In 2020, around the start of the pandemic, a then-15-year-old known as Glaive started making music, which quickly gained traction when the first of it was released on SoundCloud in April. That led to a debut EP, Cypress Grove, and today, Glaive (now 16 years old) has shared a new video for one of the release’s tracks, “Astrid.”
Musically, an immediate comparison that comes to mind with this song is 100 Gecs but poppier and less aggressive. Glaive’s music is often categorized as “hyperpop,” a label that he’s actually not in love with.
In a recent interview, Glaive described how he got started making music, saying, “The main thing at the beginning was being bored. I’ve only been doing this for eight months, a little before quarantine started. It was a good way of getting out emotions instead of being friggin’ sad all the time. Most of my songs are pretty sad, but I’m a pretty happy, energetic person. Getting rid of all those negative emotions through music — then I don’t have to talk about it at any other time.”
Glaive also discussed how his North Carolina home informs his visuals, saying, “If I didn’t live here, I probably wouldn’t love nature as much as I do. But now I’ve fallen in love with the landscape — forests, open fields, just being outside in general. A lot of my songs are trying to recreate that nature-y feel, too.”
Some good news is that press materials note that “more music from Glaive is imminent,” so keep an eye out.
Watch the “Astrid” video above.