UK Indie Label Chocolate Fireguard Music LTD. Throws Heat On Stateside Scene

The little label that could – and does – makes transatlantic bow with hot psychedelic funksters Kava Kava and
tasty international grooves compilation Interesting Flavours via fresh distribution deal with Phoenix-based Viastar Distribution

Chocolate Fireguard label chief and Kava Kava frontman Pat Fulgoni puts Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, on the music map with the Timeless Music Project and annual Timeless Festival, extensive import catalogue, chart topping successes

Remember when Seattle seemingly came out of nowhere and defined not only a genre of music, but also an entire era in the rock & roll evolution revolution? Just as The Emerald City is known as the land of grunge, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, is synonymous with dance music, thanks to independent record label Chocolate Fireguard Music Ltd. and its company chief, Pat Fulgoni.

A nod to its geographical origins, inspiration, and ironic humor, the label director explains, “The company’s name is from a Yorkshire expression, ‘as much use as a chocolate fireguard,’ which is a rail that goes around a domestic fireplace. When we started, we were faced with all the adversity of entering into a very difficult industry in a very small town, with unsigned and unknown artists,” Fulgoni continues. “People were asking me why I would do this, and saying it'll never work. So it really felt like it could be a losing proposition or worse yet, just a really dumb idea -- just like a chocolate fireguard. My mates were giving me a hard time when I was developing the label concept and the name just stuck."

The small town with the big sound, Huddersfield has established its reputation for deep grooves and diversified beats as a result of a number of unified forces under Fulgoni’s aegis. Before there was Chocolate Fireguard (which the international media considers “superb”), there was internationally renowned and chart topping psychedelic funk band Kava Kava, which formed in the mid-‘90s, who landed at No. 1 on the NME club guide chart, and No. 20 on the DJ Magazine 'Beats and Breaks' chart:, among others. Not coincidentally, the musically voracious Fulgoni is its vocalist, keyboardist, and trumpeter, getting the band booked on festivals throughout the UK, Italy, Germany, France, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, and anywhere else the language of music was spoken.

Kava Kava’s third album, Maui, already receiving rave reviews in the European press and getting airplay on more than 300 US college radio stations, is Chocolate Fireguard’s first stateside release via a recently inked deal with Phoenix-based record distributor Viastar, though the title has been available as an import from amazon.com, cdbaby.com, the label’s website, and other online sources.

In addition to Maui, Chocolate Fireguard is throwing heat on the stateside music scene with a tasty compilation of international grooves, Interesting Flavours, featuring Freddy Fresh, Jason Sparks, Kava Kava, Bentley Rhythm Ace, the South African hip hop of Moodphase5ive and Godessa, The Bluefoot Project, AwayTEAM, Speedwell, Norway’s Slowpho, forthcoming French Chocolate Fireguard artist La Cedille, and more.

(Official US release dates and additional details on Maui and Interesting Flavours will be announced in the near future.)

With a well-earned reputation for “sounds from the funky underground” and dance crossover at its richest and most appealing, the label is distributed in France by La Baleine, in Germany by SIB, and in its UK home base by Kudos. Chocolate Fireguard’s extensive catalogue boasts the soul-blues-breakbeat of The Bluefoot Project (Brave, Observations), and Huddersfield’s own Sounds from a Big Town. The album showcases 41 bands from The Timeless Music Project and the ambitious Timeless Festival event which Fulgoni has put together for the last three years (and is working on the fourth annual). Held in association with Huddersfield Pride on the grounds of Ravensknowle Park, Huddersfield, Fulgoni describes this ever-growing gathering of the vibe as “an urban community festival.”

An indie music altruist of the highest order who inadvertently became a booking agent as a result of his consistent success landing major gigs for Kava Kava, Fulgoni started the Huddersfield Festival three years ago, which gives area artists the invaluable opportunity to plug in and play on a comparatively large scale very early on in their careers.

Fulgoni recalls, “I was quite shocked to get six bands on the Glastonbury Festival, and I thought it was ridiculous that none of them were signed. That’s why I formed Chocolate Fireguard, realizing there was a gap in the market. We initially operated in a funky niche. The first compilation was completely the bands I was offering out as a live agent, and I put the record together to make it look like the bands were signed.

“I stumbled across Pinnacle Distribution, a market leader over here, and they loved the compilation and offered to put it out. Suddenly I was a label,” he laughs.

Another indicator for Chocolate Fireguard’s solid credibility was inclusion of two of its titles in the Virgin Megastores’ “Best of the British Imports” annual promotion, one each in 2002 (Sounds from the Funky Underground Vol. 2), and 2003 (The Bluefoot Project’s Brave).

Fulgoni reveals, “I was blown away by it the first time, and then the second time I thought, ‘This means we’re compatible with the US market.”

Sweet.

For more info on UK Indie Label Chocolate Fireguard Music LTD visit: chocolatefireguardmusic.co.uk.