“I thought my computer actually broke”: Bass phenom Kinga Głyk recalls the moment her rendition of an Eric Clapton classic went viral – and made her career

Bass phenom Kinga Głyk is leading the vanguard of musicians taking jazz to the mainstream – with a little help from YouTube and social media, of course.

“My dad always told me to be 100 percent involved in whatever I play, no matter whether there are five thousand people or just one person in the room,” Głyk told Bass Player in a 2020 interview. “In music, it’s very important to put your heart into what you play.”

Głyk applies this same approach to her covers. Precisely a decade ago, the then 19-year-old posted her own take on pioneering fusion bassist Jeff Berlin’s rendition of Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven. What started as an unassuming cover quickly turned into a viral video that empowered Głyk to take her career beyond her native Poland.

“I think what happened with Tears in Heaven for me, years ago, I didn’t know that was possible,” she says matter-of-factly in an interview with Rick Beato.

“I thought my computer actually broke. I called my brother, and I was like, ‘Do you see the views… you see them moving? This is not normal.’”

As for how social media can actually serve as a launchpad – rather than a hindrance – for artists, Głyk says that, “Now I think it’s much easier to do it. I think it’s a good side of it – we all can share things, and people can follow you for that and be with you and support you.

“But I think it’s important to sometimes remove your brain from this world. I treat it more like my job, where I do it and then I go and live my life. So it’s not for me, constantly thinking about if people reacted to something well or not, because you can be very depressed [if you do that].”

And, speaking of social media pressures on musicians, last year virtuoso Yvette Young spoke candidly about the pressures of touring in the social media age – and why we all need to rethink our relationship with music.

Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.