Crystal Fighters believe in bringing something different to the table. The quintet lives together in London and creates music that brings together the seemingly disparate worlds of Basque folk music and hardcore electronica. It's a strange combination that represents one of those wild ideas that you imagine was scrawled on the back of a beer mat somewhere on some long forgotten night, and really shouldn't work in practice. In fact, the origins of their sound are steeped in a far more significant history and, as anyone who has witnessed them live will attest, the sound-meld style has turned into something real, vital and explosive that makes Crystal Fighters one of the hottest bands currently on the live circuit. The band will be playing live at The Macbeth on Saturday night at the monthly tastemaker Twisted Licks, and to whet their appetites we grabbed a few words with Gilbert.
The hottest news around the Crystal Fighters camp at the moment is the band’s signing to über cool French label Kitsune and the release of their imminent next single ‘Xtatic Truth’. ‘Kitsune were definitely an influence when we were putting the band together and it was something we actively pursued’, enthuses Gilbert. ‘We spoke to our agent and gave him a wish-list of labels that we would really like to work with and Kitsune was on there. They have just released so much great music, and we thought they would really get what we are doing. Fortunately enough they did and when they heard us they got straight back to us. So we've signed for two singles, the first of which is ‘Xtatic Truth’, out on 18th May.”
‘Xtatic Truth’ represents the best of Crystal Fighters: the bombastic beats and cascading loops offset by the acoustic instrumentation and those crazy Spanish accents, sorry...Basque accents. For the distinction is key. The Basque region as a whole is relatively unknown. Much like Afghanistan people associate the word Basque with a litany of unsavoury ideas and assumptions, dismissing any notions of cultural integrity or history out of hand. The struggle of ETA and the lengths that it has stretched to in order to make its voice heard have tarnished the region with the reputation of terrorists at worst and rabblesome freedom fighters at best. It's something which is the antithesis of the Crystal Fighters heart. ‘Basque culture really isn’t explored. I mean we didn’t really know about it. The elements basically came together when Laure found this book by her grandfather. We’ve taken so much from that,’ continues Gilbert, before discussing how Basque musicians in London have reacted to the fusion of their native sound to hard dance. ‘People are always a little mystified when they see us at first. There’s this period where we have to win them over as they adjust to what’s happening, both those kids coming at it from the dance side and Basque musicians who have seen us. We’ve had nothing but positive feedback you know. They are really supportive and interested to see what we are doing with it.’
Live, Crystal Fighters are a fearsome prospect, creating a wild maelstrom of sounds that stuns, mystifies and enchants in equal measure. ‘Live is always really exciting. But you know it’s a different thing to on record as the amount of acoustic instrumentation is limited, we have some big ideas about what to do live in the future. But for now we just want to connect to people, we love playing the venues where you can get that energy off the audience.’
Big plans indeed including dates in Barcelona and several major festivals across the summer. Couple this with the second Kitsune single and the band’s frenetic remix work and it’s all looking very rosy for Crystal Fighters. Twisted Licks on Saturday night provides a perfect opportunity to see one of the most refreshing sounds in modern music up close and personal in the intimate surroundings of the Macbeth. It promises to be the hottest night in town.
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