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Alice Glass

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Alice Glass
Alice Glass at Popped! Music Festival 2008
Alice Glass at Popped! Music Festival 2008
Background information
Birth nameMargaret Osborn
Born (1987-08-23) 23 August 1987 (age 37)
OriginToronto, Ontario, Canada
GenresElectronic
Years active2004-present
LabelsLies, Merok, Trouble, Lovepump, Fiction

Alice Glass (born Margaret Osborn 23 August 1987)[1][2][3] is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Formerly the frontwoman of electronic band Crystal Castles,[4] she embarked on a solo career in mid-late 2014.[5]

Life and career

Alice Glass was born in Toronto, Ontario.[6] She was raised Catholic, attending parochial school up until junior high.[7] At the age of fourteen she ran away from home to live in a squat community of punks under the name Vicki Vale (named after the comic book character) and started an all-girl crust-noise band called Fetus Fatale.[8] Though she continued going to school, she dropped out before graduating. Ethan Kath, impressed by Glass's performance with the band, gave her CD-Rs with 60 instrumental tracks of which she chose 5 to write vocals for.[9][10]

In 2008, before the band's interview with Now Magazine, Glass disappeared and neither Ethan nor the band's manager could contact her.[11] Crystal Castles was infamously shut down at Glastonbury 2008 after Glass climbed a speaker stand just before "Alice Practice" and was swallowed by the crowd during "Yes No".[12]

Glass has been known to be a dedicated performer. In March 2008, she broke two ribs in a car accident, and although doctors instructed her to take at least six weeks off to allow time to heal, she continued the tour, performing a twenty-minute set within days of the accident.[6] Glass also performed five months' worth of shows on crutches after falling and putting a strain on an unhealed ankle injury in 2011.[13] At the 2013 Glastonbury Festival, Crystal Castles began their set 20 minutes past the scheduled time, with Glass visibly sick and beginning "Plague" sitting with her head in her hands. According to NME, Glass had been suffering from food poisoning, but chose to perform anyway.[14] Alice's vocal style ranges from singing, whispering, shouting, and screaming.

In October 2014, Glass announced that she was leaving Crystal Castles due to her own "professional and personal" reasons. In this announcement she noted that working within the band compromised her efforts towards "sincerity, honesty, and empathy for others".[15] She later had a number of public disagreements with her former bandmate.[16]

Glass released her debut single, "Stillbirth", in July 2015.[17] The release was largely an effort to increase awareness of domestic/sexual abuse. Glass worked with anti-sexual assault organization RAINN, donating all proceeds of the song to the aid of victims of such abuse.[18]

Accolades

Alice Glass topped NME's Cool List in 2008 (beating mainstream artists such as Jay-Z) and responded by criticizing the idea of the cool list itself.[19] In 2011 Rolling Stone Magazine named Crystal Castles as one of ten icons in 20 Years of Lollapalooza moments (alongside legends such as Sonic Youth, Patti Smith, and Jesus & Mary Chain).[20] Crystal Castles received the John Peel Award For Innovation at the 2011 NME Awards.[21] Crystal Castles' debut album was included in NME's "Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade" list at #39.[22]

Discography

Singles

  • "Stillbirth" (2015, no label)[17]

References

  1. ^ http://repertoire.bmi.com/writer.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&page=1&fromrow=1&torow=25&querytype=WriterID&keyid=1193798&keyname=OSBORN+MARGARET&CAE=565899676&Affiliation=PRS
  2. ^ "Is This Crystal Castles' New Singer?". Stereogum.com. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  3. ^ https://twitter.com/aliceglass/status/635552929601077248
  4. ^ Mcnett, Jared (8 October 2014). "Five songs to listen to now that Crystal Castles appear to be done". Vox Magazine.
  5. ^ Brandes, Bertie (17 February 2015). "Crystal Castles' Leading Lady Alice Glass is Embracing Her Own Darkness". Vice.
  6. ^ a b "Alice Glass". AskMen.com Celebs. AskMen.com. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  7. ^ "Interviews: Crystal Castles". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  8. ^ Alex Miller, "Alice in wonderland and other stories" (p. 26–30), NME, October 11, 2008.
  9. ^ complex.com: Indie introduction Read at 2010-06-11
  10. ^ Gillen, Kieron. "Crystal Castles Interview". Plan B magazine. Archived from the original on 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
  11. ^ "Crystal Castles". NOW Toronto Magazine - Think Free.
  12. ^ Greg Rose. "Security Cut Crystal Castles Glastonbury Set Short". gigwise.com.
  13. ^ "Crystal Castles' Alice Glass Hospitalized With Broken Ankle". CHARTattack. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  14. ^ NME.COM. "Glastonbury 2013: Friday news round-up". NME.COM.
  15. ^ "Crystal Castles announce their split on Twitter". Dazed. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  16. ^ "Alice Glass Responds To Ethan Kath's "Manipulative" Statements About Crystal Castles". Stereogum. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  17. ^ a b Misker, Evan; Monroe, Jazz (17 July 2015). "Alice Glass Shares Solo Single "Stillbirth"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  18. ^ "Alice Glass releases first solo single, opens up about "abusive relationship"". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  19. ^ "Crystal Castles' Alice Glass reacts to topping 2008 Cool List". NME.com Celebs. NME.com. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  20. ^ "Lollapalooza Through the Years". rollingstone.com Celebs. rollingstone.com. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  21. ^ "Crystal Castles get John Peel Award For Innovation at Shockwaves NME Awards". NME.com Celebs. NME.com. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  22. ^ Magazine, NME. "The Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade". NME. Retrieved 2011-08-21.