d a r k c h u n k
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"dark chunk are bringing something new and original to the funk music scene
in this country - a sense of real musical adventure. their time is coming soon"
- martin bowen ffvinyl records & total music wales, january 2004
"highly infectious and highly original funk grooves, with blistering vocals
and a level of musical competence rare in this era of throwaway indies rock
and airbrushed pop."- simon kingman toucan club cardiff, february 2004
dark chunk was formed in the summer of 2002. cardiff was hot & sweaty &
the people needed a new groove. founder members joe chunk (aka joe cicero, vocals
& bass) & krik chunk (aka chris young, vocals & guitar) met in 1997
thru a mutual friend & proceeded to play blues & funk together for over
three years in a series of unfocused bands with little success. frustrated,
the duo parted company in 2000 with no plans to reunite.
spring 2002 saw the two reconnect & by the summer project: dark chunk was
born, originally intended as a two-man line-up playing & singing original
songs with beat loops & midi synths as back up. following encouraging vibes
from listeners, the two opted to bring in a main vocalist to allow them to concentrate
on playing & developing separate vocal parts. several auditions later, sue
chunk (aka sue hogan, vocals & percussion) was chosen to become the definitive
voice of dark chunk. the trio recorded & produced a free ep comprising of
early organic-electronic versions of songs. thru this, a white label issue of
tunes smokey & people was played in local dance clubs to great acclaim.
on the live front, dc was ready to roll with a three vocal attack surging over
tight, raw grooves. they went live with pre-recorded backing & were well
received in cardiff's pubs & minor clubs. it was decided that to take the
music to the next level, authentic drums were required at least. applicants
came & went until the correct sound was found in current drummer dean 'dark'
chunk (real name unknown). the dc sound evolved to become a seamless amalgamation
of modern r&b & old skool funk grooves grounded with raw, groove-driven
rock & strong melodic hooks. with this approach dc has become a popular
force on the local live scene & in the process has attracted collaborative
live work with prominent independent musicians, hip hop artists & djs.
dark chunk created the term runk music to accurately reflect its highly original
blend of old-skool funk, rock and modern hip-hop & soul music.È runk
music is a mix of rich melodies and raps with infectious hooks over driving
future-funk grooves. dc's primary influences run from the p-funk universe through
led zeppelin to dirty south hip hop/soul.
having developed a renowned live show thru intensive gigging at venues across
the uk, the four chunksters turned their attention to recording their first
studio ep proper ,dc ep ii, in july 2003. it was well-received enough to see
dark chunk through to the finals of the glastonbury 2004 competition to play
on a main stage at the festival. the band is scheduled to contest the final
of the competition in late april.
dark chunk currently have a live monthly residency at cardiff's renowned toucan
club & play all over cardiff & the southwest, having headlined at venues
such as cardiff's barfly & bath's moles club. the dark chunk experience
is a high-energy live performance with a strong party vibe that has attracted
a loyal fan base.
dark chunk are currently managing and promoting the band themselves but are
actively seeking professional assistance to help with these areas as well as
distribution of their self-released april 2004 mini-album, 'raw runk music'
which is available from their website at http://www.darkchunk.com. The CD contains
the soon-to-be released single B-line which features the well-known Cardiff
rap duo Captain and Dregz
ffurfiwyd dark chunk yn haf 2002. roedd caerdydd yn boeth a chwyslyd ac
angen grwf newydd.
ar ™l cyfarfod yn 1997, dechreuodd joe chunk (joe cicero, llais a bas)
a
kirk chunk (chris young, llais a git‰r) chwaraer felan a ffync gydai
gilydd am dair blynedd mewn cyfres o fandiau di arweiniad a heb fawr o
lwyddiant. yn rhwystredig, chwalodd y ddeuawd yn 2000 heb fwriad i
ailffurfio.
yng ngwanwyn 2002, ail gydiodd y band ac yn yr haf ganed prosiect: dark
chunk, gydar bwriad gwreiddiol o fod yn fand dau ddyn yn chwarae a
chanu caneuon gwreiddiol gyda beat loops a midi synth yn gefn. yn dilyn
anogaeth gwrandawyr, penderfynwyd ychwanegu prif leisydd er mwyn
canolbwyntio ar chwarae a datblygu lleisiau ar wah‰n. ar ™l sawl
clyweliad, dewiswyd sue chunk ( sue hogan, llais ac offerynnau taro) fel
llais unigryw dark chunk. recordiodd a chynhyrchodd y tri ep rhad ac am
ddim yn cynnwys fersiynau electronig-organig cynnar oi caneuon. ac yn
dilyn hyn, chwaraewyd nhw mewn clybiau dawnsio lleol.
o ran chwaraen fyw, roedd y triawd yn fwy na pharod ac yn perfformion
fyw gyda lleisiau cefndirol wedi eu recordio ac feu croesawyd yn
nhafarnau a chlybiau bach caerdydd. penderfynwyd bod angen drymiau os
oedd y band am fynd ymlaen ir lefel nesaf. ar ™l i ddrymwyr fynd a dod,
cafwyd hyd ir sain cywir gan y drymiwr dean dark chunk (enw iawn yn
anhysbys). datblygodd sn dc i fod yn gyfuniad o hip hop a ffync old
skool gyda pheth roc amrwd ac alawon cryf, ac adwaenir ef bellach fel
cerddoriaeth rync- rap, roc a ffync. o dipyn i beth mae dc wedi dod yn
adnabyddus ar y sin fyw lleol ac wedi cydweithion fyw gyda cherddorion
annibynnol, artistiaid hip hop a djs.
ar ™l datblygu sioe fyw lwyddiannus drwy gigio mewn gwahanol leoliadau
ar draws y d.u, aeth y pedwar ati i recordio eu ep stiwdio cyntaf, dc ep
ii yng ngorffennaf 2003. maer chunk yn raddol ennill sylw drwy sioeau
byw a gigs nos sadwrn yng nghlwb y toucan, caerdydd ac yn awyddus i
gyflwyno eu caneuon gwreiddiol i gynulleidfaoedd mor eang ‰ phosib.