New single “Al Pacino” from London based acclaimed indie-electronic meets pop artist Glassio featuring NYC artist Loren Berí. The single is a surreal, shimmering slice of melancholy electro pop that turns a cinematic reference into a deeply personal meditation on loss and goodbyes. Blending French-Touch grooves, New Wave textures, and the melodic richness of Brian Wilson, “Al Pacino” expands on the sonic world Glassio has coined as “melancholy disco.”
Glassio has garnered 25 million streams and his music has received placements in Netflix and HBO series. His music has received praise from the likes of FADER, NYLON, FLOOD, Wonderland and Consequence among others.
Glassio is the Dream-Pop-tinged Indie-Dance project from Irish-Iranian songwriter-producer Sam R. Having garnered over 25 million streams over the course of his career and toured with acts like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Nada Surf, and Electric Youth, Glassio has become a staple Indie-Electronic outfit, drawing in fans from all over the world, some of whom include entrepreneur and model Miranda Kerr. His music has been featured on shows on HBO and Netflix, and he has remixed and co-written music for a wide number of artists from Warner Case to Clubhouse to Madge.
Often described as “melancholy-disco,” Glassio’s sound was born out of a love for applying a melodic sweetness to brooding dance beats, carving out a unique space in the Indie-Electronic world that bridges influences from Big Beat to Chamber Pop to New Wave.
Born and raised between Sharjah in the Middle East and Monterey in California, Sam R. fell in love with music listening to Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys, Graceland by Paul Simon, and “Streets of Philadelphia” by Bruce Springsteen on his way to school in the mornings.
After moving to New York in 2011, he joined several indie-rock bands, including a psych-folk group with Maggie Rogers. He started Glassio with his friend and collaborator Charles Pinel after the two began DJing around NYC and falling in love with dance music.
A debut EP, Poptimism, was released in 2016 to critical acclaim and viral success, with lead single “Try Much Harder” peaking at No. 9 on the Global Viral Charts on Spotify. A series of singles and the Age of Experience EP followed in 2018, further cementing Glassio as an act that “proves that electronic music and great storytelling are a perfect match.”
A full-length album, For The Very Last Time, was released via Downtown Music in 2020, garnering over 7 million streams online and recognition from Bandcamp as one of the best electronic albums of the year. The record featured guest vocals from Brooklyn-based songwriter Daneshevskaya. The follow-up album, See You Shine, made waves in Europe, charting at No. 1 on multiple iTunes Charts around the world. Lead single “Breakaway” was featured in Amazon Studios’ feature film Don’t Make Me Go and Netflix’s Locke and Key.
Glassio’s single “Heartstrings” is a sun-tinged ode to surrendering oneself to the joys of a new relationship. The track surpassed 100K streams in its first month.
His latest single “Al Pacino” is a surreal, shimmering slice of melancholy disco that turns a cinematic reference into a deeply personal meditation on loss and goodbyes. The song was born out of a late-night Zoom call and a long-distance friendship, with his artist/musician Loren Berí. Though inspired by Glassio’s obsession with Pacino’s role in Michael Mann’s Heat, the song has little to do with the actor himself. Instead, the name becomes a metaphorical mask. “Al Pacino is a concept, an idea,” Glassio explains. “He has worn many faces. Maybe this is a song about saying goodbye to someone in your life who negatively does the same.” Blending French-Touch grooves, New Wave textures, and the melodic richness of Brian Wilson, “Al Pacino” expands on the sonic world Glassio has coined as “melancholy disco.” Both playful and heart-wrenching, the song channels the pain of losing a friend while hinting at deeper, older griefs that resurface through such partings.