Ethan Kath (born 25 December 1982, Toronto) is the producer and main songwriter of Crystal Castles.
Rolling Stone Magazine named Crystal Castles the #1 Icons of 20 Years of Lollapalooza. Ethan Kath and his band Crystal Castles received the John Peel Award For Innovation at the 2011 NME Awards. His debut album with the band Crystal Castles was included in NME's "Top 100 Greatest Albums Of The Decade" list at #39.
Prior to his work in Crystal Castles, Kath played different instruments in many bands. As a teenager he played drums in an anarchist-punk band called Jakarta. Later he played bass in a garage-metal band, and guitar in a GG Allin cover-band. He was also in a 2-piece folk band, inspired by Leonard Cohen and Neil Young. He played bass and sang in a rock and roll band, Kill Cheerleader. The folk band ended with the death of his friend and band mate, Pino Placentile. (Crystal Castles albums are all dedicated to Pino Placentile).
Crystal Castles are known for the elusiveness of their off-stage lives and identities. Kath is routinely photographed wearing hoodies which obscure some or all of his face and has gone by a number of different aliases, creating confusion over his real name. His name is adapted from a nickname Alice Glass gave him, "Ethan Catheter". Glass named him after "the most uncomfortable thing ever."