Music: Crystal Fighters

"Have you ever wondered what would happen if you went back, say, 100 years and dropped a ton of modern recording equipment plus a copy of Mixmag into an obscure hamlet in the heart of the Basque region of Spain and left the villagers, steeped as you'd expect in folk music, to their own devices?" - The Guardian

Crystal Fighters have created their own brand of music and received praise from Dazed and Confused, TimeOut and Mixmag (amongst others) for it.  They've even appeared on Later With Jools Holland!

Combining Basque folk music with dance, producing what they have described in the past as 'raved up, percussive folktronica' gives the Crystal Fighters an edge on other dance acts.  It's difficult to imagine how all the elements of their music could come together so well, but somehow Crystal Fighters manage to reign it all in.  They're certainly not afraid of showing their Spanish roots, and this adds depth to their music.  A perfect example of how they combine genres is the track Swallow, which features Spanish guitars and a dub step baseline.  It should all sound like Fawlty Towers' Manuel on a night out in Ibiza... but it doesn't.

There are of course, tracks I am less keen on.  I Love London is one such track - it's a little repetitive, a little predictable and when you reach the end of the track you realise that actually not a lot has happened.  But it is catchy and I suspect there will be many, many people who strongly disagree with me (proof: it was voted as one of the top 100 tracks of 2008 by Mixmag - but if we agreed all the time it would be boring).

One of their most popular and well known tracks, Xstatic Truth, begins with a simple tunes and soft vocals but slowly builds into an absolute explosion of fun and noise and dancing and everything thats good about music in the summer.  

Crystal Fighters are a welcome breath of fresh air in a time when music can all too soon start sounding the same.  Let's face it - flick through the music channels and you'll hear the same songs over and over.  They are unafraid of doing things a little differently, and with originality and intelligence.  I love that you can listen to one track and it will be folky loveliness and the next track will be a dance track; it makes the album imaginative and exciting.  Everything that music should be but so often is not.

Crystal Fighters' album, Star of Love, is out now.  You can find it here (and many other places... probably).

Visit Crystal Fighters Official website