Winnipeg, MB-based band, Glassreel has unveiled their video for their newest single, “Crystal Ball”. The single is from the band’s 2019 debut EP, Unalike, and was recorded/mixed by Ryan McVeigh, and mastered by Philip Shaw.
“The lyrics were born of anxiety…” Graumann shares of his pen-to-paper process on “Crystal Ball.” “That generalized anxiety around not being where you feel you ‘should be’ at this point in life, as well as some specific anxiety about a specific stressful situation that then occurs.
The line ‘handing your changes in’ got stuck in my head… Like a ‘call to progress.’”
I remember the first time Trevor played the demo for me,” Beaton recalls. “I remember what I felt and what my impression was: The song was different, and it was special.
It was born out of shared experiences and a bigger idea I had not yet seen, but one that Trevor had no doubt been visualizing for a long, long time. ‘Crystal Ball’ was and is such an important song — both personally and reflectively — for our band and for one another.”
Directed by Workman — with videography by Kelly O’Donnell — the video for “Crystal Ball” was shot on a cool Autumn day in Graumann’s neighbourhood. Its muted colour palette, solitary plight and dreary, somewhat prosaic adventure follows a quizzical child navigating a symbolic adulthood, encountering regret, vulnerability, and hope of transformation along the way.
Check out the video below and find out more about Glassreel via our Five Questions With segment.
https://youtu.be/NuFHZKv6mdU
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
We are Kelly (vocals, Sagittarius), Andrew (drums, Aquarius), Ken (bass, Cancer), and Trevor (guitar/ vocals, Cancer) of Glassreel from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.
We play pop music. Trevor is the primary songwriter who usually brings the songs to me. Together we work on the overall structure of the songs, honing in on vocals, lyrics and harmonies. Andrew and Ken step in and add the rhythmic aspect and we all work together from there, adding to and experimenting with the initial idea until we are happy with the final product.
Do you have any upcoming shows? For someone who has yet to see you live, how would you explain your live performance?
We were booked for a few music festivals this summer, but given the current circumstances, those have unfortunately been postponed. We have been recording demos by individually recording tracks onto an app. From there, Andrew has been mixing them remotely for a socially distant final product. We are currently working on an interactive live performance idea, but we haven’t ironed out all the kinks yet. Our live performance is fairly classic: bass, drums, guitar, vocals. I sing at you, make a lot of eye contact and take things to a weird level. We comb our hair, use our manners and play our instruments.
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
Crystal Ball.
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/ artists?
Not a comprehensive list: Charlotte Day Wilson, Weary, Bonjay, Dorothea Paas, Andy Shauf, Hut Hut, Julie Doiron, Super Duty Tough Work, Land of Talk, Kacy and Clayton, Jaywood, The Garrys, Sloan, Jennifer Castle.