Last Gang Entertainment

I was cruising around MSTRKRFT’s MySpace page in the Fall of 2006 and stumbled across a friends’ picture that caught my attention.  Two slender leather-clad kids heads down and faces hidden were intriguing enough for me to click through and check them out.  Their music and the vibe of their page inspired me enough to do something I had never done before…email someone through their MySpace page.  A day or 2 later they responded and I discovered they were from my hometown.  I had them come to meet me.  Alice sat on the couch and said very little while Ethan outlined a vision for his duo to take over the world.  It was a plan that was ambitious and unrealistic but intriguing all the same.  They brought a genuine edginess to the roster that we expose from time to time: spontaneity, danger, sex, darkness – the same things that first inspired me about The Clash and The Sex Pistols.  I don’t think at that stage they really thought it would lead them to making the cover of NME twice in 2008.  After our meeting I didn’t immediately move forward.  Over the Christmas break I spent 2 days in the office listening to their MySpace page on repeat.  The melodies, the sounds, the rawness…..it all began to sink in.  I reached out to the group again and apologized for sleeping on things and we started to talk about making records in early 2007.  Today, by our estimation, over 400,000 people own Crystal Castles’ debut album (about 33% have actually purchased it: thank you for that) with more converts joining us daily.  We have great international license partners to thank for the rise of CC around the world (PIAS in the UK & Europe, JVC in Japan and Shock in Australia), and at the center of it all, Ethan and Alice who pursue a torturous touring schedule to continue spreading the word.

With CC firmly rooted, what’s next you may ask…hmmm….keep reading.

There isn’t a more dangerous part of the world than Waterhouse, Kingston (Jamaica).  Last Gang’s, Terry Lynn is slowly gaining attention.  The New York Times says “Stark, merciless electronic beats ricochet like gunshots around Terry Lynn on her debut album”.  CMJ, XLR8R, Spin and Pitchfork have also highlighted our new darling from JA.  We dropped her debut “Kingstonlogic 2.0” on September 23 in Canada and the US.  With its eminent international release, the album will soon begin to make waves in Jamaica, the UK, Europe and elsewhere.  Our partners at Phree have loaded us up with remixes, photo books, and some other good stuff…..all will come out in due time.  Her Kingstonlogic 12” features mixes by Olivier Giacomotto and John Acquaviva (available on Beatport and iTunes).  The full length has cracked the Top 50 at CMJ.  Her debut video for “System” premiered on Pitchfork.tv.  Though our friends in television land loved the video, it was a bit too hardcore for the masses…..or so standards says.  This much was expected though….we didn’t want to dilute the message.  Watch for video #2 in the months ahead.  We are busy confirming loads of press in what seem to be all the right places – people are really taking the record seriously and we are grateful for it.

The next “big thing” on the Last Gang roster is bound to be Mother Mother.  Their new video for “Oh My Heart” now also has an amazing “Making Of” video that MUST be watched.  The special effects on this video are mind-boggling.  (It’s all still pictures….seriously.  I know…WTF?!?)  Special thanks go to Colin Minihan and crew for pulling it together.  MuchMusic has been spinning the video since we delivered it and MTV2 play listed it for their Halloween Subterranean special in the USA.  CMJ has the album holding in the Top 25….making it’s way up.  Their Pop Montreal performance was awe-inspiring and their 2 slots at CMJ were packed to the rafters.  They recently sat in for a performance/interview on CBC Radio’s Q – you can check out the podcast here.

Our favourite sons from Montreal, Chromeo, keep travelling around the planet bringing their funk to the masses.  It’s almost time for them to hunker down in the studio and work on their next album….so catch them now while you can.  They just appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien…..with a full string section!…..check it out if you missed it.

We are so happy to announce that The New Pornographers frontman, AC Newman, has delivered his newest solo album, “Get Guilty”, which we will be releasing in Canada this coming January.  Let’s Go To War are nearly finished their album.  Tiga is nearly finished his album….have you heard “Mind Dimension” yet?  Metric are finished their album.  MSTRKRFT are finished their album.  We expect all of these to be out in early 2009.  We’ve also unearthed a couple of new gems that we are in the process of signing up.

It will be an amazing 2009…

Believe me.

I haven’t lied to you yet.

Your President.

Surreal

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