Future City Festival: A Q and A with Glass Shards

Photo by Ngamihi Photography

We’ve been grilling the bands playing at this year's FUTURE CITY FESTIVAL. In this episode we talk to Glass Shards!
 
HUP: Tell us about Glass Shards!
GS: Glass Shards is a one-man band lead by local art fiend Oliver Stewart. The backbone of the Glass Shards sound is Ableton (a production suite played from a computer). The project began back in 2010 after I moved to Hamilton to study Screen and Media at the University of Waikato. The origin is kinda boring really. I was producing quite a few tracks from my student dorm and had to figure out a name to chuck them under and voila! Glass Shards was born!
 
HUP: How would you describe your band to someone that hasn’t heard you before?
GS: Imagine, if you can, the sound of a audio sampler being tossed around a concrete mixer with the sultry vocal tones of Alan Vega and the rhythmic backing of a dozen white dudes trying to dance on bubble wrap. Mix all that together and you'd have something god-awful. 
 
Jeez, I'd HOPE Glass Shards sounds nothing like that.
 
HUP: What is our favourite song to play live?
GS: Ooh, at the moment that would have to be a cover of Essa Morris's song "Giving Up". 

HUP: Tell us about the best gig you’ve ever been to… (playing or not playing)
GS: That would have been Dillinger Escape Plan when they played at the Kings Arms a couple years back. The energy and intensity that those guys bought to the stage really blew my mind.
 
HUP: Who are you most looking forward to seeing at Future City 2018?
GS: Myself, of course. I'm going to set up a wall of mirrors between me and what I'm sure will be an ENORMOUS crowd and just perform naked, eyes dead-locked on my own. Its sure to be a sensual, exhilarating show. Real talk though, I'm crazy excited to see BloodLux after hearing snippets of their songs throughout last year. System Corporation have been steadily growing traction too and I really like what little they've put out so far.

HUP: Give us your best Hamilton fact or story!
​GS: Did you know, that buried deep underneath this great cities foundations lies another city filled with frog people. This ancient species of ambivalent, amphibious folk has been watching us and our puny civilisation grow, just waiting for the day to reveal themselves. When that day comes, I will welcome our slimy overlords with open arms.

Remember, you heard it here first guys.

Glass Shards on Soundcloud