Alice Glass and Ethan Kath -- a duo from Toronto better known as Crystal Castles -- are multi-instrumentalists cooking up a unique take on electronic music combining bouncy beats with live instruments. Elements of Aphex Twin shine through their tweaked video-game rhythms mixed with riot grrrl influences have stirred up quite a buzz on the pair's self-titled album. And what's more, the couple have been tapped to open for Nine Inch Nails on select dates of Trent Reznor and Co's summer trek.

Having formed in 2005, Crystal Castles made noise with timely remixes of artists ranging from the Klaxons to Bloc Party. But they won't take on whatever comes their way. "Sometimes, there's a fraction of a sound I will use to create a new melody with," Kath tells Spinner. "I actually have not accepted a remix request in over a year."

Although Crystal Castles' sound is mostly built off an electronic foundation, they do not rely on software or sequencers. "We can abandon electronic instruments at any time," Kath says. With one foot firmly planted in the indie-dance community, the pair has been mindful to keep their directtion open-ended, touring with artists ranging from the Presets to the Teenagers.

Largely influenced by the New Wave and post-punk fusion of New Order, Crystal Castles live performance is a world away from the stereotypical push-buttons approach. Such an execution of vision entails some anticipated hiccups. "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong," Kath says. "Drumskins will rip, bass strings will snap off, sequencers will skip and keyboards will get unplugged. When we started, our goal was to create noise soundscapes over New Order beats."

Mission accomplished.

Crystal Castles put together an exclusive driving mix for Spinner. Download and enjoy.

Download: 'Crimewave' (Crystal Castles vs. Health)' (MP3)

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Crystal Castles, 'Spinner Driving Mix'

Swell Maps, 'Midget Submarines'
Swell Maps, 'Let's Build a Car'
Wire, 'Outdoor Miner'
Wire, 'Mannequin'
Gang of Four, 'Return The Gift'
Gang of Four, 'Damaged Goods'
Crime, 'Frustration'
Crime, 'Hot Wire My Heart'
The Pop Group, 'Colour Blind'
Joy Division, 'They Walked in Line'
Joy Division, 'Ice Age'
Richard Hell, 'Don't Die'
Malcolm McClaren, 'Love Will...'

More Crystal Castles:

• MySpace
  
• iTunes