By Natalie McCarty

Photo of Glasswing; Provided by Nasan Roberson

As sound pioneers, the creative souls in the Brooklyn, New York scene are a force to be reckoned with. Their unwavering support for one another and relentless drive to push artistic boundaries is unmatched. The collaborative spirit thriving among these artists is nothing short of inspiring.

Nasan Roberson is no exception. A dear friend of mine and a steadfast supporter since my early days with Chiara’s Halo, Nasan is also a cherished member of Weathergirl, my client.

Now, he’s embarked on a thrilling new journey with his band, Glasswing. Self-proclaimed as music made for Twilight fans (me! I am the target demographic!), I eagerly awaited the drop of their first single. I can confidently say, I’m truly a fan.

A completely original sound, it’s quickly become one of my go-to songs of the summer. It definitely pairs nicely with a little Cocteau Twins and some Radiohead.

So, it’s with great pleasure, I share our conversation about Glasswing’s origins, their inspirations, and the technical craft behind producing their debut single, “Heaven Heaven Twice.”

Can you introduce Glasswing to our readers? How did the band come together, and how would you describe yourselves?

Glasswing is my personal music project, it’s my outlet for songs that don’t really fit Weathergirl’s vision and fits more into a digital, Y2K pop influenced shoegaze sound. The band came together thanks to my really good and talented and special friends Harrison, Julia, and David who I’ve all met from the music world.

2. What inspired your debut single “Heaven Heaven Twice”? What themes or stories are you exploring in this song?

Heaven Heaven Twice, is a song where Julia and I challenged ourselves to write a distorted Pop Ballad Duet. We wanted to lean into elements of harsh drum sampling and a low bit rate style sound. We wrote the lyrics independently so our interpretations of each of our parts are different. I wanted a song about longing, a song that felt like a pining sensation that was saturated in a digitized sound.

3. What was the creative and production process like for “Heaven Heaven Twice”? Did you face any challenges or surprises while writing and recording it?

I produced the song trying to marry Deftones Drop tuning style guitar, with DNB style drums (slowed down drum break), as well as heavily side chained distorted synths (taken from the style of electronic music).

We tried something where we side chained our vocals to the kick drum of a slow down drum machine beat. I also blasted the mix through a tube preamp and a CD emulator to try and push the saturated 2000s music sound.

The surprise we felt when recording the vocals was how our vocals sounded together and how fun it was to incorporate elements from genres and styles we love.

4. How have your backgrounds and influences come together to shape the unique sound of Glasswing? Are there any specific artists or experiences that have significantly influenced your music?

Julia and I love airy “off-putting” vocals and incorporating that into heavier style guitar riffs.

We both LOVE Radiohead, and that’s a huge influence on how I sing and how we choose chords and melodic resolutions. There’s a lot of Deftones in there as well — and early PE class DDR music.

5. What are your future plans and goals for Glasswing? Can we expect more music soon, and what can fans look forward to from your upcoming projects or live performances?

Glasswing’s goal is to release an album! I have demos from years ago, and now that I have three amazing and talented friends I can’t wait to incorporate their styles even more.

We have a show coming as well at the Knitting Factory with our good friends in Marshy on July 30th!