REVIEW + PHOTOS: Glass Beams brought ethereal, hypnotic Indian-inspired sounds to San Antonio’s Aztec Theatre

Little is understood about Glass Beams, a mystery-shrouded musical trio from Melbourne, Australia, known for wearing dazzling golden jeweled masks and recognized by some for generating cosmic grooves. But the group proved to be transcendental, incandescent and even more mystifying during their San Antonio stop at the Aztec Theatre Oct. 11.

The group blends synth-soaked sounds of South Asia, contemporary jazz, Aussie surf and global funk to produce their own striking brand of honey-dipped psychedelia.

Los Angeles-based electronic artist Katelyn Aurelia Smith opened for Glass Beams, and though the crowd didn’t seem to take a liking to her, I was quite enamored with her set.

Smith’s music was atmospheric and serene, which I guess was perfect ambient noise for the folks who were there early to loudly catch up with friends before Glass Beams’ performance.

Once Glass Beams came on however, mouths stayed open, although turned speechless, and gleaming eyes were laser-focused on the stage.

Glass Beams’ setlist was packed with every track from their two EPs, “Mirage,” released in 2021, and “Mahal,” released in March of this year.

Considering both EPs have a combined total of nine tracks and a 38-minute playtime, their performance may sound underwhelming. But, this wasn’t just a simple live run-through of their catalog.

Much like the cryptic masks each member of the group dons, every track was much more intricate and meditative as they played live.

Glass Beams’ set flourished with improvised embellishments that seemed intrinsic to their already perfected music, and together, the trio continued to build up a sense of beguilement and otherworldliness throughout the night.

The band closed out with a performance of their astralized interpretation of Charanjit Singh’s “Raga Bhairav” from Singh’s 1982 electronic Indian disco album “Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat.” Singhs’s album is regarded as one of the earliest examples of acid house music.

With “One Raga to a Disco Beat,” Glass Beams sent the audience into a musical stupor before quietly exiting the stage.

The band returned for a brief encore with a cover of “Dharmatma Theme” from the 1975 Bollywood Hindi-thriller film “Dharmatma.”

The members bowed and made prayer hands towards the crowd one last time before disappearing behind smoke-obscured curtains.

Without uttering a single word throughout their performance, except for the ghostly chants featured in a few of their songs, Glass Beams were able to poetically articulate a succinct history of the universe.