Crystal Castles (band)
Encyclopedia
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 2007, and two eponymous albums in 2008 and 2010 to widespread critical acclaim. Their debut album was included in NME
's "Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade" list at #39.
," the results of the mic check, under the band name Crystal Castles, a tribute to a song featured in the cartoon She-Ra
which featured the lyric "The fate of the world is safe in Crystal Castles." In 2005 songs such as "Magic Spells", "Untrust Us", and "Alice Practice" grew popular online, and he began receiving offers from record labels. This news was especially shocking to Glass, having lost touch with Kath since the recording and up to that point unaware "Alice Practice" even existed. The song became the band's first official release in 2006 on a limited vinyl which was released by London's Merok Records.
's "Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade" list at number 39.
The third single taken from the album, "Not in Love", featuring Robert Smith
from The Cure
, is currently the band's highest charting single to date.
Crystal Castles headlined the Shockwaves NME Awards Tour 2011
in the United Kingdom
while singer Alice Glass suffered with a broken ankle.
On February 23, 2011 the band was awarded the "John Peel NME award for Innovation."
With the release of their second album, their music made a "shift toward beauty and clarity," finding "different ways to mix icy synth pop with white-hot noise, as well as present them in an ever so slightly more polished form."
2009 and 2011 in Indio, California
, as well as the Heineken Open'er Festival 2009 in Gdynia, Poland and the Reading and Leeds Festivals
in England, August 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and also headlined a Vice
magazine tour across the UK in November 2007.
In May 2008, Crystal Castles headlined the NME New Noise tour across the UK.
Crystal Castles performed at the Glastonbury Festival
in June 2008, where the on-stage antics of Glass which included her climbing the stage rigging and constantly stage-diving, led to the organisers curtailing their set. Crystal Castles toured with Nine Inch Nails
in three dates in August 2008.
Crystal Castles also played various European summer festivals including England's Reading and Leeds Festivals
. They were expected to return to the UK in September 2008 for a headlining tour but had to cancel due to recording commitments. The band also played Connect 2008 and in October they played at the Iceland Airwaves
festival. Over Halloween they played a gig in LA that involved Alice Glass wrecking the drum kit.
They supported Blur
on the first of two comeback shows in Hyde Park, London in July 2009. They also performed at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee Friday June 12, 2009.
Crystal Castles also played the NME stage of Reading and Leeds Festival 2010, the Obelisk Arena of Latitude Festival
2010, Glastonbury 2010, RockNess 2010, Pohoda Festival in Trenčín
, Slovakia
, Exit Festival
in Novi Sad, Serbia, Emmabodafestivalen in Emmaboda, Sweden, In New Music We Trust stage at the Radio 1 One Big Weekend in Bangor, North Wales May 2010 and Estrella Levante SOS 4.8 (May, 2010) in Murcia
, Spain. Crystal Castles did a Full-Length UK tour in November 2010.
Hard Festival 2010, which Crystal Castles are headlining, on a summer tour to; Oakland, LA State Park, Denver, Austin, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, New York, Baltimore and Finland.
Crystal Castles performed at Australia's Big Day Out 2011 festival and Bestival
2011, alongside The Cure
whose vocalist Robert Smith
contributed to Crystal Castles new version of "Not in Love
."
Crystal Castles also took part in the NME Awards Tour in February 2011, alongside bands Magnetic Man
, Everything Everything
and The Vaccines
.
On 20 January 2011, Alice put strain on a previous foot injury (during a Spanish show in November 2010) in Tokyo, causing her ankle to break. The injury forced Alice to perform some shows on crutches. As of March 19, 2011 Alice is still performing with one crutch and using the mic stand as her other crutch to help support herself. Her foot is encased in a plastic protective walking boot. She is more active on stage now, having jumped into the crowd on a few occasions during their March 19, 2011 set in Boston, MA. As of May 12, at the Fluxx in San Diego, CA, Alice was seen fully recovered from the previous ankle injury.
Crystal Castles were a headliner at the 2011 Ultra Music Festival
, March 25–27 in Miami, FL.
Crystal Castles were also headlining at the Danish music festival NorthSide Festival in Aarhus June 11–12 and are scheduled to perform at Reading and Leeds Festival 2011.
Crystal Castles headlined at Moogfest
in Asheville, North Carolina
on October 29, 2011.
Crystal Castles will be performing at Field Day music festival in Sydney
, Australia
on New Years Day 2012.
and the Torontoist blog published stories about Crystal Castles' use of Trevor Brown
's artwork without permission. The image, depicting a black-eyed Madonna
, was used by the band on merchandise. The issue was resolved after the band bought the rights to use the image from Brown.
In one of Kath's earliest, unreleased demos, he incorporated a sample without permission; the track was uploaded on the MySpace
page of the label, Lies Records, without credit to the original sampled song. The track, "Insectica (CC vs Lo-Bat Version)", uses clips chopped out of a song by Lo-bat called "My Little Droid Needs a Hand", released under a Creative Commons
license. Another track called "Love and Caring", samples the kick and snare from Covox's "Sunday."
Additional live members
Former live members
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
band from Toronto
Toronto
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....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, consisting of producer 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...
and lyricist and vocalist Alice Glass
Alice Glass
Alice Glass is the lead vocalist and lyricist of Crystal Castles.-Biography:Alice Glass was born in 1988, in Toronto, 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...
. Crystal Castles are known for their chaotic live shows and their lo-fi home productions. The duo released many limited EPs between 2006 and 2007, and two eponymous albums in 2008 and 2010 to widespread critical acclaim. Their debut album 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.
History
Ethan Kath met Alice Glass in Toronto when she was 15. After hearing her sing in a local punk band, Fetus Fatale, Kath asked her to record vocals over tracks he had been working on since 2003. After writing some lyrics, she went to a studio to record them, where her soundcheck was secretly recorded. Six months later, Kath uploaded the finished songs to the internet, including "Alice PracticeAlice 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...
," the results of the mic check, under the band name Crystal Castles, a tribute to a song featured in the cartoon She-Ra
She-Ra
She-Ra is a fictional character and the heroine in the Filmation cartoon and series of toys produced by Mattel called She-Ra: Princess of Power. She is the alter ego of Princess Adora and the twin sister of He-Man. She-Ra was intended to appeal to young girls in the same way that He-Man appealed to...
which featured the lyric "The fate of the world is safe in Crystal Castles." In 2005 songs such as "Magic Spells", "Untrust Us", and "Alice Practice" grew popular online, and he began receiving offers from record labels. This news was especially shocking to Glass, having lost touch with Kath since the recording and up to that point unaware "Alice Practice" even existed. The song became the band's first official release in 2006 on a limited vinyl which was released by London's Merok Records.
First album
Several limited edition 7" vinyl singles followed in 2006 and 2007 on various independent labels, including two on London's Trouble Records. In 2008, Lies Records collected most of the vinyl singles and released them on CD for the first time (also released as a double album on 12" vinyl), along with many previously unreleased tracks and 3 songs recorded just for the collection. This eponymous debut album was included in NMENME
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 number 39.
Second album
The band's second album, also self-titled (a.k.a. Crystal Castles (II)), was released on May 24, 2010. In April 2010, an early mix of the album leaked and without any record label promotion. The leak reached #1 on various electronic music charts worldwide. The album was produced by Ethan Kath at various locations, including a church in Iceland, a self-built cabin in northern Ontario, and an abandoned convenience store garage in Detroit, Michigan. Two songs were recorded in the London studio of Paul "Phones" Epworth.The third single taken from the album, "Not in Love", featuring Robert Smith
Robert Smith (musician)
Robert James Smith is an English musician. He is the lead singer, guitar player and principal songwriter of the rock band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976...
from The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, is currently the band's highest charting single to date.
Crystal Castles headlined the Shockwaves NME Awards Tour 2011
NME Tours
The NME Tours consist of a variety of tours organised by British music industry publication NME. Throughout the year, NME sponsors numerous tours of the United Kingdom by various up-and-coming and established bands in a variety of formats...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
while singer Alice Glass suffered with a broken ankle.
On February 23, 2011 the band was awarded the "John Peel NME award for Innovation."
Musical style
Crystal Castles musical style has been described as "ferocious, asphyxiating sheets of warped two-dimensional Gameboy glitches and bruising drum bombast that pierces your skull with their sheer shrill force, burrowing deep into the brain like a fever." To listen to Crystal Castles, according to the BBC, "is to be cast adrift in a vortex of deafening pain without a safety net. You get the feeling you could do anything in the world, but that 'anything' would ultimately mean nothing. Crystal Castles marks a nuanced emotional territory that dance music never covered before."With the release of their second album, their music made a "shift toward beauty and clarity," finding "different ways to mix icy synth pop with white-hot noise, as well as present them in an ever so slightly more polished form."
Touring
Crystal Castles have headlined numerous tours in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia. They have played many festivals including Ireland's 2009 Oxegen Festival, All Points West Festival 2009 in New Jersey, Coachella Valley and Music FestivalCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival, organized by Goldenvoice and held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley...
2009 and 2011 in Indio, California
Indio, California
Indio is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, located in the Coachella Valley of Southern California's Colorado Desert region. It lies east of Palm Springs, east of Riverside, and east of Los Angeles. It is about north of Mexicali, Baja California on the U.S.-Mexican border...
, as well as the Heineken Open'er Festival 2009 in Gdynia, Poland and the Reading and Leeds Festivals
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
in England, August 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and also headlined a Vice
Vice (magazine)
VICE is a free magazine and media conglomerate founded in Montreal, Quebec and currently based in New York City.Vice is available in 27 countries...
magazine tour across the UK in November 2007.
In May 2008, Crystal Castles headlined the NME New Noise tour across the UK.
Crystal Castles performed at the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
in June 2008, where the on-stage antics of Glass which included her climbing the stage rigging and constantly stage-diving, led to the organisers curtailing their set. Crystal Castles toured with Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
in three dates in August 2008.
Crystal Castles also played various European summer festivals including England's Reading and Leeds Festivals
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
. They were expected to return to the UK in September 2008 for a headlining tour but had to cancel due to recording commitments. The band also played Connect 2008 and in October they played at the Iceland Airwaves
Iceland Airwaves
Iceland Airwaves is an annual music festival held in Reykjavík, Iceland on the third weekend of October. The festival spans five days and its main focus is showcasing new music, both Icelandic and international.-Festival:...
festival. Over Halloween they played a gig in LA that involved Alice Glass wrecking the drum kit.
They supported Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
on the first of two comeback shows in Hyde Park, London in July 2009. They also performed at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee Friday June 12, 2009.
Crystal Castles also played the NME stage of Reading and Leeds Festival 2010, the Obelisk Arena of Latitude Festival
Latitude Festival
The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006....
2010, Glastonbury 2010, RockNess 2010, Pohoda Festival in Trenčín
Trencín
Trenčín is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 56,000, which makes it the ninth largest municipality of the country and is the seat of the Trenčín Region and the Trenčín District...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Exit Festival
EXIT (festival)
Exit is an annual summer music festival in the Petrovaradin Fortress of Novi Sad, Serbia. It is staged annually since 2000 and usually lasts four days ....
in Novi Sad, Serbia, Emmabodafestivalen in Emmaboda, Sweden, In New Music We Trust stage at the Radio 1 One Big Weekend in Bangor, North Wales May 2010 and Estrella Levante SOS 4.8 (May, 2010) in Murcia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
, Spain. Crystal Castles did a Full-Length UK tour in November 2010.
Hard Festival 2010, which Crystal Castles are headlining, on a summer tour to; Oakland, LA State Park, Denver, Austin, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, New York, Baltimore and Finland.
Crystal Castles performed at Australia's Big Day Out 2011 festival and Bestival
Bestival
Bestival is a four-day music festival held at the Robin Hill country park on the Isle of Wight, England. It has been held annually in late summer since 2004. The event is organized by DJ and record producer Rob da Bank and is an off-shoot of his Sunday Best record label and club nights. The initial...
2011, alongside The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
whose vocalist Robert Smith
Robert Smith (musician)
Robert James Smith is an English musician. He is the lead singer, guitar player and principal songwriter of the rock band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976...
contributed to Crystal Castles new version of "Not in Love
Not in Love (Platinum Blonde song)
"Not in Love" is a song performed by Canadian New Wave group Platinum Blonde. The song was released as a single from the group's album Standing in the Dark.-Crystal Castles Version:...
."
Crystal Castles also took part in the NME Awards Tour in February 2011, alongside bands Magnetic Man
Magnetic Man
Magnetic Man is an electronic music project consisting of dubstep producers and DJs, Benga, Skream and Artwork. The trio first met in the late 1990s at the Big Apple Records store in Croydon, England. They perform using three computers, one playing drum samples, one playing basses and the third...
, Everything Everything
Everything Everything
Everything Everything are a British indie band that formed in late 2007, originate from Newcastle, Kent and Guernsey, and reside in Manchester. The band rose to fame when they were revealed as part of the BBC's Sound of 2010 poll on 7 December 2009...
and The Vaccines
The Vaccines
The Vaccines are an English indie rock band who formed in West London in 2010. The band's debut album, What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?, was released through Columbia Records on 14 March 2011 and reached number 4 in the UK Album Chart. They are currently the biggest selling new band of 2011....
.
On 20 January 2011, Alice put strain on a previous foot injury (during a Spanish show in November 2010) in Tokyo, causing her ankle to break. The injury forced Alice to perform some shows on crutches. As of March 19, 2011 Alice is still performing with one crutch and using the mic stand as her other crutch to help support herself. Her foot is encased in a plastic protective walking boot. She is more active on stage now, having jumped into the crowd on a few occasions during their March 19, 2011 set in Boston, MA. As of May 12, at the Fluxx in San Diego, CA, Alice was seen fully recovered from the previous ankle injury.
Crystal Castles were a headliner at the 2011 Ultra Music Festival
Ultra Music Festival
Ultra Music Festival is an annual outdoor electronic music festival that occurs in March in the city of Miami usually during the annual Winter Music Conference. It is held in Downtown Miami in Bicentennial Park. It was a 1-day festival from 1999-2006, a 2-day festival from 2007-2010, and was a...
, March 25–27 in Miami, FL.
Crystal Castles were also headlining at the Danish music festival NorthSide Festival in Aarhus June 11–12 and are scheduled to perform at Reading and Leeds Festival 2011.
Crystal Castles headlined at Moogfest
Moogfest
Moogfest is a three-day electronic music festival that takes place in Asheville, North Carolina, United States, every year since 2010 towards the end of October. The festival is held in Asheville because it is the city where Robert Arthur "Bob" Moog, the inventor of the Moog synthesizer and...
in Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
on October 29, 2011.
Crystal Castles will be performing at Field Day music festival in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on New Years Day 2012.
Copyright disputes
In mid-2008, Crystal Castles were involved in two controversies related to artwork permissions and samples in their earliest unreleased songs. Pitchfork MediaPitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
and the Torontoist blog published stories about Crystal Castles' use of Trevor Brown
Trevor Brown
Trevor Brown is an English artist from London presently living in Japan whose work explores paraphilias, such as pedophilia, BDSM, and other fetish themes. Innocence, violence and Japanese popular culture all collide in Brown's art....
's artwork without permission. The image, depicting a black-eyed Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, was used by the band on merchandise. The issue was resolved after the band bought the rights to use the image from Brown.
In one of Kath's earliest, unreleased demos, he incorporated a sample without permission; the track was uploaded on the MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page of the label, Lies Records, without credit to the original sampled song. The track, "Insectica (CC vs Lo-Bat Version)", uses clips chopped out of a song by Lo-bat called "My Little Droid Needs a Hand", released under a Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
license. Another track called "Love and Caring", samples the kick and snare from Covox's "Sunday."
Members
- Ethan KathEthan KathEthan 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...
– instrumentsMulti-instrumentalistA multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, production (2003–present) - Alice GlassAlice GlassAlice Glass is the lead vocalist and lyricist of Crystal Castles.-Biography:Alice Glass was born in 1988, in Toronto, 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...
– vocals, lyricsLyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
(2004–present)
Additional live members
- Christopher Chartrand – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(2006, 2008–present)
Former live members
- Cameron Findlay – drums (2007–2008, currently playing in ParallelsParallels (band)Parallels is a synthpop band formed in October 2008 in Toronto, Canada. The band consists of Holly Dodson , Cameron Findlay and Joey Kehoe .- History :...
) - Mike Bell – drums (2008–2009, currently playing in Lymbyc SystymLymbyc SystymLymbyc Systym is an instrumental band from Tempe, Arizona which formed in 2001, consisting of brothers Jared and Michael Bell. Their sound combines elements of instrumental rock and electronic music. Lymbyc Systym have toured with Broken Social Scene, The Books, Crystal Castles, The Album Leaf, ...
) - Thomas Cullen – drums (February 2008), currently DJs as Yes!Tom
Albums
| Year | Album | UK | US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... | US Dance | Record Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Crystal Castles | 47 | – | 6 | Last Gang Last Gang Records Last Gang Records is a record label that was formed by Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald Tarlton in the Fall of 2003 at the Pop Montreal Music Festival.... |
| 2010 | Crystal Castles Crystal Castles (2010 album) Crystal Castles, also known as Crystal Castles II, is the second studio album by Crystal Castles released by Fiction Records on 24 May 2010... |
48 | 188 | 6 | Fiction Fiction Records Fiction Records is a UK label founded by Chris Parry in 1978 that is best known for being the home of The Cure for over 20 years. Formerly independent, the label is now owned by Polydor, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.-History:... |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Alt Canadian rock/alternative chart The Canadian rock/alternative chart was first published on June 11, 1995 by RPM magazine under the name Alternative 30. The song which held the number-one spot on this first chart was "More Human than Human" by White Zombie... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
BEL (FLA) Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
BEL (WAL) Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
DEN Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
UK Ind UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered... |
|||||||||||
| 2006 | "Alice Practice" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Crystal Castles | ||||||||
| "Crimewave" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | ||||||||||
| 2008 | "Air War Air War "Air War" is a single by Crystal Castles. It was released on 17 December 2007 on London UK's Trouble Records as 7" vinyl. An earlier version of the song was released in July 2006 as the B-Side to "Alice Practice" on London UK's Merok Records. The lyrics are from the James Joyce book Ulysses... " |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Courtship Dating Courtship Dating -7": Last Gang Canada :-Accolades:... " |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 2010 | "Celestica" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Crystal Castles II | ||||||||
| "Baptism" | — | — | — | — | — | 102 | — | ||||||||||
| "Not in Love Not in Love (Platinum Blonde song) "Not in Love" is a song performed by Canadian New Wave group Platinum Blonde. The song was released as a single from the group's album Standing in the Dark.-Crystal Castles Version:... " (featuring Robert Smith Robert Smith (musician) Robert James Smith is an English musician. He is the lead singer, guitar player and principal songwriter of the rock band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976... ) |
18 | 90 | 53 | 43 | 31 | 54 | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released to that country | |||||||||||||||||
Remixes
- GoodBooksGoodBooksGoodBooks was an English indie rock band originating from Sevenoaks in Kent. They first received media attention upon releasing their self-published EP Valves and Robots in June 2005....
"Leni" (2006) - KlaxonsKlaxonsKlaxons are a British indie rock band, based in London. Following the release of numerous 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles "Magick" and "Golden Skans", the band released their debut album, Myths of the Near Future on 29 January 2007....
"Atlantis to Interzone" (2006) - The Little OnesThe Little Ones (band)The Little Ones is an indie pop band based in Los Angeles, California. They were previously signed to Astralwerks Records and released one EP on that label, titled Sing Song. In 2006, Matt Costa invited them to open for him at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, which has brought them in a rise...
"Lovers Who Uncover" (2006) - The WhipThe Whip (band)The Whip are a band whose founding members Bruce Carter and Danny Saville come from Oldham, Greater Manchester, England formed in 2006. The rhythm section is Nathan Sudders and Fiona "Li'l Fee" Daniel , who was previously in Colne based band Earl....
"Divebomb" (2007) - UffieUffieAnna-Catherine Hartley , better known by her stage name Uffie , is a Paris-based underground electronic musician, rapper, fashion designer and socialite signed to French electronic music record label Ed Banger Records. She has been described as a muse for French DJs, and is known for working with...
"Make It Hot" (2007) - Bloc PartyBloc PartyBloc Party are a British Indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke , Russell Lissack , Gordon Moakes , and Matt Tong...
"Hunting For Witches" (2007) - SwitchesSwitches (band)Switches were an English indie rock band, consisting of members Matt Bishop , Ollie Thomas , Thom Kirkpatrick and Steve Godfrey .-Career:...
"Lay Down the Law" (2007) - Sohodolls "Trash the Rental" (2007)
- LiarsLiars (band)Liars is a three-piece band formed in 2000 consisting of Angus Andrew , Aaron Hemphill , and Julian Gross...
- "It Fit When I Was A Kid" (2007) - White LiesWhite Lies (band)White Lies is an English indie rock band from Ealing, London. Formerly known as Fear of Flying, the band consists primarily of Harry McVeigh , Charles Cave , and Jack Lawrence-Brown...
"Death" (2009) - HealthHEALTH (band)Health is an American noise rock band from Los Angeles, California. The band's 2007 release with Crystal Castles charted at position nine in the UK indie singles chart.- History :...
"Eat Flesh" (2010)
Videography
- "Crimewave" (2008)
- "Magic Spells" (2008) (directed by Video Marsh)
- "Courtship Dating" (2008) (directed by Marc Pannozzo)
- "Celestica" (2010) (directed by Rob Hawkins)
- "Baptism" (2010) (directed by Rob Hawkins)
- "Suffocation" (2011) (directed by Ethan Kath)