Glassio is a musician with a fascinating background. He grew up in the early 1990s in Sharjah, a city in the United Arab Emirates and was raised on the sounds of Glen Campbell, one of his mother's favorite artists. As he grew older, Glassio became entranced with music, expanding his creativity and exploring the electronic pop genre.
In 2015, Glassio took the first stepping stone towards establishing his music career with his debut single, "Try Much Harder." The track broke the Spotify Global Viral Charts, and from there, the singer began to evolve and create more music.
A year later, the singer released an EP called Poptimism with the smash success of "If I Was Your Boy." It wasn't until 2017 and 2018 that Glassio started gaining critics' attention. Songs such as "Morning House," "Daydream" and "Back for More" earned over five million streams on Spotify, proving that Glassio was an electronic artist to take seriously.
Soon, Glassio opened for acts such as Fujiya and Miyagi, Electric Youth and Miami Horror. "Daydream" became a club hit in Latin America, reaching No.1 on the Dominican Republic iTunes charts. The single also was featured on New Music Friday South America. Performing at South by Southwest (SXSW) in 2018, Glassio was named one of the best electronic acts by Ladygunn magazine.
After going solo during the same year, Glassio, now just Sam R., dropped the Age of Experience EP, featuring background vocals from Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Daneshevskaya. Mother Jones magazine said the release was "proof that electronic music and great storytelling are a perfect match." The EP was streamed over five million times across all music platforms and featured the song "Back For More," which was included on the HBO show Here & Now.
In 2020, Glassio released his debut album, For The Very Last Time. It was named one of the best electronic releases by Bandcamp and gained praise from Consequence of Sound and Fader magazines. The lead singles "Nobody Stayed for the DJ" and "A Million Doubts" made it to No.1 on Hype Machine.
"Nobody Stayed for the DJ" was noticed by some of Spain's biggest DJs, such as Amable, Hal9000 and Nacho Ruiz, and "A Million Doubts" achieved over one million streams between Apple Music and Spotify after only six months.
Glassio remained active in the music scene, unveiling his sophomore album See You Shine this past May. This time around, the artist explores the concept of a young adult living in a small town in Arizona, shunning them for their beliefs while also looking to move to a new city. The album also discusses themes of resilience in the face of grief and loss, dedicated to his late father.
Outside Glassio, Sam R. has co-written and produced songs with French Horn, Rebellion, Clubhouse, warner case, NAKAYA and Madelyn Darling. He's doing a short run of shows in the U.S this year and will later play his first-ever shows in Europe.
You can also expect to see Glassio performing at various festivals in Spain this summer, and he aims to finish his third album once he returns to New York. Glassio is eager to keep creating, leaving an impressive legacy behind him as an up-and-coming electronic-pop artist.