In October, Glacis and Polaroid Notes' debut album was released here on Whitelabrecs, following their self-released 'Reflections' EP from earlier in the year. Here, we go behind the scenes with the artists, to understand more about their collaborative album 'Time Is Coming To An End'. I know Euan and Andreas well having worked with them for many years, so I thought I'd hand over to the Inner Echo community to prepare some questions and Ryan of Akira Film Script was eager to respond.

Ryan chats with Euan and Andreas about how their collaboration began through a simple online exchange and grew into something bigger. They discuss the organic way Time Is Coming To An End took shape, developing ideas through a relaxed back-and-forth with no set theme. The duo touch on the album’s textures, from electric piano and synths to field recordings and found sounds, and how these elements helped shape its striking atmosphere. They also look ahead to future projects, including new solo work, upcoming collaborations and the early seeds of a follow-up to this album.

If you like to take a listen to Time Is Coming To An End, there's a Bandcamp link at the bottom of the page!

While no introduction is needed for both of you for the Whitelabrecs community, can either of you fill in newer folks in the community on how you began connecting and collaborating back in 2022?

Euan: If I remember correctly I was mostly just messaging Andreas about one of his albums and about how much I loved it and then I just suggested a collaboration and it sort of flowed from there.

Andreas: Euan wrote a very nice comment on my release ‘Cloud Anthems’ and I wanted to thank him for that. This led to a regular exchange, and we realised that we had both been following each other's music for quite some time. Euan then asked me if I wanted to work with him, and I thought, let's just give it a try, because I felt that we both had a common understanding and approach to music. We both like piano-based music with reduced structures and plenty of space within the compositions.

Being from different locations in Europe, do you travel to meet and record nowadays this far into your collaborative work, or do you both capitalize on the advancements of the digital age to collaborate at a distance?

Euan: Every collaboration I am involved with has been remote. I think there's something quite magical about the ability to connect in this way. Obviously there is a part of me that wishes that things could be in person and that we could be sat in a room chatting about the music. However, sharing ideas and bouncing ideas back and forward, given we both work, was a nice way to be able to work. I think each collaboration is different but this one felt exceptionally easy and relaxed. No expectation, no pressure, just making music for the love of it and through mutual respect for each others solo work.

Andreas: It was the first time I had worked with someone on the basis of exchanging sound files. So I was quite curious to see if and how it would work. After this experience, I am sure that it is a pretty good method, as it allows everyone involved to work at their own pace.

On this album, there's not only a strong calling from the album's title, but also a very strong calling from the music itself - it really draws you deep down into the album, right from the opening piano notes. Was there a shared inspiration across the album; something to focus on to capture such an indelible mood so consistently across the album?

Euan: Andreas might say something different but there was really no inspiration from my perspective. We knew and respected each other's work and I personally felt we were similar in our approaches to music and sound. My general gut feeling was that we would be very compatible in terms of working on each other's ideas. So we basically just shared ideas with each other and then developed from there. It was a very organic process and I think we complimented each other in the way I thought we would. I'm extremely proud of the record. We have already started sharing ideas for a follow up.

Andreas: Euan's right, there wasn't a specific theme or motif at the beginning. All the tracks evolved quite naturally and organically, even later on when we were thinking about the album title and cover images. After we had finished the tracks and decided to name the album after a song title, we both independently came up with the same two suggestions: ‘All Is White’ and ‘Time Is Coming To An End’. Interestingly, the second suggestion originally had a different working title, but when Euan added a sample of his mother's grandfather clock, which ended abruptly at the end of the track, I knew that the title of this track had to be changed to ‘Time Is Coming To An End’. At the same time, we began exchanging ideas for the cover. I have a close friend who lives nearby, and she had shown me pictures she had taken during her last visit to Iceland. They were really extraordinary and somehow strange: the single street pole or the power poles in a deserted landscape, something that interrupts the overall impression or expectation of the viewer. It definitely fits together, but not at first glance. The same applies to the music.

With such richly textured compositions and an incredible sense of space in the works, are all the songs essentially piano duets, or did you guys do a 'you got the piano, I got the rest' sort of workflow for the album's compositions? Insomuch, did one of you always lead? Or, did you guys do a more 50/50 approach; Euan started a few, and Andreas started a few, with work going back and forth?

Euan: 50/50 I think. My ideas tend to start with piano for collabs. I think Andreas is often experimenting with more electric piano sounds - some lovely tones in his work - and often more developed ideas than mine. So I think there was a mixed approach to the ideas but mostly it started with an idea that would grow.

Andreas: As I mentioned earlier, I liked our open and equal approach. We both developed most of our ideas on the piano, so I tried to complement Euan's ideas with my beloved electric piano, which has a warm and deep sound. I had already released the tracks ‘All Is White’ and ‘The Hour That Doesn't Exist’ as pure electric piano miniatures. Euan liked them very much, so I thought it would be interesting to hear what he could contribute to the tracks and how they would change as a result. But mainly it was sort of a ping-pong game with ideas.

Speaking to the callings and textures on the album, what other elements are we hearing beyond the piano within these compositions?

Euan: Mostly just software and plugins on my side. Lots of synths and soundscapes on my end. I think Andreas has a much bluesier piano/electric piano sound to me which was interesting to work with.

Andreas: I love experimenting with piano sounds, playing them backwards or looping them. Or just using the reverberations of individual piano notes or chords that I've recorded beforehand. This gives the piano melodies a special touch, and you don't have to worry so much about tonality. The other sounds I added come from apps of vintage synthesisers that I play on my iPad and lots of processed found sounds and field recordings, such as passing trains, my cat making strange noises when she sits next to me during recording, or ambient sounds that I spontaneously record with my mobile phone. Since I cannot read music, I have to rely mainly on the sound and its effect. I try to imagine the compositions as pictures in which I experiment with different timbres.

Any plans for live performances for either of you in your respective global regions, or collaborative performances on the horizon? As well, any upcoming solo or collaborative works from either of you that you'd like to share with the community?

Euan: I have plans to play live in 2026 but nothing confirmed as yet. As for collabs - as glacis I have the follow up with Adrian Lane ready to go, one with Kinbrae as well and I've also been working with James from Elm Records on something. On top of that there is a glacis record scheduled for March (i think) with Henrik Meierkord on strings. Beyond that I have the second Civic Hall album ready as well as a collaboration with Satomimagae under the name Yoal. And then there's my second solo album under my own name. So not much.... Oh and Andreas and I have shared ideas for a follow up to this album but that might be a while away.

Andreas: Yes, we have already started exchanging ideas again, but it will take time. The next release from Polaroid Notes will be a lathe-cut 10-inch record on a German underground art label, scheduled for release at the end of this year and hopefully accompanied by PN's first live performance. Once I've got everything sorted, there will be a new experimental and more minimalist album from PN in 2026. Still in the pipeline is a new album from my ambient dub techno project Kraut Sounds, which is still waiting for the finishing polish and mixing. In between, unexpected things can happen.

Glacis and Polaroid Notes released their first five-track EP ‘Reflections’, on their own Bandcamp pages in March 2025.

Links:

Reflections | Glacis and Polaroid Notes | glacis

Glacis & Polaroid Notes - Reflections | Polaroid Notes

'Time Is Coming To An End' was available in a limited repress of 100 gatefold vinyl-effect CDrs, now sold out. But there is a digital option available in a range of high quality format options. You can take a listen to the album in full HERE!