
Laura Glyda Interview
Q: Can you talk about how you got into music?
A: I grew up with a piano in my house, so from a very young age, I was exploring and learning to play by ear. Many of my family members are musical and can sing or play an instrument, so it was something I was constantly surrounded by. I started playing guitar around age 12, and really developed my skills once I got my hands on a book of chords a few years later. As for singing, I’ve basically been singing ever since I can remember. I sang in choirs growing up, which fostered my love for harmony. I started singing professionally at 18, in college, as a solo artist and then for a few years in a band, but almost all my live performances are solo these days. There’s an intimacy and vulnerability to that style that I’ve always loved, and that keeps me playing solo shows almost exclusively.
Q: What are some of the themes you explore on This Heart Is A Machine?
A: On the surface, it’s divorce, loss, grief, and the journey of walking away from a marriage. Beneath that, it’s resilience, vulnerability, courage, and hope. It’s about building trust with yourself amidst a crushing time in your life. Believing that you’re worth more than a situation that isn’t serving you. It’s the idea that we are engineered to keep going, for our hearts to keep beating through it all, that inspired the album name and title track.
Q: What is your creative process like?
A: I’m a very spontaneous and organic writer, and my process almost always begins with noticing. Keeping my senses open to the world in the spirit of curiosity has consistently led to receiving inspiration from a wide variety of sources. It can come from the drone of the city, or the layered rhythms of wiper blades and turn signals in a car, or hearing a snippet of something someone is humming to themselves as you pass by. If something catches my ear, there’s a good chance it will bounce around in my brain, marinating in the experiences of the day, and then eventually emerge as a little line, pattern, or tune that can ultimately become a song. Practically, I most often write music on my guitar, starting by experimenting with different capo configurations because I get bored with traditional chords. I record a lot of musical sketches on video so I can remember the configurations and how to play them later, when I’m moved to expand them into finished pieces.
Q: How do you go about writing lyrics?
A: I do a lot of free writing, especially during times of high emotion. So as I’m feeling deeply about something, I’m often comforted and calmed by articulating that experience, specifically into the Notes app on my phone. I can type faster than I can physically write, and the stream-of-consciousness of it all allows me to express those feelings unfiltered. Sometimes the words that come are organically poetic; other times, it’s simply a collection of run-on sentences and rapid-fire musings to relieve the pressure of the emotional flood. So later, when I have an idea, I can go back and reread those written thoughts, mining them for potent lines that truly convey the crux of the feeling I want to write about. The songs on this record almost all came from that kind of writing.
Q: What do you hope people take away from your music?
A: I hope this album helps people know they’re not alone if they’re going through something like this. I hope they can see little reflections of themselves in the stories and find comfort in them. I hope they can hear their feelings in my words. Most of all, I hope people will be inspired to believe in their ability to move through the hard things they’re up against. I want these songs to be a balm for broken hearts; something you keep for yourself as a reminder of your strength, or a gift you can offer to someone who is suffering a similar loss. A tiny light in the dark that reminds them there are better things ahead.
Q: What else should we know about you and your music?
A: I am so glad I get to share these songs with you. And there are so many more that have yet to be released, so stay tuned for more music; I plan to keep writing songs as long as my little machine heart keeps going.
Q: Can you talk about how you got into music?
A: I grew up with a piano in my house, so from a very young age, I was exploring and learning to play by ear. Many of my family members are musical and can sing or play an instrument, so it was something I was constantly surrounded by. I started playing guitar around age 12, and really developed my skills once I got my hands on a book of chords a few years later. As for singing, I’ve basically been singing ever since I can remember. I sang in choirs growing up, which fostered my love for harmony. I started singing professionally at 18, in college, as a solo artist and then for a few years in a band, but almost all my live performances are solo these days. There’s an intimacy and vulnerability to that style that I’ve always loved, and that keeps me playing solo shows almost exclusively.
Q: What are some of the themes you explore on This Heart Is A Machine?
A: On the surface, it’s divorce, loss, grief, and the journey of walking away from a marriage. Beneath that, it’s resilience, vulnerability, courage, and hope. It’s about building trust with yourself amidst a crushing time in your life. Believing that you’re worth more than a situation that isn’t serving you. It’s the idea that we are engineered to keep going, for our hearts to keep beating through it all, that inspired the album name and title track.
Q: What is your creative process like?
A: I’m a very spontaneous and organic writer, and my process almost always begins with noticing. Keeping my senses open to the world in the spirit of curiosity has consistently led to receiving inspiration from a wide variety of sources. It can come from the drone of the city, or the layered rhythms of wiper blades and turn signals in a car, or hearing a snippet of something someone is humming to themselves as you pass by. If something catches my ear, there’s a good chance it will bounce around in my brain, marinating in the experiences of the day, and then eventually emerge as a little line, pattern, or tune that can ultimately become a song. Practically, I most often write music on my guitar, starting by experimenting with different capo configurations because I get bored with traditional chords. I record a lot of musical sketches on video so I can remember the configurations and how to play them later, when I’m moved to expand them into finished pieces.
Q: How do you go about writing lyrics?
A: I do a lot of free writing, especially during times of high emotion. So as I’m feeling deeply about something, I’m often comforted and calmed by articulating that experience, specifically into the Notes app on my phone. I can type faster than I can physically write, and the stream-of-consciousness of it all allows me to express those feelings unfiltered. Sometimes the words that come are organically poetic; other times, it’s simply a collection of run-on sentences and rapid-fire musings to relieve the pressure of the emotional flood. So later, when I have an idea, I can go back and reread those written thoughts, mining them for potent lines that truly convey the crux of the feeling I want to write about. The songs on this record almost all came from that kind of writing.
Q: What do you hope people take away from your music?
A: I hope this album helps people know they’re not alone if they’re going through something like this. I hope they can see little reflections of themselves in the stories and find comfort in them. I hope they can hear their feelings in my words. Most of all, I hope people will be inspired to believe in their ability to move through the hard things they’re up against. I want these songs to be a balm for broken hearts; something you keep for yourself as a reminder of your strength, or a gift you can offer to someone who is suffering a similar loss. A tiny light in the dark that reminds them there are better things ahead.
Q: What else should we know about you and your music?
A: I am so glad I get to share these songs with you. And there are so many more that have yet to be released, so stay tuned for more music; I plan to keep writing songs as long as my little machine heart keeps going.