Crossover

Crossover is an electro and synth-pop group from New York, United States. It forms in 1998 and is active from 1998 to the present. The group consists of Mark Lester Ingram and Vanessa Tosti, who are also referred to as Mark Ingram and Vee & Dez in the material associated with the project.

Background

The duo forms in New York City and releases its first album, Fantasmo, in 2001. The project presents itself as more than a conventional band, combining music with storytelling and character-based material. Its imagery and lyrics draw on ideas of myth, fantasy, dreams, and surreal or dark electronic settings.

Releases and sound

Crossover releases its second full-length album, Cryptic and Dire Sallow Faced Hoods Blast off Into Oblivion, in 2005, followed by the digital release Live in Berlin 2005 and the album Space Death in 2009. The song titles and release material point to a sound built around stripped-down synths, beats, and hard-edged electronics, with elements described through terms such as electroclash, dark underground electro, electropunk, and cozmik music. The group also uses the term “Gloom” for part of its sound.

Activity and appearances

The group tours in Europe and North America, including dates in the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, London, Paris, and Rome. It appears at events including Berlin’s Love Parade weekend at Club WMF, the Electric Stew party in the UK, Colette’s fifth anniversary in Paris, Barcelona’s Sonar Festival, the Shari Vari festival in Switzerland, and Sonic Mook Experiment’s “Future Rock & Roll” weekend, where it opens for Suicide. It also headlines at WMF club in Berlin.

Media, collaborations, and visual work

Crossover receives coverage from NME, ID, The Face, Dazed and Confused, D-Side, Blow Up, Jockey Slut, Sleaze Nation, and Nylon, and gets played by John Peel, BBC’s Ross Allen, Radio NOVA, and BR3 radio. Its music appears on compilations including Rough Trade’s Best of 2002. Songs from the albums are also used for fashion shows by Chanel, Christian Dior, Chaiken & Capone, Pauric Sweeney, and Balenciaga. The group works with Mount Sims, Adamski, and Tiga, and Tiga also remixes “Phostographt.” It creates its own artwork, logos, flyers, and album layouts, and makes videos including “Over Exposure,” “Apples on a Stick,” “I Know Your Face,” and “Black Mess.”

Labels and related material

The project releases music and art through its own DIY banner Cellar Door, which issues limited and hand-numbered items, hand-screened clothing, and hand-printed fanzines called Pirate Communiques. Its music is also linked with International DeeJay Gigolo Records, Turbo Records, and Vulture. The group is asked by Apple’s Macintosh to create an advert for the first iPod, which is shown in gallery settings in Paris, Rome, and New York.

Other artist entries using the name

Other acts share the name Crossover, including a gothic or symphonic black metal band from Greece, a Christian rock and worship band from San José, Costa Rica, a punk band from Novi Sad, Serbia, and a Christian rapper. Another Crossover entry from Greece records albums such as Debauchery, Dogma, and Pythagorized and works with labels including Dead Sun Records and Sleaszy Rider Records.