Irish-Iranian songwriter Glassio (Sam R.) has already established an impressive career, boasting a strong social media following and over 25 million streams to his name. He’s toured with acts like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Nada Surf, and Electric Youth. His music has been featured on major HBO and Netflix shows, and he’s also written and remixed tracks for other artists. In short, Glassio is everywhere these days.
He grew up in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and Monterey, California. In 2011, Glassio moved to New York and played in several indie-rock bands, including a psych-folk project with Maggie Rogers. Not long after, he and his friend Charles Pinel started DJing around the city, which eventually led to the creation of their own project, Glassio, inspired by a growing passion for dance music.
His first EP, “Poptimism,” came out in 2016 and made an immediate impact. The single “Try Much Harder” even hit No. 9 on Spotify’s global viral charts. More releases followed, including the 2018 “Age of Experience” EP, which helped solidify Glassio’s place in the crowded indie and electronic music scene.
Fast forward to today, and Glassio has dropped a new single, “Al Pacino,” in collaboration with Loren Berí. Blending French touch grooves with New Wave-inspired textures and a Brian Wilson–like melodic sensibility, the track builds a lush soundscape. Its layered synths and rhythms give it a nostalgic, retro feel, while the lyrics explore the pain of losing a friend and the weight of older grief that never fully fades. Glassio calls it “melancholy disco,” a sound that works just as well on a late-night drive as it does on the dance floor.
The idea for the song first sparked during a late-night Zoom conversation between Glassio and his friend, fellow musician Loren Berí. While the title nods to Glassio’s interest in Al Pacino’s character in Heat, the track itself takes a different direction. “Al Pacino” becomes a stand-in for the kind of person who masks their true self behind shifting identities. As Glassio explains, “Maybe this is a song about saying goodbye to someone in your life who negatively does the same.”
“Al Pacino” shows another side of Glassio’s range. It’s fresh, approachable, and versatile enough to fit into any playlist. Glassio’s career has been going up without a stop, and with this new tune, things just got much better.
Keep in touch with Glassio on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook plus find Loren Berí on Instagram.
