Sydney-based band Glades is working fast and rising quickly. If you don’t know Glades yet, it won’t be long before you start to hear this alternative-pop trio’s name around. Glades write and produce their music internally as a unit, combining atmospheric electronics, reverb-heavy guitars, with sleek pop beats.
Today they release their anticipated new single "Not About You" which has been added to the top spot on Spotify's New Music Friday Playlist!
The band’s previous single “Do Right” was added to Spotify’s biggest playlist, Today’s Top Hits, and has had major success, achieving over 48 million streams so far.
“The biggest thing for us has been doing this as a fill-time job, which was just a dream,” vocalist Karino Wykes told The Sydney Morning Herald. “It wasn’t that long ago we were in a home studio, trying to write songs together.”
Wykes and band mates Cameron Robertson and Joseph Wenceslao met at William Clarke College, a high school in Kellyville, where Robertson and Wenceslao were experimenting with electronic sounds and Wykes was practicing guitar and occasionally songwriting.
The band got together out of high school, and was a success right from the beginning. The first song they wrote, “Falling Away,” was recognized by a music blogger who gave Glades a spotlight. The group found a manager when Wykes’ Year 10 PE teacher heard the song and passed along an email address. Glades hasn’t slowed down since.
One of the most important things to Glades as musicians is to make sure their music can connect with people. “We wanted our lyrics to be respectful and not paint relationships in an overly sexual way,” said Wykes. “We wanted to bring light to a situation people could respond to, and see in their own life. Every time we write lyrics we think about how they connect with people.”
Glades first attracted widespread attention in 2016 after the release of their second track “Drive.” “Drive” independently gained 30 million streams on Spotify, while peaking at #16 on the Global Viral charts, #10 on the U.S. viral charts, and #4 on the Australian Viral Charts.
Recently, the band has toured Australia with the likes of LANY, Arizona, and Clean Bandit, as well as touring the U.S. for their own headline shows. Glades will continue their run of live shows with their first Australian headline tour this May, as well as a performance at Mackay’s River Sessions 2018 in June.