep-deprived nighttime drives alone where you can barely keep your eyes open and the road is hypnotizing you into a dance with death. Staring contests with yourself in the mirror where you question all your life choices and interrogate your own reflection. Questionable hookups; brilliant brainstorming sessions in the shower; those times where you’re pressured into doing various drugs and it turns out to not be as big of a deal as you thought it would be. In other words, “life songs” instead of “love songs.” Self-expressive and painfully aware of my humanity.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
I used to sing in various incarnations of a rock band back in my hometown. I would write the vocal parts and lyrics but left the rest of it up to the band to compose. Once that band finally dissolved,I was left feeling pretty lost. I told myself I was done with music entirely and would focus on university and other work. But if you are musically oriented, it’s a part of your DNA almost and you can’t really get it out of you. Song ideas kept coming to me, out of my subconscious as I worked on other things. So, over the years I’ve continued to just write and record music entirely on my own. What keeps me going is simply the need for a creative outlet, one where nobody meddles or tries to tell me what to do and everything is up to me. I think any creative person needs that.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
This is my first real release, so what I will talk about is how it’s different than upcoming projects. This album is an experiment in turning loneliness and isolation into a creative product. It’s the result of many nights and weekends spent alone holed up in various apartments, tinkering with my sound until it got to what I felt was an acceptable place. The next album will be more of a diary, songs that represent states of mind and discoveries I made while traveling around the country. The projects after that will be collaborations with another producer/composer. And after that… well. Hopefully you’ll see and hear one day. One thing I never want to do is get stuck in a rut creatively and start repeating myself. So, I will always take different approaches to projects, to get different end results.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
Well the obvious challenge is, how do you stand out in such an over saturated market? And how do you get anyone to give a shit enough to stop what they are doing and listen? These are questions I am still trying to navigate. I hope interviews like this one, reviews, and investing in art direction will help new listeners discover what I’m doing. Advertising is something I want to invest in soon, once I figure out how maximize the return on that investment. As for technology, if it weren’t for DAWs and AI mastering for mix referencing, and obviously older tech like MIDI and synthesizers, I wouldn’t be able to make and distribute music at all. It is easily accessible now, which is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing for my own sanity to be able to create, and a curse in that everyone and their grandmother makes mixtapes now, so you’re lost in an ocean of mostly not very high-quality music.
What was the last song you listened to?
I’ll give you the last 5. Appletree by Erykah Badu, Oh My God by A Tribe Called Quest, Zero by The Smashing Pumpkins, BTSTU by Jai Paul, and Sugarboy by St. Vincent.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I would have a vinyl collection if a) I could afford it, and b) if I had space for it + a record player in my apartment. But a lot of music that I love isn’t on vinyl, so, I think there is something to be said for investing in a higher quality speaker or sound system to listen to digital music on properly. If you aren’t streaming music and want the actual files though, I don’t know why you would go for MP3s over WAVs or another higher quality audio format. MP3s sound pretty bad.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I use Spotify probably the most just for the convenience. It sucks that they pay artists next to nothing for streams but being on streaming services is basically required these days if you want anyone to hear you. Not an Apple Music guy because I don’t use an iPhone. Bandcamp is the place to go to really support unsigned artists, and to discover new ones. Mostly I go on there if I meet someone in person and want to support their music more directly.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
Instagram (@glotismusic) is good for updates on things like reviews, interviews, and other happenings. Any major announcements like new music releases will be of course shared on social, but the central location for that stuff is the website (glotismusic.com). I plan on releasing at least one project per year for the next couple years, so stay tuned if you like what you are hearing so far.
Anything else before we sign off?
Don’t forget to practice self-love. Your vote your voice. Wine is a gay’s best friend.
