Crystal Castles are a true testament to the power self-distribution online has in the modern music marketplace. The band, based in Toronto, has gone from a quirky experiment to an overnight indie rock success story, earning rave reviews in the press and attention for their live shows, described by some as out of control and others as electrifying.



The band consists of vocalist Alice Glass and producer/multi-instrumentalist Ethan Kath (sometimes known as Ethan Catheter). In the mid-‘00s, Kath moved away from the music he was used to performing—ranging from punk, metal and even folk—to electronic textures. He became enraptured by the 8-bit music scene, where keyboardists played songs reminiscent of the video game soundtracks of their youth. He went as far as attempting to put an Atari 5200 sound chip into his keyboard, though it would work.

Eventually, he invited Glass to join him. Using weathered equipment, they recorded a song called “Alice Practice,” a simple demo of Glass testing out a microphone. They parted ways for several months, thinking the experiment had been somewhat fruitless, though Kath was still intrigued by the low-res sound supporting Glass' monotone, distorted vocals. The song has a hypnotic effect on the listener, and Kath put it up on a Myspace page, not thinking much else of it.

But record companies were listening, and heard potential there. The duo was contacted and offered a deal for a single—for a song that was essentially them testing out equipment. They were surprised, delighted, but expected that to be the end of it. Instead, the single sold out, and it was clear there was a future for Crystal Castles on the road.

They began touring, and gained a reputation for having wild shows where Glass seems ready to bounce through the ceiling. The fans respond in kind, with a couple of shows drawing the attention of police. Based on footage of these shows, available on YouTube, calling their live shows riotous seems to stretch the truth, but they do look like a punk band who's able to get their audience to dance.

Wherever the band went, fans already seemed to know who they were—in large part because of leaked tracks online. Some of these tracks aren't even considered finished or proper song by the band, but were in-studio experiments, sometimes with samples of better known songs, that were never meant to be released.

In 2008, Crystal Castles released their debut album. So far, it's sold extremely well, and their popularity continues to increase. They're often described as dripping with nostalgia. Some of that has to do with their name, which comes from an ‘80s toy ad for She-Ra, whose playset was called the Crystal Castles. Some of it undoubtedly comes from their music, which is reminiscent of video games. And even Alice Glass' fashion at shows hints at it when she's seen sporting thrift store T-shirts that are vintage 1991, with images of Bart Simpson or other pop icons.

But the band insists in interviews they're just trying to make interesting noise, claiming they hate video games, though they appreciate the 8-bit scene. Whatever their objectives, they have the fire of punk and the energy to make people dance. There's no more reason you need to get Crystal Castles tickets from http://www.stubhub.com/crystal-castles-tickets.