Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Glimmer and Fold
Glimmer and Fold is an alternative rock band formerly known as The Taste rooted in the southern countryside of Germany. Their sound blends the raw energy of rock with the melodic ease of pop, infused with a warm ’70s spirit and a hand-crafted songwriter’s touch. A pinch of deep-dive lyricism adds to the old-fashioned kind of rainbow – a glimmering complexity from another time that folds seamlessly into the spirit of now.
After a long family break, they’re back. With the rearview mirror still reflecting the lights of the big stages, they’re once again sprinkling new tunes into the world – soulful, genuine, and full of musical spirit.
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
Maria: The very first musical influence in my life was a German singer called Manuela and her song “Schuld war nur der Bossa Nova.” I listened to that song when I was about five. I remember coming home from the funfair with my parents in our hometown, singing into this little wheel-shaped candy container I had gotten — over and over and over again.
My next memory is…
One evening in my childhood bedroom, I discovered some old cassettes my dad had recorded. As I listened to them, John Lennon’s song Woman started playing, and tears immediately ran down my face. I was deeply moved, even though I must have been only about eleven years old. When I asked my dad who the singer was, he told me it was John Lennon from the Beatles.
I didn’t actually listen to much of Lennon’s music after that, though – I turned out to be more of a Paul McCartney fan, and I played his vinyl records over and over again.
Nick: The first thing I can remember is me on my parents’ bed, wailing away on this carpet beater I’d turned into a “guitar” by slapping Tesa tape strips on it as strings, belting out KISS’s “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” like my life depended on it. That track was on endless repeat, man. But since my old man plays drums and we had one (later even two) kits just sitting around the house, I ditched the air-guitar-singing bit and jumped straight to banging the skins instead.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
Maria: I tried quite a few instruments during my childhood: the flute, piano with my grandmother, and accordion with my mum. I was also a huge fan of singing in elementary school. But none of these instruments really hooked me, except singing, I just couldn’t connect with them.
My father had always dreamed of playing the guitar, and eventually he bought himself an acoustic guitar and started learning. I was already sixteen when I picked it up and tried playing it myself, and from that moment on I just couldn’t stop. I played for hours and hours every day, until blisters formed on my fingers. I became completely obsessed with playing and especially with composing. I wrote one or two little pieces every day.
And the perfect thing was that, from that moment on, I could sing with my instrument – which I absolutely loved. I finally found a way to express who I am and how I feel.
Since then, I’ve never stopped composing, and many of my songs are still saved on my recorder, waiting to be finished.
Nick: Just by being surrounded by music 24/7. As a kid, I’d hammer along to my favorite tracks (as best I could), at 11 I was the timpanist in an orchestra, a few years later I fell head over heels for jazz and started writing my own stuff. And in the last couple of years – like pretty much everyone else – I’ve gotten into recording, producing, and mixing our tunes myself, which has basically sparked a whole new creative fireworks show for me.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Maria: Now that I’m in my mid-forties, I’ve walked quite a path. I had some profound spiritual experiences as a child, and after my older daughter was born, those early experiences began to resurface. Since then, I’ve learned to appreciate my sensitivity to the other side of this material world — the spirit world, or the underlying patterns that resonate whenever I connect with people.
I also went through a very deep and deeply unsettling experience with someone who was extremely toxic for me — a gaslighting experience that almost broke me. All of that is woven into my songs.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
Maria: Well, I’d describe it as songwriter-driven, storytelling, melodic rock — rooted in the spirit of the ’60s and ’70s, with a deep dive into the soul’s melancholy, yet always sparkling, light-shining waters.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
Maria: I remember a band we played with back in 2006 or 2007, I think. They were called Test Icicles. Their song “Circle. Square. Triangle.” really stuck with me. They had this scratchy, punk-pop, indie, heavy-guitar rock sound that I found fascinating — especially because they managed to blend in such incredibly catchy melodies.
I started weaving elements of that heavy, distorted rock style into my own music back in 2005–2007. It’s not as present on the current album, but we already have songs in the pipeline that clearly carry that influence again.
Nick: Recording my own music was an absolute game changer for me. It flipped everything upside down: the way I approach arranging, but also how I think about a drum part. And that freedom to just experiment without limits.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
Nick: During songwriting, it’s mainly guitar (acoustic or electric) and vocals. The drums join for the arranging. For recording, we use Logic Pro. And production-wise there is no limit for anything that can make a noise.
Maria: I always start composing with my guitar — that’s the foundation for most of my songs. We’ll be releasing a track in the future where I asked Nick to play a drum line first, so I could use that as the base for the composition, and then I built everything on top of it.
On the El Nath album, I experimented a bit more: in some songs I used a violin bow to create space-like sounds, and in others Nick used bags filled with coins or even a suitcase to create unique drum beats.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Maria: Even though it’s not indie but jazz, I still have to mention this artist. I keep listening over and over to Ella Fitzgerald’s Gone with the Wind from the 1956 live album At Zardi’s. It’s one of my all-time favorite performances. The fact that she didn’t know the lyrics and someone in the audience had to whisper them to her while she was singing — the humor of her not being able to hear what he was trying to tell her, the way she interprets the song, and the whole atmosphere… it’s just beautiful and deeply fulfilling.
Nick: Right now: “Jennifer” by Little Comets, “Jacket” by Pet Snake, “Hide” by Honeyglaze, and the album SHIFT by Antonio Sánchez.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
Maria: Well, I still believe that personal interactions, the greetings, the farewells, and all the moments in between, have influenced my music the most. And of course, as I’ve mentioned, being a lifelong composer also means using music to express feelings, to cope with trauma, and to give a voice to the soul when it falls silent.
I was also deeply drawn to the song “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?” by Travis around 1996. I saw it on MTV and instantly fell in love with Fran Healy’s songwriting and his voice. That definitely shaped me as well. At some point I thought, one day I’ll meet that great composer… and I did. And maybe that thought, that possibility, pushed me to work even harder during my twenties. I always wanted to meet Paul McCartney as well… that was a big dream of mine. Maybe one day. 😉
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
Maria: I guess, on the one hand, I want to share emotions and struggles and show that they’re a natural part of life’s journey. And on the other hand, I hope people feel touched, held, and understood through the feelings I bring to life in my songs. Every song feels like a gift to me, and I hope that this gift finds someone who feels its warmth too.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Maria: That music, in many ways, is just like life itself. There are shitty songs, silly songs, beautiful songs, heart-warming songs, melancholic songs, songs that make you laugh — and even mean songs, brutal songs, and love songs. The whole spectrum, just like the people I’ve encountered along the way.
Nick: Don’t cling to your songs once they’re out. Pour every ounce of heart and soul into making them, but the second you release them into the wild – let them fly. They’re no longer yours to control, and neither is how the world reacts.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Nick: SXSW, Glastonbury and Madison Square Garden.
Maria: Playing in packed clubs with about 250 to 500 wonderful people dancing, having fun, and sharing an after-show beer with a few friends — that’s my favorite.
Nick: Yep, and what Maria just said.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Nick: Oh man, too many! But the ones that instantly cross my mind are Radiohead, Nigel Godrich, Michael Brauer, Andrew Scheps, Rick Rubin, Tchad Blake, Beck, Myles O’Reilly. But I’d be fanboying so hard I’d straight-up soil myself in front of all of them!
Maria: I’d be very happy to play a South American tour with Travis. I’d also love to work with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker. I wrote some trippy songs back in 2009–2010, when my daughter was little, but by then we had already stopped playing live. So I think that collaboration would be a great fit, because I truly love experimenting.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
Website: https://glimmerandfold.com (here you can find any link to anywhere)
Bandcamp: https://glimmerandfold.bandcamp.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/glimmer_and_fold/
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Nick: That our music touches people the same way other artists’ music touched us. I still remember exactly what a life-altering gut-punch it was to hear “Shine” by Myles O’Reilly (and the whole backstory behind it). If just one of our tracks hits someone that hard, if it actually reaches them – man, that’s the dream. …Well, that and getting stupid rich off it, obviously.
Maria: My dream has always been to make a living from music — to tour, and, in between, to buy a sweet little farm with chickens, herbs, three or four cows, and a small forest, where I can work and be at peace with the world of plants and animals. Not for profit, but simply as the best way to have healthy food and a place where my soul can flourish.
I hope that one of our songs somehow finds its way into the wider world and blossoms, so we can harvest its fruits and finally fulfill Nick’s and my dream of going on tour again: showing our children great big cities and exploring amazing restaurants and museums along the way.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
Nick: That we exist – and that we might just be one of their new favorite bands.
Maria: That it’s good to listen to the imperfect, the humanly perfect, way of making music. Kind people who aren’t seeking attention for their ego, but who simply want to share stories shaped by the lives they’ve lived.
