Crystal Castles official

Crystal Castles is an Canadian electronic music group formed in 2006 by Ethan Kath and Alice Glass, who later left and was replaced by Edith Frances. Crystal Castles were known for their chaotic live shows and lo-fi melancholic homemade productions. 
==History==
===Formation (2006-2007)===
Ethan Kath met Alice Glass in Toronto, Ontario, when she was in the 10th grade and he was 10 years her senior. http://www.complex.com/blog_galleries/indie-intro-5-things-you-need-to-know-about-crystal-castles Kath had already found a small bit of fame in Toronto's music scene, having made appearances on local television with his previous band, Kïll Cheerleadër. http://www.alice-glass.com/cc/ A couple of years later, Kath asked Glass to record vocals over tracks he had been working on since 2003. The sessions resulted in the track "Alice Practice", which was shelved for six months. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article4627079.ece 
After being posted online, this track garnered attention and the duo decided to re-form for a formal release. http://www.thefader.com/blog/articles/2006/12/12/walking-on-glass The pair picked their stage names together, with the name "Crystal Castles" pulled from a line in the cartoon She-Ra: Princess of Power: "The fate of the world is safe in Crystal Castles." https://web.archive.org/web/20080516185801/http://sparksvsspace.blogspot.com/2007/06/3-newer-cc-remixes.htmlhttp://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article4627079.ece 
===2008-2009===
Crystal Castles toured and performed at numerous festivals around the world to support the album, including Ireland's Oxegen Festival, the All Points West Music & Arts Festival in New Jersey, Coachella Valley and Music Festival in Indio, California, the Heineken Open'er Festival in Poland, and the Reading and Leeds Festivals in England. https://web.archive.org/web/20070910145827/http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/2082567https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234140/http://www.411mania.com/music/columns/58341/Dancing-About-Architecture-08.14.07.htmhttp://www.spin.com/features/news/2007/08/070810_winehouse_acl/https://web.archive.org/web/20080108070520/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/44755-cmj-07-spoon-xiu-xiu-deerhunter-deacon-justicehttps://web.archive.org/web/20071120132253/http://www.prefixmag.com/blog/cmj-2007-2/6673 They headlined a Vice magazine tour across the UK in November 2007, https://web.archive.org/web/20071008031226/http://drownedinsound.com/articles/2442871 and the 2008 NME New Noise tour across the UK. https://theregoesthefear.com/2008/03/crystal-castles-headline-nme-new-noise-tour-may-2008.php 
===2010-2011===
Of the experience, Kath said, "I recorded most of the record in the coldest winter in decades in a church without heat in Iceland. It was so cold that when I listen back I can hear myself shivering. I chose it because it felt right". https://straightfrommyblood.tumblr.com/post/4638114971/i-recorded-most-of-the-record-in-the-coldest In December 2009, Kath gave vocalist Alice Glass a CD-R containing 70 instrumental tracks, for which she then recorded vocals on 35 tracks.
Crystal Castles won the John Peel Award for Innovation at the Shockwaves NME Awards 2011, an award that recognizes an act who possesses a pioneering spirit and uncompromising approach to music. https://www.nme.com/news/music/crystal-castles-2-36-1299451 At the end of the summer, Rolling Stone named Crystal Castles icons of 20 Years of Lollapalooza. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/lollapalooza-through-the-years-10-iconic-moments-in-style-20110809 
===Glass's Departure (2012-2014)===
The album (III) was released on November 7. http://prettymuchamazing.com/news/crystal-castles-iii-tracklist-revealed During recording of their third album, Kath decided to forgo the use of computers, and ditched their old synthesizers and keyboards. They also recorded each track in one take. This gave their new recordings a significantly different sound, less practiced and more original. https://www.nme.com/news/crystal-castles--2/66326/
In October 2014, via a Facebook post, Alice Glass announced that she was leaving Crystal Castles, that the band was finished, and that she intended to pursue a solo career. https://www.avclub.com/article/crystal-castles-call-it-quits-210239https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jun/15/alice-glass-on-leaving-crystal-castles-the-cruelty-never-ceases-to-amaze-me Crystal Castles' manager assured fans that the band would continue without her. https://www.nme.com/news/music/crystal-castles-2-20-1242022 
===Frances Arrival (2015-2016)===
On April 16, 2015, Ethan Kath released a new Crystal Castles track, "Frail", featuring a new vocalist named Edith Frances. https://www.nme.com/news/crystal-castles--2/84604 The song was accompanied with a caption by Kath, wishing Glass well but stating that she did not appear on the band's well-known songs. The caption was soon removed, but Glass responded by calling Kath's statement "manipulative" and said she helped shaped the band's aesthetic from the very beginning. https://www.spin.com/2015/04/crystal-castles-breakup-alice-glass-fight-ethan-kath/ 
They were included in the announced lineup for the 79 Cents event at SXSW, a concert showcase organized by Tumblr to highlight women's income disparity. In an interview with The Verge, Glass stated her opinion that Kath was not a suitable person to be performing at a feminism-centric event. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054434/http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/3/11153832/tumblr-sxsw-music-79-cents-event-crystal-castles Shortly after, the band was removed from the lineup. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305102224/http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/30197/1/tumblr-remove-crystal-castles-from-feminist-sxsw-party 
===2017===
In 2017 a followup album, Amnesty (II), was in the works. https://musicfeeds.com.au/news/crystal-castles-demoing-new-songs-upcoming-album-amnesty-ii/ Following the success of their world tour, a North American leg was also announced for 2017. https://consequence.net/2017/06/crystal-castles-announce-north-american-tour-dates/
==Controversies==
===Trevor Brown's Artwork===
In mid-2008, Pitchfork and the Torontoist blog published stories about Crystal Castles' use of Trevor Brown's artwork without his permission. The image, depicting the singer Madonna with a black eye, https://web.archive.org/web/20080426202817/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/50168-crystal-castles-caught-up-in-artwork-controversyhttp://torontoist.com/2008/04/crystal_castles_trevor_brown.php was used as the band's logo. The issue was resolved after the band bought the rights to use the image from Brown.
===Plagiarism===
In one of Kath's earliest unreleased demos, he incorporated a sample without permission; years later his record label discovered the track and uploaded it to the label's Myspace page without Kath's permission, and without credit to the original sampled song. https://web.archive.org/web/20081211094054/http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/generalarticlesynopsfullart.aspx?csid1=121&csid2=844&fid1=31229 The track, "Insectica", 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". http://blogto.com/music/2008/05/crystal_castles_creative_commons_controversy/http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/05/05/chiptune-music-theft-continues-crystal-castles-abuses-creative-commons-license/https://web.archive.org/web/20110221150214/http://www.chartattack.com/news/53762/crystal-castles-accused-of-stealing-songs
===Sexual Misconduct===
On October 24, 2017, Glass published an official statement that detailed events of Kath subjecting her to sexual, physical and mental abuse during her time in Crystal Castles. She alleged that these patterns of abuse began when she started recording with Kath and continued to escalate until her eventual departure from Crystal Castles. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jun/15/alice-glass-on-leaving-crystal-castles-the-cruelty-never-ceases-to-amaze-me Kath responded the same day in a statement issued to Pitchfork through his attorney, where he called the accusations "pure fiction" and said he was consulting with his lawyers as to his legal options. https://pitchfork.com/news/alice-glass-accuses-crystal-castles-co-founder-ethan-kath-of-rape-and-assault/ However the band cancelled the rest of their North American tour in light of Glass's accusations. https://www.nme.com/news/music/crystal-castles-tour-dates-cancelled-ethan-kath-rape-allegations-2153776 
Crystal Castles has since been inactive, having not released any new material, performed any concerts, or even provided any updates on its own status since prematurely ending their tour. It was revealed after Glass' accusations that the band's longtime manager James Sandom no longer worked with the group. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/crystal-castles-ethan-kath-has-denied-claims-bandmate-alice/ Kath sued Glass for defamation, but his suit was dismissed by the court. https://www.stereogum.com/1970507/crystal-castles-ethan-kath-sues-alice-glass-for-defamation/news/https://pitchfork.com/news/alice-glass-says-ethan-kaths-defamation-suit-is-dismissed/ On December 21, 2017, Police Constable Allyson Douglas-Cook of the Toronto Police Service confirmed that Kath was the subject of a currently open Sex Crimes unit investigation. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ethan-kath-of-crystal-castles-being-investigated-for-sexual-assault-police-confirm 
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Glass and four other women came forward alleging that Kath had sexually preyed on them when they were teenagers and he was in his mid to late twenties. With Kath using his fame in Crystal Castles and Kill Cheerleader to get in contact with them at a young age, the alleged victims stated that he took advantage of their naivety and supplied them with drugs and alcohol in order to coerce them into sexual acts. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-indie-rocker-accused-of-sexually-abusing-young-fans 
Glass later gave an interview with The Guardian and further elaborated on Kath's behavior towards her, commenting that he had thrown her phone out of a moving car, torn her hair out and lied about the nature of her rib injury. Kath had at several points gone against doctor's orders and made her perform when she was suffering from a concussion. Kath also held onto Glass' passport and controlled her finances, preventing her from having her own cell phone or credit card until a couple of years before she left. Glass also mentioned that if she ever thought of leaving Crystal Castles, Kath would threaten to replace her with someone "who's a better singer and who would put up with a lot worse than [she] would". After discovering that Kath had done similar actions towards other women, Glass felt it was her responsibility to come forward. Glass would disavow her work with Crystal Castles and asked fans to cease their support of the band. https://www.nme.com/news/music/alice-glass-says-she-is-being-gutted-over-crystal-castles-royalty-payments-2786266
==Discography==
===Albums===
*Crystal Castles (2008)
*Crystal Castles (II) (2010)
*(III) (2012)
*Amnesty (I) (2016)
===EPs===
*Alice Practice (2006)
*Doe Deer (2010)
*Celestica (2010)
===Singles===
*Deicide (2015)
==Tours==
==References==
Category:Music YouTubers
Category:Canadian YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2006