Crystal Fighters
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Crystal Fighters are an English-Spanish
electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
band, formed in 2007, in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, and in
Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. Their debut album, ''
Star of Love ''Star of Love'' is the debut studio album by English-Spanish electronic music band Crystal Fighters. It was originally released on 4 October 2010 on their label, Zirkulo. The album combines genres from Basque folk to straight electronic and dubs ...
'', was released in October 2010 in the UK and was released in the US through
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
in April 2012. Their second album entitled '' Cave Rave'' was released on 27 May 2013 and their third, ''Everything Is My Family'' was released on 21 October 2016. Their latest album titled ''Gaia & Friends'' was released on 1 March 2019.


Career


Formation and early years

Crystal Fighters consists of Sebastian Pringle (lead vocals, guitar), Gilbert Vierich (electronics, guitars,
txalaparta The txalaparta ( or ) is a specialized Basque music device of wood or stone. In some regions of the Basque Country, (with ) means "racket", while in others (in Navarre) has been attested as meaning the trot of the horse, a sense closely relate ...
, percussion), Graham Dickson (guitar/txalaparta), Laure Stockley (vocals) and Mimi Borrelli (vocals). Pringle, Vierich, and Dickson began making music under various guises before being joined by Laure Stockley and Mimi Borelli. The band added Andrea Marongiu as their drummer in September 2010 at the Isle of Wight's Festival. The group took their name Crystal Fighters from an unfinished opera which Stockley's grandfather had penned during his final months of insanity. Stockley came across the manuscript while clearing out the reclusive old man's remote home in the
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
countryside. She quickly became obsessed by the intriguing scrawls within it and shared it with the others. Captivated by its seemingly prophetic contents, the band took on the name and formed in an attempt to expand upon the wild and deranged spirit of Stockley's grandfather's writings. "We started writing music around the book and learning about Basque culture and how the music and history has evolved. From there we decided we wanted to finish the opera and do a live show that would get across some of the amazing, crazy...stuff that was in this book. So we crafted this live show around the book and wrote new music based on its directions and looking at Basque music as a whole." explains Vierich.


Instruments and style

Describing their style as "fast, mesmeric and passionate", the band play both electric and acoustic guitars, which adds much timbre, synths, drums, and incorporate traditional
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
instruments into their music. Many of their songs use a
txalaparta The txalaparta ( or ) is a specialized Basque music device of wood or stone. In some regions of the Basque Country, (with ) means "racket", while in others (in Navarre) has been attested as meaning the trot of the horse, a sense closely relate ...
, a wooden xylophone-like percussion instrument played by two people standing face-to-face. They also use the
danbolin Pipe and tabor is a pair of instruments played by a single player, consisting of a three-hole pipe played with one hand, and a small drum played with the other. The tabor (drum) hangs on the performer's left arm or around the neck, leaving the ...
(a rope-tuned snare drum), and the
txistu The txistu () is a kind of fipple flute that became a symbol for the Basque folk revival. The name may stem from the general Basque word ''ziztu'' "to whistle" with palatalisation of the ''z'' (cf ''zalaparta'' > ''txalaparta''). This three-hole ...
(a Basque pipe whistle). Crystal Fighters' style is a fusion of genres – fast progressive dance music joined by the melodies and dances of traditional Basque folk, alongside synthesisers, bass-driven wonk-funk, with beats fuelled by early 1980s
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
punk and experimental electronica from bands such as
Aviador Dro Aviador Dro, short for El Aviador Dro y sus Obreros Especializados (Aviator Dro and His Specialized Workers), is a synthpop and electronic music band from Spain, formed in Madrid in 1979. History The group was founded by schoolmates Arturo Lan ...
, Las Vulpes and Dulce Venganza. Basque music informs much of their songwriting: the riff on "Champion Sound" is lifted from the Basque folk piece "Sagar Dantza" and "In The Summer" draws upon music heard at the Carnival of Lantz in Navarra. Paul Lester of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' has described their style as "what would happen if you went back 100 years, dropped a load of recording equipment into a remote Basque village and left the villagers, steeped in folk music, to their own devices." A melting pot of cultural, musical and stylistic influences, Crystal Fighters use eclectic reference points to create their unique genre of music, stating "we consider ourselves to be a mixture of folk, electro, punk, techno, dubstep and Spanish pop. We are kind of like the sound that would be created if The Velvet Underground and The Gipsy Kings were to travel back in time to the Pyrenees, 1980, and make a record with Skream, Madlib and Luciano on production." Their unique style has caused
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
to comment that "Crystal Fighters have stood out as one of the most interesting prospects by a mile – something genuinely new sounding." while Virgin Music describe the band's output as suitable for "the trans-continental, scene-crossing, cultural explorer". On their second album "Cave Rave", Crystal Fighters expanded the sound palette even further, bringing in additional traditional instruments such as the
charango The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, from the Quechua and Aymara populations in the territory of the Altiplano in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments were introduced by the Spanish during c ...
and incorporating elements from Hispanic and African dance as well as Mexican electronic music 3bal. The Line of Best Fit stated that "they sought the wisdom of African musical icons and explored the sounds that cultures of the world have on offer, soaking in the variety, cherrypicking their favourite parts. There’s a notable Latin feel to the record ('No Man'), there’s even some tribal percussion ('LA Calling')."
Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
equally praised their new sound and commented that "the band succeeds wildly in fusing traditional Spanish music with ultra-accessible dance beats."


Kitsuné years

In 2008, music website Palms Out Sounds picked up the track "I Love London" and news of the band's unique sound began to spread. This was followed by two single releases through record label Kitsuné in 2009. " esent "Xtatic Truth" o Kitsunéand immediately they came back to us and said they loved it and wanted to put it out and put it on the compilation. Then we suggested they listened to a couple of other songs like "I Love London" and they thought that was great too." "I Love London" went on to be Mixmag's number 91 song of 2008. In 2009, the band also recorded and made a video for "Robot Restroom" with Tom Neville and Henry Benett although it was never released. The group were chosen as Diesel U Music's Spanish representatives, and launched MySpace Music in the UK, and went on to be listed as number 8 in New Band Day's 'Best New Bands 2010' Awards.


2010–2012: ''Star of Love'' and "Love Is All I Got"

''Star of Love'' is the first album by Crystal Fighters. It was released to critical acclaim in the UK on 4 October 2010 via the band's own label Zirkulo. In Europe, the album is licensed to PIAS. In Australia, the album was released via Liberator Music, and the band signed with
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
in the US who released ''Star of Love'' in April 2012. The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
called it an "assured, sporadically thrilling first shot" while
Artrocker Artrocker is a UK-based collective involved in music promotion and publishing. It was started by Paul Cox and Tom Fawcett who had been co-promoters of a London night called The Sausage Machine. Having started life with an online newsletter and eve ...
said "this lot really are a rare talent that you'd be foolish to ignore." ''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...
'' gave the album 4 out of 5, stating "there's a thrilling carnival atmosphere to ''Star of Love'' (...) unique and highly moreish". '' The Fly'' called it "a record as high in energy and delightfully messy as their now notorious live performances" while BBC's Zane Lowe said "classed as dance music but altogether more interesting than anything anyone in that field has done in years". Of the recording process, Pringle states: "we decided to spend a fair bit of time making sure it was all in place, that we were happy with how everything sounded, primarily making sure the songs somehow linked in with one another even though there's a slew of mad genres going on within the record. We spent a fair bit of time in the studio, having written most of it at home in our warehouse, the three of us together, before taking it to the studio to mix it properly." Written and produced by Crystal Fighters, ''Star of Love'' presents the unique focus and the combined talents of the band. "It's absolutely collaborative... we all have our strengths within the band but because it’s all written pretty much in one room in Hackney, it all gets vetted by each other... there's a lot of toing and froing of opinions and a collaborative relationship going on at all points of the process." The collection of songs explore the themes in singer Stockley's grandfather's writings. Themes include the unfathomable mystery of the universe, the turbulent journey towards being at peace with death, the triumph of love, and the omnipotence of the sun. Each song tells a story, both sonically and aurally, and each story has its cryptic connections with the dark and tormented world of the original opera. " aure's grandfather'sthemes are grand, therefore in our songs we try to stick to them. Plus in the same way he is addressing things in this kind of crazed emotional and passionate way, and portraying the larger themes of life, we are continuing to follow on from that." Singles released from the album include "I Love London", "Xtatic Truth" and "In The Summer", with the single "Plage" being used to soundtrack various commercials and going on to obtain gold sales status in the Netherlands. Their single "At home" was added to BBC's Radio 1's playlist. For the album's US release on Atlantic Records, the band included new songs "Fiesta" and "Earth Island". Crystal Fighters released ''Star of Love Remixes'' album, worldwide, in September 2012. Crystal Fighters released " Love Is All I Got", a collaborative single with Feed Me released by
Mau5trap Mau5trap (stylized as mau5trap; pronounced "mousetrap") is an independent Canadian record label founded in 2007 by electronic music producer Deadmau5. The label was formerly a vanity label, hosting releases through labels such as Ultra Music, Vi ...
and subsequently licensed onto
Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the label ...
in October 2012. "Love Is All I Got" was premiered as
Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
's Hottest Record of the week on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
in September 2012, as well as being
Fearne Cotton Fearne Wood ( Cotton; born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author''.'' She began her career in the late 1990s presenting various children's television shows for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. In 2007, she presented '' The Xtra Factor'', ...
's record of the week on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
from 22 October 2012. Frontman Sebastian Pringle was interviewed by
Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 ...
in November 2012. Bast comments on the ''Love Is All I Got'' release and the support received from
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
, "We basically just had a couple of songs left over from the first album that we needed to finish off. That is very much a stand-alone collaboration. When we do it live it will kind of be our own version of it."


2013–2014: ''Cave Rave''

Crystal Fighters' second album is called ''Cave Rave''; the name of the album comes from the ancient European times when people were documenting creative experiences in caves. The album was recorded in Los Angeles and was set for release on 27 May 2013. The band call the Basque hills their "spiritual home and a great influence for the new album"; Basque mythology sparked interest in the band to pick up more exotic instruments from Africa and South America and use them all over the record. The band released a preview clip of "Wave" on 6 February 2013. On 18 February, they announced the release of ''Cave Rave'', a larger tour in Europe and a tour across North America, and posted a full song called "Separator" on YouTube. The album artwork is by artist
Paul Laffoley Paul Laffoley (August 14, 1935 – November 16, 2015) was an American visionary artist and architect from Boston, Massachusetts. Biography Paul Laffoley was born on August 14, 1935, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to an Irish Catholic family ...
, and was premiered on
Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
's Life + Times website on 18 February 2013. "You & I" is the first main single on the album. The song was debuted on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
's (now defunct)
Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
show as the "Hottest Record in the World". Subsequently, it was added to BBC Radio 1's playlist and 3FM in the Netherlands' playlist as Megahit. The video was directed by Elliot Sellers and was premiered on Vice Noisey. Crystal Fighters performed their single "You & I" and a cover of
Rudimental Rudimental are a British drum and bass band, signed to Asylum Records, Atlantic Records and Black Butter Records. The band consists of Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon "Locksmith" Rolle. They were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2013, and ...
's "
Waiting All Night "Waiting All Night" is a song by English drum and bass band Rudimental. It features vocals from English singer Ella Eyre. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2013 as the fourth single from their debut studio album, ''Home (Ru ...
" on BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge in June 2013. The Sunless 97 remix was premiered on ''
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'', and the Gigamesh remix was premiered on ''
Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...
''. The album "Cave Rave" was included on XFM's 50 Best Albums of 2013 list. "LA Calling" and "Love Natural" followed as singles, with "Love Natural" being featured on the ''
FIFA 14 ''FIFA 14'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released in September 2013 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStati ...
'' soundtrack. "LA Calling" was added to BBC Radio 1's playlist. The album was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnson, and mixed by Manny Marroquin in LA. When asked about their sound, the band replied it is "a meeting of old and new, human and robotic".


2014–2015: "Love Alight" and Marongiu's death

Originally written and recorded as part of the ''Cave Rave'' album session, "Love Alight" was released as a standalone single on 4 August 2014. The song was premiered by
Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
on Tuesday 17 June and had 4
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
plays in the first 24 hours after its premiere. The official music video was directed by Rob Heppell. Guitarist and txalaparta player Graham Dickson founded Axis Mundi Records. An independent record label based out of Brooklyn, New York features artists such as Is Tropical and Psymon Spine. On 11 September 2014, Andrea Marongiu, the band's drummer, died from heart failure.


2015–2016: ''Everything Is My Family''

In September 2016, Crystal Fighters released their first new single in 2 years, 'All Night' which has reached BBC Radio 1's, B playlist. They also announced that their upcoming third album, titled 'Everything Is My Family', will be out on 21 October 2016. On 13 October 2016, the band released the second single from the LP, 'Good Girls' and the third single, 'Lay Low' the week of the album's release. This single was dedicated to bands late drummer, Andrea Marongiu. On 21 October 2016, Crystal Fighters officially released their third studio album, 'Everything Is My Family'. The album was released via their own label, Zirkulo under license to Play It Again Sam.


2018: "Boomin' In Ya Jeep" and ''Hypnotic Sun''

Single 'Boomin' In Ya Jeep' was released in May 2018 through
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
, with a video directed by Tyler Lee. An EP, 'Hypnotic Sun' was released in November 2018 featuring 'Another Level', 'Going Harder' (feat.
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) and 'All My Love'. 'Another Level' was previously featured in the game soundtrack for
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
soccer game
FIFA 19 ''FIFA 19'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Vancouver and released by Electronic Arts on 28 September 2018 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows. It is the 26th installm ...
.


2019: "Wild Ones" and ''Gaia & Friends''

In February 2019, Crystal Fighters released a single titled 'Wild Ones' and announced that a new album, titled ''Gaia & Friends,'' will be released on 1 March. The album includes feature appearances from artists like
Bomba Estéreo Bomba Estéreo is a Colombian band founded in Bogotá in 2005 by Simón Mejía. Their music has been described as "electro tropical" or "psychedelic cumbia". History 2005–2008: Career beginning and ''Vol. 1'' The origins of the group go back t ...
, Petite Noir, or Soledad Vélez.


Live performances

Initially the band's performances took the format of a musical opera to convey the story of each song and bring about evocative reactions from their audiences through the vehicle of performance art, "It was chaotic and we've been trying to bring that sort of energy to every show since." The band now describe the show as, "Maybe not an opera in scale, but visually at least, and with the aid of a live drummer and vocalist, the drama can only increase...making the songs as powerful as possible will become our main influence." Their dramatic and artful performances have become somewhat legendary with
Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...
proclaiming them to have "the single most exciting show in dance music" while '' Dazed & Confused'' stated that "there is nothing more alive or energetic than Crystal Fighters".
CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...
adds: "Fans of Crystal Fighters can attest to two undeniable truths about them: One, that the band’s sound cannot be compartmentalized in any modern day label, and two, that very few shows can ever live up to the energy and drive that fuels a Crystal Fighters show". Their knack for fusing genres has garnered them a reputation for thrilling and involving live shows, of which Pringle explains: "With dance music you can go and see a DJ who is in a booth, so you dance all night and just watch him there kind of doing nothing, which obviously can be amazing. But if you have a live performance where you are playing the same kind of music, the whole experience then changes into a rock show and so much more besides, so we’re trying to make people experience dance music in a new way." This reputation has led to the band being awarded the accolade of "a definite band to watch during the summer festival season" by numerous publications, including ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'',
Artrocker Artrocker is a UK-based collective involved in music promotion and publishing. It was started by Paul Cox and Tom Fawcett who had been co-promoters of a London night called The Sausage Machine. Having started life with an online newsletter and eve ...
and
Skiddle ''Skiddle'' is a primary ticket outlet and online events guide based in the UK, with offices in Manchester, Liverpool, London and Preston dealing with event bookings, registrations, promotion and online ticket sales. It concentrates its core busi ...
.


2008–2010

Crystal Fighters played over 100 shows across 15 countries between 2008 and 2010, including top UK festivals such as
Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...
,
Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festival relocated to the Lulworth Estate in Dorset. The event was organ ...
, V Festival,
Leeds Festival 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. The Reading Festiv ...
,
Creamfields Creamfields is an electronic dance music festival series founded and organised by British club promoter Cream, with its UK edition taking place on August Bank Holiday weekend, with a number of international editions held across various territ ...
, Lovebox,
Secret Garden Party The Secret Garden Party, often colloquially shortened to the SGP, is an independent arts and music festival which takes place in Abbots Ripton near Huntingdon in England. This location is on part of the grounds of a Georgian farmhouse and has its ...
and
Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early ...
. Worldwide, they performed at
Sziget Festival The Sziget Festival ( hu, Sziget Fesztivál, ; "Sziget" for "Island") is one of the largest Music festival, music and cultural festivals in Europe. It is held every August in northern Budapest, Hungary, on Óbuda Island, Óbudai-sziget ("Old Bu ...
(Hungary),
SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...
, StereoSonic (Australia),
Eurosonic Eurosonic Noorderslag is an annual four-day music showcase festival and conference held in January in Groningen, Netherlands. The first three days of the festival (Eurosonic) feature artists from all over Europe, the last day of the festival (No ...
, C/O Pop (Germany), Creamfelds Spain,
Lowlands Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of p ...
(the Netherlands),
Hurricane Festival The Hurricane Festival, also just Hurricane, is a music festival that has taken place at the Eichenring, a speedway race track, in Scheeßel, Germany, since 1997. With more than 80,000 attendees (2022) it is one of the largest music festivals in ...
&
Southside Festival The Southside Festival (simply known as Southside) is an annual music festival that takes place near Tuttlingen, Germany, usually every June. The festival as well as its artists and audiences are generally associated within the alternative part ...
(Germany), Suprette (Switzerland),
Emmaboda Emmaboda () is a locality and the seat of Emmaboda Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden. It had 4,824 inhabitants in 2010. History Until 1875, Emmaboda was called Gantesbo. Back then there were only two houses in Gantesbo, which both remain to thi ...
(Sweden),
Parklife ''Parklife'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 25 April 1994 on Food Records. After disappointing sales for their previous album ''Modern Life Is Rubbish'' (1993), ''Parklife'' returned Blur to prominence in ...
(Australia),
Electric Picnic Electric Picnic is an annual arts-and-music festival which has been staged since 2004 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. It is organised by Pod Concerts and Festival Republic, who purchased the majority shareholding in ...
(Ireland),
Frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...
(Austria) and Bergenfest (Australia). Crystal Fighters also supported
Foals A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is ...
on their UK tour in November 2010 as well as headlining their own UK tour in October of the same year.


2011–2012

In October 2011, the band embarked upon a sold out UK headline tour, before heading to Europe in November. Crystal Fighters played numerous shows at Austin's
SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...
festival in March 2012 before setting off on a US tour, taking in cities such as Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles and a sold-out show at New York's Glasslands. They ultimately returned to North America in May 2012, performing alongside Is Tropical. The group also recorded a
Daytrotter Daytrotter is a recording studio, music venue and subscription-based music discovery website located in Atlanta, United States. It hosts recording sessions with indie music acts. The original studio in Rock Island, Illinois, was founded in 2006 ...
session engineered by Shawn Biggs at Studio Paradiso, San Francisco, California in November 2012.


2013

The band announced a set of tour dates planned for May 2013, covering shows in the UK, Europe and North America including a homecoming show at London's Brixton Academy in November 2013. They performed a string of 6 European shows in May 2013, all of them being sold out in advance, then toured North America in June with
Portugal. The Man Portugal. The Man is an American rock band from Wasilla, Alaska, currently based in Portland, Oregon. The group consists of John Baldwin Gourley, Zach Carothers, Kyle O'Quin, Jason Sechrist, Eric Howk and Zoe Manville. Gourley and Carothers met a ...
. Gigwise claimed they are "the best festival band on the entire planet" after seeing their energetic performance at Optimus Alive festival in Lisbon, Portugal in July 2013. On Tuesday 14 May 2013 ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' announced Crystal Fighters plans to hold a "cave rave" in the heart of the
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
countryside on 29 August 2013. The Cave Rave event took place on 29 August at Zugarramurdi cave outside San Sebastian. Support came from Belako and Wilhelm & The Dancing Animals. Newspaper ''
El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...
'' described the Cave Rave as a "comprehensive review of their two albums", delivering "cathartic moments of communion with the faithful from San Sebastian." Crystal Fighters closed their 2013 worldwide tour with another set of North American and European shows, including a sold-out concert at the
Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...
on 22 November.


2014

Crystal Fighters started 2014 with a 7 date Australian tour, with notable performances including
Falls Festival Falls Music & Arts Festival (commonly known as Falls) is a multi-day music festival held annually in Lorne (Victoria), Marion Bay (Tasmania), Byron Bay (New South Wales) and Fremantle (Western Australia), Australia over the New Year's Eve ...
,
Field Day Festival Field Day is an outdoor music festival held every year on New Year's Day in Sydney at The Domain. It is a one-day music festival showcasing hip-hop, house, indie and electronic artists from all over the world. The event has been running sin ...
and
Southbound Festival Southbound was an arts, camping and music festival. A variety of Australian and international artists performed at this event. The festival occurred annually around New Years, at the Sir Stewart Bovell Park in Busselton, Western Australia. His ...
. The band then returned to Spain in May 2014, playing 8 shows supported by Is Tropical, and embarked upon a worldwide tour covering North America, Europe and South Africa. The North America tour kicked off on 23 May 2014 with
Sasquatch Festival Sasquatch! Music Festival was an annual music festival held at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, United States. It took place on Memorial Day weekend, running for three to four days. In 2018, it was announced that the festival was c ...
, followed by 4 US shows in El Paso, San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The band closed their North American tour with two Mexican shows in Guadalajara and Mexico City. On 27 June 2014, Crystal Fighters performed once again at
Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...
, this time on the John Peel stage. The full concert was recorded and broadcast via the BBC iPlayer. On 18 July, the band performed a set at Latitude Festival on the Obelisk Arena stage. Crystal Fighters finished 2014 by playing Atlantico Festival in Rome, Italy on 29 October.


2015

During the Summer of 2015, Crystal Fighters played a number of festivals throughout Europe including sets at Benicassim Festival,
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...
, Gurten Festival, Super Bock Super Rock Festival, Stuttgart Festival and Santander Music Festival well as performing headlining slots at Somersault Festival and Dcode Festival alongside the likes of
Foals A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is ...
,
Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was fir ...
&
Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...
.


2016

In January it was announced that Crystal Fighters will be headlining Arenal Sound Festival in Burriana (Castellón), Spain. Alongside
Two Door Cinema Club Two Door Cinema Club are a band from Bangor, County Down, Bangor, Northern Ireland. The band formed in 2007 and is composed of three members: Alex Trimble (vocals, rhythm guitar, beats, synths), Sam Halliday (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Ke ...
,
Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki (, ; born November 30, 1977), best known as Steve Aoki, is an American DJ, record producer, music programmer, and record executive.
and
The 1975 The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in 2002 in Wilmslow, Cheshire. Now based in Manchester, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Matthew "Matty" Healy, lead guitarist Adam Hann, bassist Ross MacDonald, and drummer G ...
. They also confirmed on 2 March that they would be embarking on a tour across North America from April through to march, playing a number of live shows and festivals, including
Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey See also

* Coachell ...
. The band embarked on a world tour from July until November 2016. Crystal Fighters's third album 'Everything Is My Family' was released on 21 October 2016.


2017

In 2017, the band toured in the United States and headlined several festivals across Europe and North America including Pinkpop, Rock am Ring, Lollapalooza, and Rock Werchter.


2018

In 2018, Crystal Fighters continued to play festivals, especially in Spain and Portugal. They also played a show at MTV's World Stage event in Bilbao.


2019

In 2019, Crystal Fighters announced a European tour in support of their new album ''Gaia & Friends.'' After playing in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands and France, the tour would conclude with a headline show at
O2 Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...
in London. On 21 June, they headlined the
May Ball A May Ball is a ball at the end of the academic year that takes place at any of the colleges of the University of Cambridge. They are elaborate and lavish formal affairs, requiring black tie or sometimes white tie, with ticket prices ranging f ...
at
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...
. On 25 July 2019, six years on from Cave Rave, Crystal Fighters hosted Wave Rave, a one-day festival, in the
Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...
an town of
Bermeo Bermeo is a town and municipality in the ''comarca'' of Busturialdea. It is in the province of Biscay, which is part of the autonomous region of the Basque Country in northern Spain. With a population of 16,765, it is the most important fishing ...
. The event was co-hosted by Bay of Biscay festival, and featured performances by
Hinds Hinds may refer to: Deer, especially does *Deer People with the surname Hinds: *Hinds (surname) In places: *Hinds, New Zealand, a small town *Hinds County, Mississippi, a US county *Hinds Lake, a lake in Minnesota *Hinds River, a river that flows ...
, Belako, DJ Marfox and
Bad Gyal Alba Farelo i Solé (born 7 March 1997), known professionally as Bad Gyal, is a Spanish singer, songwriter, DJ and model. Known for her distinctive overall use of Auto-Tune, Bad Gyal has developed a strong cult following ever since her musica ...
. The band used the festival in order to promote awareness of sustainability, the environment, and clean water. As such, Crystal Fighters collaborated with Wateraid and Raw Bottles to create a limited series of reusable, stainless-steel water bottles and organic short-sleeved T-shirts, with a percentage of the proceeds donated to Wateraid. On 26 July, the day after the festival, the band participated in the cleaning of the beach alongside attendees of the festival in order to raise awareness about
plastic pollution Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...
and the importance of clean oceans.


2021

In 2021, Crystal Fighters released 3 NFT's. The NFT's were reinterpretations of the original artwork for the tracks 'Lay Low', 'In Your Arms' and 'Simplicity' from the album '
Everything Is My Family ''Everything Is My Family'' is the third studio album from the multi-national based band Crystal Fighters Crystal Fighters are an English-Spanish electronic music band, formed in 2007, in London, England, and in Navarre, Spain. Their debut ...
', the NFT's also included unique audio written by Crystal Fighters.


TV, video game and film appearances

Crystal Fighters performed "Champion Sound" and "Xtatic Truth" on ''
Later With Jools Holland ''Later... with Jools Holland'' (also known as ''Even Later... with Jools Holland'', and previously known as ''Later Live... with Jools Holland'' and ''...Later with Jools Holland'') is a contemporary British music television show hosted by Jo ...
'' in October 2010. They appeared on
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's ''Abbey Road Debuts'', a new music programme from the producers of ''
Live from Abbey Road ''Live from Abbey Road'' is a 12-part, one-hour performance series/ documentary that began filming its first season during 2006 at Abbey Road Studios in London. Season 2 was filmed between 2007 and 2008, season 3 was filmed in 2009 and Season ...
'' which began in April 2011. Two songs from the ''Star of Love'' album have featured in hit TV series '' Skins''. "Xtatic Truth" featured in Episode 7, Series 4 during the party scene and "With You" in Episode 3 of Series 5 when Mini sees Nick sleeping next to Liv. 'I Do This Everyday' was featured on the Skins advert in February 2011. The
Delta Heavy Delta Heavy (often stylised as DELTΔ HEΔVY) are an English drum and bass production duo consisting of Ben Hall and Simon James. They found fame with their 2012 single "Get By", which entered the UK Indie Chart at number 30. The duo's debut a ...
remix of "I Love London" was featured on the soundtrack to the film '' Harry Brown''. They were featured on a small documentary ''4Play: Crystal Fighters'', which aired 25 February 2011 on Channel 4. Their track "Plage" was used on the 2011 television commercials for both
Matalan Matalan is a British fashion and homeware retailer based in Knowsley, Merseyside. It was established by John Hargreaves in 1985, and is still owned by the Hargreaves family. , the company employed over 13,000, and had 230 stores in the United K ...
and
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
. Also in 2011, a portion of their song "Follow" was used in the U.S. Puma Shoes commercial "Pumagility". A portion of their track "At Home" is being used in Portugal and Spain in a
History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
advert since the start of 2012. "At Home" was synched to
Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
Advert in April 2012. This track was also featured in the last episode of the second season of MTV’s TV series ''
Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed ...
''. Crystal Fighters' "Follow" was synched to
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
Xperia TV Advert in September 2012, and was also featured in the video game by
EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...
, '' FIFA 13''. The band have released videos for singles "Xtatic Truth", "I Love London", "At Home", "Follow/Swallow", "In The Summer", "Plage" and "Champion Sound" and in September 2011, unveiled a series of acoustic versions of the album's tracks, that were filmed and recorded in autumnal woodland. The band have also filmed sessions for the likes of
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
, MySpace, All Saints Basement Sessions and Kick Kick Snare. Part of their song "Champion Sound" was featured during the second episode of ''
Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...
''s sixth season in October 2012. It was also featured in the final scenes of the fourth-season premiere of ''
Cougar Town ''Cougar Town'' is an American television sitcom that ran for 102 episodes over six seasons, from September 23, 2009, until March 31, 2015. The first three seasons aired on ABC, with the series moving to TBS for the remaining three seasons. ABC ...
'' in January 2013. Their song "In The Summer" was featured on ''
Beauty & the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine T ...
'' episode 7 of season 1, in November 2012. Crystal Fighters' "Plage" was synched to the trailer for the DreamWorks movie ''
The Croods ''The Croods'' is a 2013 American computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was written and directed by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders, and stars the voices of Nicola ...
'' in December 2012. A portion of Crystal Fighters' "Plage" was used in
Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
's summer 2013 food campaign 'Make Today Delicious'. The acoustic and album versions of "At Home" and the Roksonix remix of "Follow" appear in the soundtrack to the 2013 film ''Trap for Cinderella''. The
easyJet EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...
TV advert with the strapline "This is generation easyJet" features the song "You & I" from ''Cave Rave''. "Plage" was featured on the soundtrack for the HBO show ''
Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary ...
''. "Love Natural" from ''Cave Rave'' featured as soundtrack in video game, ''
FIFA 14 ''FIFA 14'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released in September 2013 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStati ...
''. "You & I" and "LA Calling" from ''Cave Rave'' have all been featured on E4 show ''
Made in Chelsea ''Made in Chelsea'' (abbreviated ''MIC'') is a British structured-reality television series broadcast by E4. ''Made in Chelsea'' chronicles the lives of affluent young people in the West London and South West areas of Belgravia, King's Road, C ...
''. "You & I" has featured on the 2013 film ''
How I Live Now ''How I Live Now'' is a novel by Meg Rosoff, first published in 2004. It received generally positive reviews and won the British Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the American Printz Award for young-adult literature. Plot Fifteen-year-o ...
''s trailer. "You & I" was featured on the Jägerette Activation,
Jägermeister ( , ; stylized Jägermeiſter) is a German digestif made with 56 herbs and spices. Developed in 1934 by Wilhelm and Curt Mast, it has an alcohol by volume of 35% ( 61 degrees proof, or US 70 proof). The recipe has not changed since its creation ...
South Africa 2013 video as a remix. Their track "Plage" was used on the television commercial for
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
's "One Samsung" campaign aired during the 2014 Academy Awards.
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
TV advert "Summer of Good Times" used the acoustic 'Zugarramurdi Cave' version of their 2015 track "Love Natural". Their song was featured in
EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...
game ''
FIFA 19 ''FIFA 19'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Vancouver and released by Electronic Arts on 28 September 2018 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows. It is the 26th installm ...
'' with "Another Level".


Discography


Studio albums

*''
Star of Love ''Star of Love'' is the debut studio album by English-Spanish electronic music band Crystal Fighters. It was originally released on 4 October 2010 on their label, Zirkulo. The album combines genres from Basque folk to straight electronic and dubs ...
'' (2010) *'' Cave Rave'' (2013) *''
Everything Is My Family ''Everything Is My Family'' is the third studio album from the multi-national based band Crystal Fighters Crystal Fighters are an English-Spanish electronic music band, formed in 2007, in London, England, and in Navarre, Spain. Their debut ...
'' (2016) *''Gaia & Friends'' (2019)


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Alternative dance musical groups English dance music groups Spanish dance music groups English electronic music groups Spanish electronic music groups English folk musical groups Spanish folk music groups Musical groups established in 2007 Musical quintets Musical groups from London Kitsuné artists Folktronica musicians