Alice Glass
Encyclopedia
Alice Glass is the lead vocalist and lyricist of Crystal Castles
.
, Ontario
. At the age of 14 she ran away to live in a squat community of punks and drug addicts. A week after she turned 15, she was approached by Ethan Kath
who had just seen her play in her all-girl crust-punk band, Fetus Fatale. Kath was impressed by her performance, saying he thought he had found an "undiscovered poet" and the "missing ingredient" to his music. Kath gave her a CD with 60 instrumental tracks of which she chose 5 to write vocals for. When they went to a recording studio to record those 5 songs, the microphone check was secretly recorded by the engineer, who later presented the band with a CD-R with 6 tracks. This 6th extra track was discovered by London UK's Merok Records who went on to release the track as the band's first vinyl single, "Alice Practice
".
In 2008, before the band's interview with Now Magazine
, Alice disappeared and neither Ethan nor the band's manager could contact her. Crystal Castles was infamously shut down at Glastonbury 2008 after Glass climbed a speaker stand just before "Alice Practice" and was swallowed by the crowd during "Yes No".
In March 2008 Alice broke two of her ribs in a car accident. Doctors instructed her to take at least six weeks off to allow time to heal but she continued the tour, performing a twenty minute set within days of the accident, and then leaving the building to lie in pain in the middle of the street.
On November 2 2010 Alice injured her ankle during a show in Spain. In Tokyo on 18 January 2011, Alice fell and put strain on the unhealed ankle injury, causing her ankle to break. The injury forced Alice to perform 5 months worth of shows on crutches.
As of May 12, in San Diego, CA, Alice was seen fully recovered from the previous ankle injury.
received the John Peel Award For Innovation at the 2011 NME Awards. Her debut album with Crystal Castles
was included in NME
's "Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade" list at #39.
Crystal Castles (band)
Crystal Castles are an experimental electronic band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of producer Ethan Kath and lyricist and vocalist Alice Glass. Crystal Castles are known for their chaotic live shows and their lo-fi home productions. The duo released many limited EPs between 2006 and...
.
Biography
Alice Glass was born in 1988, in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. At the age of 14 she ran away to live in a squat community of punks and drug addicts. A week after she turned 15, she was approached by Ethan Kath
Ethan Kath
Ethan Kath is the producer and main songwriter of Crystal Castles.Rolling Stone Magazine named Crystal Castles the #1 Icons of 20 Years of Lollapalooza. Ethan Kath and his band Crystal Castles received the John Peel Award For Innovation at the 2011 NME Awards...
who had just seen her play in her all-girl crust-punk band, Fetus Fatale. Kath was impressed by her performance, saying he thought he had found an "undiscovered poet" and the "missing ingredient" to his music. Kath gave her a CD with 60 instrumental tracks of which she chose 5 to write vocals for. When they went to a recording studio to record those 5 songs, the microphone check was secretly recorded by the engineer, who later presented the band with a CD-R with 6 tracks. This 6th extra track was discovered by London UK's Merok Records who went on to release the track as the band's first vinyl single, "Alice Practice
Alice Practice
Alice Practice is the debut release from Crystal Castles. The release was limited to 500 copies on 7" vinyl and sold out in 3 days, driving collectors to eBay where the vinyl has sold for $300 in mint condition. The track Alice Practice itself is a soundcheck which was secretly recorded by the...
".
In 2008, before the band's interview with Now Magazine
NOW (magazine)
Now is a free weekly newspaper in Toronto, Canada. It was first printed on September 10, 1981 by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein. Now is an alternative weekly mixing arts and entertainment news with political coverage....
, Alice disappeared and neither Ethan nor the band's manager could contact her. Crystal Castles was infamously shut down at Glastonbury 2008 after Glass climbed a speaker stand just before "Alice Practice" and was swallowed by the crowd during "Yes No".
In March 2008 Alice broke two of her ribs in a car accident. Doctors instructed her to take at least six weeks off to allow time to heal but she continued the tour, performing a twenty minute set within days of the accident, and then leaving the building to lie in pain in the middle of the street.
On November 2 2010 Alice injured her ankle during a show in Spain. In Tokyo on 18 January 2011, Alice fell and put strain on the unhealed ankle injury, causing her ankle to break. The injury forced Alice to perform 5 months worth of shows on crutches.
As of May 12, in San Diego, CA, Alice was seen fully recovered from the previous ankle injury.
Accolades
Alice Glass was named the #1 Cool Icon by NME Magazine (beating mainstream artists such as Jay-Z and Florence & The Machine). In 2011 Rolling Stone Magazine named Alice Glass one of ten icons in 20 Years of Lollapalooza moments (alongside legends such as Sonic Youth, Patti Smith, and Jesus & Mary Chain). Alice Glass and her band Crystal CastlesCrystal Castles
Crystal Castles is an arcade game released by Atari, Inc in 1983. The player controls a cartoon bear by the name of Bentley Bear, who has to collect gems located throughout trimetric-projected rendered castles while avoiding enemies out to get him as well as the gems.Crystal Castles is notable for...
received the John Peel Award For Innovation at the 2011 NME Awards. Her debut album with Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles is an arcade game released by Atari, Inc in 1983. The player controls a cartoon bear by the name of Bentley Bear, who has to collect gems located throughout trimetric-projected rendered castles while avoiding enemies out to get him as well as the gems.Crystal Castles is notable for...
was included in NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
's "Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade" list at #39.