Within the UK, there are a select few burgeoning icons, artists that push the boundaries with their musical output while embodying a presence across all mediums that feeds into mass intrigue and curiosity. London-based rapper, poet and producer John Glacier is one of the few that can lay claim to this status. After years of garnering intrigue across the mainstream and underground, John Glacier today finally releases her debut album, Like A Ribbon, via Young (The xx/Sampha/FKA twigs).
Referring to the seamlessly neverending threads of relationships and responsibilities that overlay to form the ribbon of modern existence, Like A Ribbon finds John Glacier providing an accurate snapshot of her life as it has played out on her meteoric rise; from an insular, simple existence growing up in Hackney, to projecting stories to the world while aiming to maintain a semblance of normalcy in what is a very extraordinary life. Executive producer Kwes Darko helps to lay the sonic tapestry for the weaving of John’s own tale, alongside contributions from the likes of Flume, Mk.gee contributor Andrew Aged, Surf Gang, Eartheater, Sampha and more. Like A Ribbon is the story of living in a modern world, told through an imaginatively otherworldly lens.
Utilising a variety of sounds across the spectrums of rap, electronic music, post-punk, ambient and more to provide the backdrop to Glacier’s singular, almost stream-of-consciousness delivery, Like A Ribbon synthesises a unique, developed atmosphere across its 11 tracks. Taking the form of three chapters – Like A Ribbon, Duppy Gun, and Angel’s Trumpet – the album forms a self-described “book”, one that fuses John’s passion for fantastical storytelling with just enough reality interspersed for the listener to take away their own lessons and wisdom long after the album’s runtime.
A highly feted vocalist whose work was subject to huge demand even before her debut project SHILOH: Lost For Words was released, John Glacier has pushed the boundaries of what defines UK rap with a diaristic approach that shines a light on the mundanities of everyday life and the complexities of human emotion, all through her own unique phrasing and perspectives. This sensibility, alongside her own externally perpetuated mythology, has also provided allure for the fashion world, with John becoming one of the faces of and providing bespoke poetry for Daniel Lee‘s iconic debut campaign for Burberry, as well as being one of the current faces of Stone Island’s 2024/2025 campaign, in addition to finding fans in the likes of Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, J.W. Anderson and so many more. Her debut album Like A Ribbon gives John Glacier the platform to explore the outer reaches of her immersive sound, traversing her own psyche in a way that’s both abstracted and wholly relatable. Her poetic style takes centre stage on the LP, defining modern life as a young woman growing up in Hackney; tied to the place she was born while existing on a whole other plane.
Praise for John Glacier
“Mingling catharsis and mystery… a major new voice” – The Guardian
“There’s a sense that Glacier won’t remain a hidden treasure for much longer.” – Crack
“John Glacier’s confessional dictaphone raps sound like intimate notes to self, intended for one listener only.” – Pitchfork
“The rapper with renegade blood whose bars contain multitudes – past, present and future” – DAZED
“John Glacier’s ‘Like A Ribbon’ is extraordinary” – CLASH
John Glacier
Like A Ribbon
(Young)
OUT NOW
Buy/Stream the album HERE
- Satellites
- Don’t Cover Me
- Money Shows (feat. Eartheater)
- Emotions
- Nevasure
- Steady As I Am
- Found
- Home
- Ocean Steppin’ (feat. Sampha)
- Dancing In The Rain
- Heaven’s Sent
LP + CD tracklist:
- Satellites
- Don’t Cover Me
- Money Shows (feat. Eartheater)
- Emotions
- Nevasure
- Steady As I Am
- Grands!
- Cows Come Home
- Whole Or None
- Poster
- Found
- Home
- Ocean Steppin’ (feat. Sampha)
- Dancing In The Rain
- Heaven’s Sent
John Glacier: Instagram
