“I LOVE YOU SO F***ING MUCH,” reads the text on the massive screens flanking the stage at Madison Square Garden. More than just an expletive-laced phrase of affirmation, it also happens to be the title of Glass Animals’ fourth studio album.

“These words take on a different meaning every time you say them,” frontman Dave Bayley says in the album’s bio. “The universe may make us feel overwhelmingly small, but we have this human connection that is far vaster and more mysterious.” That lean toward mystery can be heard throughout the band’s latest offering, in the echoing emotion in “Creatures in Heaven,” and the stirring “Tear in Space (Airlock),” which opens with the symphonic of a Western filmed in space, as Bayley sing-talks in his signature style over the melody. Or in the “Show Pony” that scurries in at the pace of a romantic lullaby, the kind you’d dance to slowly in some futuristic yet somehow ‘80s prom scene.

You may know Glass Animals from their bubbling track “Life Itself,” with its tongue-in-cheek lyrics on the dissolution of youth. If you’re like me, you also know them from their massive pandemic-era hit, “Heat Waves” that your nephew played repeatedly from his room during lockdown. Their fans know them for their affable nature, penchant for pineapple iconography and songs that refuse to drop into any formal genre – while other bands have found their footing by creating in conventional, formulaic ways, Glass Animals have continued to err on the side of eccentric, peculiar… dare I say, alien?

And so it makes perfect sense that the English foursome would fully transform the Garden as a stop on their space odyssey, performing around a ship on stage and with an audience playing along, in some cases in full green spaceman garb. After seeing the spectacle on a stage made of lasers, three-dimensional holograms and lo-fi meets futuristic visuals, we had to find out how exactly this feat had come to life.

The band worked with UK design studio Cassius Creative and Fray Studio on their biggest production to date. Under Bayley’s creative direction, they created scenes embodying vintage sci-fi references, Star Trek and Barbarella and culminating in a “retro-futuristic” vibe complete with spaceship consoles and a hologram dome.

Below, PAPER chats with Cassius Creative and Fray Studio to learn how they brought Glass Animals’ space odyssey to life.

Tell us how the collaboration with Glass Animals started.

Fray Studio: Our collaboration with Glass Animals has been an evolving journey. After creating expansive real-time visuals for their Dreamland.IRL show at Brooklyn Mirage, this new project presented an opportunity to craft a complete world alongside Cassius Creative. The process began with calls with Dave [Bayley], exploring his aesthetic vision and how current real-time — animation which is generated live, not pre-rendered — technology could bring unique ideas to the production. This concept evolved into a complex production involving 11 artists, each contributing to content for 23 unique video surfaces. The band’s dynamic performance requires a trusted operator on the road, triggering hundreds of video clips to create a seamless visual narrative.

Our team’s generational diversity was a key strength. The mix of perspectives, from those with firsthand memories of ’80s visual culture to younger artists with fresh interpretations, culminated in a visual language both nostalgic and forward-thinking, tailored specifically for Glass Animals.

Cassius Creative: The tour for the band’s I Love You So F****ing Much album is our second collaboration with Glass Animals, having started to work with them on their previous album campaign Dreamland from 2019.

Where as Dreamland was an all-encompassing, monochromatic world that remained ever present throughout the bands live show the brief for the new campaign was to embrace more darkness and space, both figuratively and literally, with references ranging from [German designer] Dieter Rams, to [German-British designer] Ken Adam, Barbarella and vintage Star Trek to create a retro-futuristic set piece, that could be further enhanced through video content and lighting.

This tour was a significant step up for the band, playing larger venues than on previous tours which allowed us the opportunity to be far more ambitious with the stage design than in the past. From our first conversations with Dave, it took over six months of moodboarding, meetings, drawings and rehearsals to get to a stage where we were ready for our first show this August.

How did you bring Dave’s vision to life?

Fray Studio: Dave’s involvement was integral from the start. Our role was to cultivate his vision into a fully realized show of video content. We focused on the concept of negative space, with Dave particularly drawn to exploring darkness. The directive was clear: create something deeper, darker and more unsettling than any previous Glass Animals production.

This led us to develop a unique lo-fi aesthetic reminiscent of early ’70s and ’80s computer graphics. We embraced the grain, peculiarities and distorted reality inherent in those early digital forms. However, this wasn’t mere recreation; it was about constructing a new, complete world on stage a bespoke visual journey complementing and enhancing the music from start to finish.

Cassius Creative: Dave’s creativity with his music, album campaign aesthetic and how he wants to visually represent that on stage is integral to the whole project. He is involved from the beginning and comes with a host of visual influences and source materials for us to use as a creative stimulus, but also a clear idea of the moods and atmospheres that he wants to convey.

Our job is to translate this into a visually engaging live show that connects scenic elements, lighting and video elements and houses the band in a way that provides an interactive stage space for them, whilst keeping it constantly engaging for the audience taking them on a journey throughout the live show.

It was crucial for Dave to create a world that was darker and moodier than shows they have had before, and touring under the title of “Human Musical Group Sensations Glass Animals Tour of Earth,” they wanted to set the performance on a unique take on a of space station with a “retro-futuristic” aesthetic; whilst at the same time we still wanted to maintain a playful element that had to still feel like a quintessential Glass Animals show.

Using the bold stage layout as the show’s foundation, we were keen to incorporate key moments throughout the set, to elevate this tour from previous shows. Highlights include a unique hologram as the centerpiece of the spaceship that showcases Glass Animals motifs, video content and appearances from virtual special guests; visceral lasers; an embedded lift within the spaceships floor that elevates Dave 10 feet from the floor to perform a “Lost in the Ocean” against a background of stars to the detailing and easter eggs that feature across the set, both digital and physical. The process remained collaborative throughout allowing us to develop ideas together, and create the ambitious step up for the bands latest live campaign.

What do you hope the reaction from fans will be when they experience this live?

Fray Studio: We aspire for fans to recognise the hard work and artistic intent behind the visual content, perceiving how the visuals construct a narrative inherently linked with the music to create a cohesive show experience. Our work on this show presents an interesting contrast. We’re referencing a period most of the audience won’t have experienced directly, creating a sort of imagined nostalgia. This approach resonates with younger audiences seeking alternatives to the polished aesthetic dominating visual social media culture. Ultimately, the success of our work lies in its ability to leave a lasting impression, sparking conversations long after the show ends.

Cassius Creative: Glass Animals fans seem loyal and dedicated to the band, and really do throw themselves into the themes of every album campaign. We hope people enjoy the huge step up for the band in terms of the visual production, embracing the Tour of Earth concept and enjoy the elevated production elements that feature within the new production; the unexpected moments, spot the details embedded across the set and video content and hope that it feels like a real visual journey from song to song throughout the show.

Photography: Toby Tenenbaum