Every band believes that what they do is original, but there aren't many that believe that more than…
Every band believes that what they're doing is original, but there aren't many who believe that more than CRYSTAL FIGHTERS. The five-piece from Spain, based in East London, fuse traditional folk music from the Basque Country with modern dance beats and electronica, using both traditional instruments with unpronounceable names such as txalapartas and txistus – as high technology. Their debut album 'Star of Love' (Different/PIAS, 2011), which received an avalanche of excellent reviews in eminent journals such as Q, Mine, NME and Mixmag, is based on an unfinished opera about 'the nature of existence and the meaning of love', supposedly written by the grandfather of one of the band members just before his final mental breakdown…
And who are the mysterious five? Three young men with a neo-hippie image – Sebastian, Gilbert and Graham, and backing singers. They are not exactly fans of the cult of personality, so not much is known about them. Apart from the fact that they each dealt with various alternative sub-genres from techno to punk through drum'n'bass, and that they have now transferred all these influences and experiences to the CRYSTAL FIGHTERS project.
Concerts are without a doubt their strongest side - loose and chaotic, full of emotions and with a hint of psychedelia... Traditional percussion txalapartas it has a central role on stage – it is placed between Graham and Gilbert; they both play it. The four-hand rhythm produced by the striking of wood against wood is a key element of their ecstatic live performances. No wonder they have become a fixture on the club scene in Europe, the US, Japan and Australia, and are playing a number of elite festivals this year, including Reading, Glastonbury and Benicassim. 'People love the energy of our live shows,' says Gilbert, '…because the concert spectacle and the release of energy is something completely different than the complex melodiousness on the recordings.' Despite this (or precisely because of this), their album 'Star of Love' (or SOL = sun) is one of the most anticipated debuts in recent times.
Or, as one journalist wrote: 'a modern, hyperkinetic mix of adventurous party music..'
THE TEAM:
Sebastian Pringle – vocals, guitar
Gilbert Veirich – synthesizers, laptop, guitar
Graham Dixon – guitar, txalaparta
Andrea Marongiu – drums
Ellie Fletcher – vocals
QUOTES:
'...Crystal Fighters are like a futuristic, Spanish Gogol Bordello...their ecstatic 'mash-up' is on the one hand dancey, on the other emotional world-music-folk, and at the same time a thousand other things that shouldn't go together, but do .' (NME)
"There is simply no more energetic and lively band than Crystal Fighters" (Dazed & Confused)
"Dance folktronica and electro pop, somewhere between euphoria and delicacy" (Time Out)
"In a flood of new music, Crystal Fighters definitely stand out as one of the most interesting and original bands by far" (NME)
"If these songs don't make you want to rip your clothes off and run into beautiful, sweaty bodies, then I don't know what will..." (The Tripwire)
'This five is an unstoppable vortex of occasionally slightly insane joy.' (NME)
' Forget Coldplay and U2, we know where the real party will be this season.' (NME)
LINKS:
Presale: KUD France Prešeren (01/2832-288) and Dallas Mute Shop (01/252-4591).
Rreservations and cash on delivery: info@matrix-music.com
