The Crystal Method

The Crystal Method is an American electronic music group formed in 1993 and based in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The act consists of Scott Kirkland and Ken Jordan, and is associated with big beat, breakbeat, electronic and electronica. It begins as a duo in Las Vegas, where Kirkland and Jordan work together at a grocery store before Jordan teaches Kirkland to DJ. Jordan also works as a DJ in Las Vegas and serves as programme director for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas college radio station. After Jordan moves to Los Angeles to work for a producer, Kirkland follows, and the pair form The Crystal Method while working as a production duo for a rapper. The name comes from a running phrase used by that rapper about a production team member called Crystal.

Early work and debut album

In the early 1990s, Kirkland and Jordan live in La Crescenta, California, where they build a home recording studio called The Bomb Shelter. The property appears in the documentary film Better Living Through Circuitry. A demo reaches British DJ Justin King, who co-founds the City of Angels label with Steve Melrose to promote American electronic dance music. The Crystal Method releases its debut single, Now Is the Time, on that label before signing to Outpost Recordings in 1996. Its first studio album, Vegas, follows and includes Keep Hope Alive, Trip Like I Do, Busy Child and Comin' Back. The album reaches number 92 on the Billboard 200, is certified gold in 1998 and platinum in 2007, and its tracks appear widely in media. Eight tracks feature in the video game N2O, and a reworking of Trip Like I Do, titled (Can't You) Trip Like I Do and featuring Filter, appears on the Spawn soundtrack and on the soundtrack to Tedd Can.

Radio, remixes and chart success

Jordan and Kirkland host the radio programme Community Service on Indie 103.1 in California. In 2002 they release Community Service, a continuous DJ mix album based on the show and built largely from remixes by other artists and their own remixes of tracks from Tweekend. Their remix of P.O.D.'s Boom appears in the video game Amplitude. The album reaches number 160 on the Billboard 200, number five on the Top Electronic Albums chart and number 15 on the Top Independent Albums chart.

The second studio album, Tweekend, is recorded in 1999 and released in 2001. It becomes the act's highest-charting album, reaching number 32 on the Billboard 200. Guest performers include Tom Morello, Scott Weiland, Doug Grean, DJ Swamp, Ryan "Ryu" Maginn and Julie Gallios. Singles from the album include Wild, Sweet and Cool, Murder, Blowout and Name of the Game.

Legion of Boom and later 2000s work

Legion of Boom, released in 2004, reaches number 36 on the Billboard 200 and is nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album in 2005. Its lead single, Born Too Slow, features John Garcia on vocals and Wes Borland on guitar and appears in Need for Speed: Underground. The second single, Starting Over, features Rahzel. I Know It's You, featuring Milla Jovovich, is used in promotional material for Resident Evil: Extinction. During this period, Kirkland and Jordan found the record label Tiny E Records. They also compose the theme music for Bones, which is used for the series' first seven seasons before being remixed for the eighth.

In 2004 they collaborate with Alan Parsons on We Play the Game, which appears on his album A Valid Path. In April 2005 they release Community Service II, a second continuous mix album that reaches number 31 on the Top Independent Albums chart and number eight on the Top Electronic Albums chart. A digital EP, Community Service II Exclusives, follows later that year and includes the new track Badass. In 2006 the act composes and performs the score for the film London, and the accompanying soundtrack includes excerpts from the score, Smoked and Glass Breaker. That same year it produces Drive: Nike + Original Run for Nike's running music series. Released first as a digital album and later physically, it reaches number 23 on the Top Electronic Albums chart. Robogirl appears in Dance Dance Revolution: SuperNOVA.

Divided by Night and television work

After Legion of Boom, the duo builds a new Los Angeles studio called Crystalwerks and records Divided by Night there. The album is preceded by the singles Drown in the Now and Black Rainbows and reaches number 38 on the Billboard 200, number two on the Top Electronic Albums chart and number four on the Top Independent Albums chart. It also receives a Grammy Award nomination. Guest performers include LMFAO, Peter Hook, Matisyahu, Meiko, Justin Warfield, Emily Haines and Jason Lytle. The group's music also appears in X Games 3D: The Movie in 2009.

The Crystal Method also composes the score and opening theme for the television series Almost Human in 2013. The song Play for Real and Over It appear in Asphalt 8: Airborne, while Single Barrel (Sling the Decks) is used in the film Lucy.

Later releases and current form

The self-titled fifth studio album, The Crystal Method, is delayed after Scott Kirkland undergoes surgery to remove a benign arachnoid cyst and is released in 2014. In early 2017 Ken Jordan retires from music and leaves the group, after which Kirkland continues The Crystal Method as a solo project while the act remains active. Later that year he tours with Tool and works with Justin Chancellor on Bandwidth. Kirkland releases The Trip Home in 2018, preceded by Holy Arp and There's a Difference, the latter featuring Franky Perez. In November 2018 Kirkland and Jean-Michel Jarre announce a collaboration for Jarre's next electronica album. The Trip Out follows in 2022, with Post Punk featuring DJ Hyper and Iggy Pop as the lead single and Watch Me Now featuring Koda & VAAAL later appearing on NBC's American Song Contest and on the soundtrack to MLB The Show 23.