PureVolume

Members: Charles, Frank

FRANK TORREALBA: Lead Vocals, Bass
CHARLES TORREALBA: Guitars, Keys, and Back Vocals


Crystal Kid

"It's impossible not to connect when you're brothers. We may fight, but our emotions are very similar," explains Charles Torrealba. He and younger brother Frank founded Crystal Kid in 2003, and their intuitive sibling chemistry has fuelled their electrifying pop-rock sound ever since.

The Torrealba brothers were born in Brazil and later moved to Venezuela and Mexico before settling in Calgary, AB, as teenagers. It was in their new Canadian home that Charles picked up his father's guitar and, after learning a few chords, convinced Frank to learn bass. The pair spent years holed up in their parents' basement, perfecting their craft. Drawing on an array of pop and rock influences from the '70s up to the present, they wrote feverishly, collaborating on every aspect of the process.

"It all begins with a melody," Charles says of the duo's creative approach. "Sometimes there are arguments, but that comes with being brothers. Even if we're frustrated with each other, it translates into music. We do everything together."

After honing their sound for five years, they hit the studio and released the self-titled Crystal Kid EP in 2008. It was then that the world began to take notice of the brothers' infectious, dance floor-friendly style. Crystal Kid became a staple of the Canadian concert circuit, playing at festivals such as Canadian Music Week (Toronto), CMJ (New York), MUSEXPO (Los Angeles), Sled Island (Calgary) and sharing stages with Three Days Grace, Seether, My Darkest Days and more. Radio audiences were impressed, and Calgary's AMP 90.3 FM Rock Star contest awarded the band a whopping $50,000 in grants between 2010 and 2012.

This money funded a second EP, 2011's The End of the Beginning. As the title indicates, this EP represents the end of the first phase of the band's career. With these meticulously crafted and expansively arranged songs, the Torrealbas have finally arrived at the dynamic, synth-spiked sound that they first envisioned in their parents' basement all those years ago.

In 2012, Crystal Kid toured across Canada then hunkered down in a Los Angeles studio with Grammy-nominated, Juno Award-winning producer Brandon Friesen (Sum 41, Finger Eleven, Billy Ray Cyrus) "We're making the songs sound bigger, but without losing the substance of the lyrics," reveals Charles. "That's us: we like layers of sound, lots of keyboards, huge guitars. Bigger choruses, bigger tones."

Look for the band to hit the road in 2013. Considering that the Torrealba brothers spent their childhood moving from country to country, it's only fitting that they are now poised to spend their adulthood thrilling audiences around the world.

Buy Crystal Kid's new record on iTunes or CD Baby

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