Johanna Glaza
As featured recently in Impose, Johanna Glaza provided us with an exclusive introduction to the anticipated upcoming debut album Wind Sculptures along with insights into the inspiration behind the “Space Mermaid” single & Old Rope Films video.
The Lithuanian by London artist paints earthbound ethereal orchestrations that span between the coast-side rocks to the meteor belts found in the outer galaxy dimensions (and possibly even beyond if Glaza’s piano work is any indication). Johanna bridges the reaches between sea & space to seem a little closer in company in an odd-couple type of congress with one another. There is not one particular section of Johanna’s style that abides by the strict schools of song composition conventions where key changes & expansive illustrations of vocal ranges will stun in a piece worthy of being an operetta unto itself.
Johanna Glaza penned the following exclusive preface to Wind Sculptures, “Space Mermaid” & more:
The making of Wind Sculptures…
Usually I’m a slow writer but one autumn songs just invaded me. On the day I wrote Space Mermaid I said jokingly to someone—today I will write three songs…And I did, I think the full moon certainly played a big part in that. Somehow I was quite sure it had to be recorded to tape. This album is like a rite of passage to me. It takes you to a completely new level to record music without computers. In a way it requires even more presence and commitment, you can’t cheat, so you are full of your being, you put more into that moment. Ed Gizzard who has produced it brilliantly enhanced that solitary experience, using radiophonic technics, found sounds and tape loops for the arrangements. It’s amazing that one of the most ethereal sounds in Space Mermaid was created
by using a barbecue oil drum. So the whole recording journey was a real joy and hopefully finally I can call myself a musician, no cheating…
It took a long time to find someone I could trust to make a video. I kept saying no to a lot of people and just when I got quite worried that maybe my gut feeling was not working any more -The Old Rope Films came along and won me over by their commitment to freeze for 2 days outdoors and their total trust in spontaneity which is so important to me. We’ve chosen the location, which is quite surreal, almost moon like. It’s by the ocean in Devon, UK, and the freezing windy weather only helped me to get into my own element and be lost in that vastness. Those rocks and cliffs have amplified and intensified the vibe, there was no need to think or analyse things whilst being there. The only 2 strong images I had in my mind before the filming-was the character emerging form the water in the dark baggy coat, as if she really came form some weird place and just threw on whatever was available, and the other image- the earth falling on me, like snow. I often think in images, they can express things even more accurately than words.
