Glastonbury Festival

DANCE TENT FINALISTS

Cakeboy

This programmer, producer & live electronic musician has been writing & performing his unique brand of party style breaks for the last four years gaining an ever growing fan base here in the UK, Europe and the USA. His debut single was rated highly by some of the UK’s top dance music producers and he is fast becoming haled as the most exciting live act on the underground scene.

“Monstrously Talented,” The Guardian.

Cakeboy AKA Paul Croley began his career at the age of 18 as a drummer in a thrash metal band, Artcore. After 4 years of recording and touring he trained as a sound engineer in a Sheffield recording studio where he learned the art of sequencing & sampling. Growing bored of the band thing and becoming infected by the electronic dance music scene, he went it alone and within a year, had written & produced his first ambient/folk influenced ep, ‘Oaklore’.

In 1996 he moved to Brighton and began creating a new sound encompassing the aggression of his roots in rock with fat breakbeats and a cartoon sense of humour. The Cakeboy alter-ego was born & missing the buzz of performing he decided to take it to the stage, experimenting with his own material on the fly resulting in exciting & unique performances geared to the venue & the crowd. Now Cakeboy is a firm festival favorite and with the help of Brighton VJ Doublethink the Cakeshow has grown into an explosive & adrenalin- fueled multimedia experience.

Most recently Cakeboy was picked up by Brighton record label Sonic Tonic, set up by ex Fused & Bruised artist Jake Subtropic. His third vinyl outing is now in the shops.

Dark Chunk

"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 throw away 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 through 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. Through this, a white label issue of tunes ‘Smokey & People’ was played in local dance clubs to great acclaim.

On the live front, Dark Chunk 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).

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. Runk music is a mix of rich melodies and raps with infectious hooks over driving future-funk grooves.

Web: www.darkchunk.com

deluxe

vocals - Cat
voice & synth - Darren Hogarth
keyboards/synths - Richard Churchyard
guitar, effects & sound - Neil Edgson
electronic percussion/synth - Stephen Shillito

Formed by Darren and Richard, deluxe are a Somerset band operating out of Nunney, near Frome, and – apart from the recent arrival of Cat - have been together for two years.

Vocalist Cat has been a singer/songwriter since she was fifteen years old.
Co-organiser of the successful Leicester City Acoustic Club, Cat now studies Art and Fashion in Bath.

Former band manager Darren likes it "floating, with some light and shade".
He also manages a successful import/export business in Bristol.

Richard, often referred to as 'Mr Melody', is incapable of writing music
without a tune. Owner of 'Raves from the Graves' records in Frome, there is also a very strong rumour of an Abba connection.

Neil has been playing guitar ever since music became a passion whilst he was at school. He finally managed to get into his first band, after 25 years of practice, gigging locally and independently releasing a five track EP. He joined deluxe when the current line-up was getting together and looking for another synth player. Neil, not being very good at hints, wouldn't stop turning up for rehearsals. Besides using heaps of effects, and a guitar he built himself, he brings a bit of rock'n'roll to the mix.

Steve misplaced his drum kit along the way and, fortuitously, stumbling upon a dusty copy of Computerworld and his old drum machine realised "there was another way!" Between times he manages a resources department in a large comprehensive school.

The band recorded an independent CD release 'Electric Soup' at WDT recording studios in Surrey, and are currently working on the follow up album 'Signal/Reception' due for release in 2005. Line up changes and a move towards a style of music taking in such a diverse range of influences including Kraftwerk, classic electro pop, the Ramones and the Buzzcocks has meant a major restructure of their live act. With a move to programmed beats with live vocals, synths and guitar. deluxe are currently working on projected moving images, adding an exciting visual element to enhance and accompany the musical show. Two excellently received warm up gigs at the Wunderbar, in Midsomer Norton, were played in the autumn of 2003. The band recently played a successful show at the prestigious Cheese and Grain venue in Frome.

info@deluxe-music.info
www.deluxe-music.info

Earl

These '80's vandals' hail from Manchester and just about pull-off an all-girl band. The four piece have a new revived genre of music, which has been described as electro-dance with a punk edge. They plan to release a single early next year on Manchester's Fat Northerner Records and accompany it with a small tour of the UK.

Earl have contributed a track to the 'Ten From Ten' compilation. The album features current Manchester bands covering songs by pioneering Mancunians such as New Order, the Smiths, the Buzzcocks, etc. Earl have chosen New Order's 'Regret' and have received excellent and promising feedback so far. The album is due out Summer 2004; see www.earlworld.com for more details.

To date, Earl have been placed in the top 3 records of the year on the XFM unsigned show. They have played live shows all over the UK and have had continual support from veterans of the Manchester music scene, including Terry Christian and Derek Ryder.

Earl will also be promoting their first single release with Fat Northerner Records in June 2004. Fat Northerner Records is a new label run by a Manchester-based artist collective, endorsed by Elbow's Guy Garvey, Aziz Ibrahim (Stone Roses/Ian Brown), and The Inspiral Carpet's Clint Boon.

"Dirty as a downbeaten disco dog and surfing the electro wave with genuine quality, Earl are punked up funk or funked up punk... Das Experiment and Noise are slices of pop from the beefed up, twisted shadows of St Etienne and Ladytron, while Out Of The Cold rips into a more rock territory, albeit in a charmingly serene way. Earl are definitely ones to watch." Chris Long, BBC Manchester.

"Welcome to the ‘big risky disco’ of Earl! This four piece band have a new revived genre of music, and yes that can happen, but only with the talent and courage of these new 80’s vandals." Zouns Ltd.

"…let's rejoice in having stumbled across a potentially awesome band after three days of wandering around the Northern Quarter watching identikit boys with guitars all playing feedback heavy rock. Around the corner in Stevenson Square, the huge outdoor stage features just one female performer all day. The campaign to see Earl up there next year starts now." Paul Cockerton, Manchester Online, Sept 2003.

www.earlworld.com

More information on the following bands will be coming soon:

Roullet
Death Before Dishonour

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