Exploding on the scene in June 2012 with their freshmen EP “Play Hard“, there seemed to be no heights that Krewella could not reach. While everything started as rainbows and sunshine, or rather parties and alcohol, a fall later ensued that ripped the trio into a duo. Having been in the limelight for almost a decade, that time has created new memories, new enemies, and a few battle scars along the way.
Having been students together at Glenbrook North High School, sisters Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf, and Kris Trindl resolved to become Krewella on the fated-day of June 8th, 2010. Due in part to the social networking skills of classmate Jake Udell and efforts of their manager Nathan Lim, Krewella was signed to Columbia in early 2012. After the success of their first EP, having peaked at number six on top Billboard Top US Dance Hits, and a year’s worth of constant touring, “Get Wet” was released in September 2013 to great acclaim. Even though Krewella was facing great succesful, fracture began to splinter their way across the group. One year later, Trindl would be suing Jahan and Yasmine for $5 million, alleging that they conspired to have him removed from the group.
The lawsuit that Trindl brought alleged that the pressure during this time of touring become too much, to the point he began to regularly abuse alcohol. In the Summer of 2013, he checked himself into a detox program and then a 30-day rehab in order to recover from alcoholism. After recovery, Trindl moved into the residence of Udell and was later met with an intervention for the depression the group believed he had. He was asked to take a leave to focus on his health in March 2014 but to continue producing music for Krewella. The lawsuit added that the Yousaf sisters took this opportunity to establish themselves as the sole faces of the group and exit Trindl completely.
Jahan and Yasmine countersued Trindl, claiming that he never recovered from his alcoholism and had continued problems with drugs and alcohol through the tour. They further went on to say that there were numerous occasions where he was too intoxicated to play, would became belligerent with fans while on stage, recklessly disrupted the mixing during live sets, and was a safety concern during the entire touring schedule. The sisters alleged that they did everything in their power to support him during recovery, but in the end, they had to sever the relationship with Trindl before he destroyed everything they had all worked so hard to create.
We may never know what the objective truth is behind both of these lawsuits because in August 2015 the trio came to a settlement without disclosing any terms publically. Likely, the truth was somewhere in the middle, but it seemed that many fans had already decided Jahan and Yasmine were completely at fault and an era of hate befell the remaining duo of Krewella. They were quickly accosted over the internet by fans and DJs alike, accused of being talentless sluts that did not deserve any of the praises that had been previously given to Krewella. Jahan said at the time:
“There was a lot of backlash. People went immediately into believing everything that they read… People wanted to immediately jump to these conclusions that ‘Of course they’re women, they use their sex to sell the group. They manipulate men in the industry. They can’t be trusted.’ And those were the constant themes that we kept seeing.”
Forbes
Through this fallout, Krewella was still creating chart-topping singles like “Somewhere to Run” and the EP “Ammunition”. As time progressed, and people moved forward to the next topic to vehemently hate over the internet, the new Krewella reaffirmed themselves to their base. This experience led them to become a voice for an issue that has remained prominent throughout EDM history, being a woman in a male-dominated industry. In 2018, when looking at all major festivals for that year, Billboard estimated women artists made up less than one percent of performers. Against the backdrop of the growing #MeToo movement, Jahan and Yasmine continued to bring the conversation to the forefront hoping to spark true change.
In mid-2017, after their “New World, Part 1” EP was released, fans expected a part two to be on the horizon for later that year. This never materialized, and they instead received a fairly continuous string of singles for the next two years. Finally, in August of 2019, the single “Mana” was released, which fans would later discover was a track from their sophomore album “Zer0“. This ablum is a testiment to everything that they have faced over the last few years. Krewella has been to Hell and back and has lost any need to try and run away. Make sure to check out Krewella on socials, or even send them a text at 323.210.3732.
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*Featured Image Via Krewella Facebook*
