Sometimes you need a break, you need to get away from it all, to refocus and find your own authentic voice once again. This is what Andreya Casablanca needed to do after releasing two critically acclaimed records with her band Gurr and touring the world. Refocus, try to see the world and your life from different perspectives. Maybe open different doors and look through different windows. See More Glass.
With her solo debut, Andreya Casablanca created her own world in ten songs and it marks a departure from the soundscapes she created in the past. While not shedding her more rock-oriented roots, Casablanca embraces a shift towards a more genre fluid, pop-influenced sound that manages to be at once inclusive as well as being inventive and challenging – in the very best way.
Take Trapped in Space, where Casablanca fuses her sweetest singing voice with 80’s inspired guitars and synths, powerful bass and drums, and lyrics about projecting one’s personal anxieties upon a romantic interest. Haven’t we all been there? Or there’s Children with its references to Alex Cameron’s brand of deadpan performance. Or the dreamy, yet distorted guitars on Dreamin, painting the picture of a surf rock song gone on a bender, sometime in the mid-90’s, and ending up on the greatest stadium stage. Fittingly, Casablanca describes a sense of falling for a new idea, be it a romantic interest, or a new path in life.
Working on See More Glass indeed felt like taking a new path in life, Casablanca explains: “this has been the first time I created music all on my own“ – before, she had always been a part of a band. “It was a time for self-discovery, reinvention, and being alone, being by myself.“ Inspired by artists such as Tirzah, Grimes and others who started out by simply using tools like Apple’s Garage Band or Logic to create their own productions, she also let her own perfectionism go. “I listened to ‘Art Angels’, and I don’t even like it that much – but its weirdness and playfulness gave me the confidence I needed to just give it a try and do my own thing”, she remembers. Together with producers and engineers such as Robbie Moore and Philipp Janzen (of Von Spar and Die Sterne) they brought her vision over the finish line. On her very own terms.
The creative self-discovery came hand in hand with a period of intense self-reflection, which has influenced the songwriting deeply: observations on dating (“Oh my god, I’m such a teenager“, she says laughing), and meditations about mental health, and the struggles and challenges that come with beginnings and endings in life. On one of See More Glass’ most pivotal tracks, Lose Somebody, Casablanca takes an honest and painful look at her own ambition and how it can turn against oneself – and creates a path forward, out of the depths of hyper productivity, burnout, and depression.
See More Glass is a confident, mature, fully-formed, yet playful, creative and enigmatic artistic statement that is so much more than simply a solo debut. Andrea Casablanca isn’t afraid to show her vulnerabilities, and showcases the strength that lies within this openness. With timeless songs, set to become favourites for a long time, Andreya Casablanca forges a new path for herself. And we’ll follow along happily.
