Crystalpunk: "Skem" Smoke Vinyl LP

Pre-Order Item. Release Date Subject to Change.
Label: ALTER MUSIC
Release Date: 24th April

Like a jagged-electro-noise-post-punk mace to the ears.  

Irish duo Chalk's full-length debut LP, Crystalpunk [ALTER Music], speaks
directly to the upbringing and roots of the band members--award-winning
musicians and filmmakers Ross Cullen [vocalist + producer] and Benedict
Goddard [multi-instrumentalist + director]
The beauty, confusion, complexity, and intensity of their youth - lived under the
shadow and around the scars of conflict - are entangled in the industrial dance-punk
hybrid encoded in the record's DNA, aptly entitled Crystalpunk.
"This record is us waving a flag for that generation -- the ones who inherited
confusion, resilience, and a fractured sense of self." They're waving that flag as
intensely as possible too. For the uninitiated, Chalk mainlines the reaction between
genres, eras, and cultures, commuting this collision into their sound. The Belfast
group could comfortably power an underground warehouse party after-dark, incite a
mid-day festival mosh-pit, or shake an arena on any given evening. Their power has
seamlessly translated to the stage with the group packing venues and delivering
alternately sweaty and electrifying performances to a growing rabid fan base. As a
group, they've sold out shows across the UK, EU and USA, notched festival
performances such as Glastonbury, SXSW, BBK, Trans Musicals and more across 11
countries and were handpicked to tour alongside IDLES and Fontaines D.C..
Coming from dissimilar backgrounds and rallying together naturally, Ben and Ross
first crossed paths in film school. As the story goes, Ben had noticed a framed poster
of Dublin disruptors Gilla Band in one of Ross's Instagram photos and felt a kinship
before ever actually speaking to him. "Nobody else at our school was into
experimental noise guitar bands, so that was all I needed to see," laughs Ben.
Emerging in 2022, Chalk initially made waves with songs like "Them," "Velodrome," and
"Static."
Ultimately, they come-of-age and tell a story that resonates beyond borders. Not just a
portrait of the band, but one of their home, a complicated place where the sacrifices
made and risks taken by activists, artists, ravers and punks created the only
environment that a band like Chalk could emerge from. Crystalpunk is not about
choosing a side, it's about choosing the future.