UK Indie Dance Powerhouse
CHOCOLATE FIREGUARD MUSIC, LTD.
Grooves Towards the Cutting Edge with Hip-Hop Unit PRACTICAL HEADZ * * *
Four Piece Group's Explosive Debut Who Iz It? Currently Available On CD Baby
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Ensemble Will Join Popular CFM Labelmates Kava Kava, La Cedille And Others At 4th Annual Timeless Festival in Huddersfield September 10 

            Already established as one of the UK's premier dance music tastemakers by virtue of its releases by psychedelic dance/rockers Kava Kava (Maui) and the innovative compilation Interesting Flavours, the Huddersfield, West Yorkshire based Chocolate Fireguard Music, Ltd. took the grooves even further earlier this year with the release of Vu Du Large by French hip-hoppers La Cedille and Brave by Wakefield based The Bluefoot Project.

            Now, CFM dives funk-first into the burgeoning UK hip hop scene with the release of Who Iz It?, the bold and aggressive debut by Practical Headz , a four piece ensemble of rappers and producers hailing from the Dalton Area of Huddersfield. Yet another must-have import out of CFM founder (and Kava Kava frontman) Pat Fulgoni's home base, Who Iz It? is currently available for purchase online via CD Baby. Fulgoni, who calls the group's in your face, darker edged, synth based sound “very different from American hip-hop” is currently putting together a deal for brick and mortar U.S. distribution.
            Practical Headz, whose members are known as Bishop, Fingaz, Spida Lee and The Practical Hand—and whose vocals blend strong Yorkshire accents with distinctively exotic flavors from Carriacou, their ancestral homeland island in the West Indies--will be among the headliners on September 10 at the 4th Timeless Festival. The foursome made their debut as a local showcase act at the festival in 2002.
            The Timeless Festival is an annual community event held at Ravensknowle Park on Wakefield Road in Huddersfield. Attended annually by approximately 7,000 people, the festival is the brainchild of Fulgoni, who each year offers a slate of famous acts and showcases for deserving, up and coming local artists; genres range from dub music to hip hop, funk, break and rock. Other performers this year include DJ Vadim's Oneself (Ninja Tune), Rodney P (BBC Radio 1 Xtra), Transglobal Underground, Panjabi Hit Squad (BBC Radio 1 Xtra), Kava Kava, La Cedille, Ground Wurq, Flexible Future featuring DJ T-Rex (a French drum ‘n' bass collective), Nex, Mary Jane and many more. Acts perform on three stages, and the festival includes freestyling and DJ workshops.
            Despite the success of a major area regeneration Programme, a recent reminder of the fragility of inner city life was the shocking revelation that one of the suicide bombers in the recent London bombings was in fact from the Dalton area of Huddersfield, another two from the surrounding area. Spida Lee comments: “we're trying to promote a nice vibe through it all. The musical opportunities presented by Chocolate Fireguard and the Timeless Music Project offer will hopefully attract creative kids who might otherwise take their lives in harder directions”
            Practical Headz, whose debut album features tracks like “Get the F**k Out!”, “Stop The Diction,” “Reality” and “Throw Ya Handz Up!”, is mostly studio based but has performed gigs in London and Birmingham. Their meteoric rise in UK hip-hop circles has drawn incredible praise from a wide variety of top music publications, radio DJs and artists alike.
            Daddy G from Massive Attack says, “These guys are great. ‘Get The F**k Out should be the next single. Really good.” AIM exclaims, “Four heavy tracks, fresh production and tight rhymes. ‘Reality' is my pick. Very good.” The accolades go on and on: “Heavy! More peeps putting Yorkshire on the map!” (Kidkanevil ‘Statelesss,' Leeds/UK); “Nice to hear some good music come out of Huddersfield – good quality EP with Reality getting the nod for radio support.” (Tom Simpson, The Dugout on Juice 107.2, Bristol); “Solid as a rock! Very good” (Mr. Morgan – Electriks, Manchester); and  “Interesting to hear material that isn't based in London. Reality is really good for my floors” (Paul Turner, Voodoo/CFEX, Plymouth).
            The incredible sonic quality of Who Iz It? was noted by Nick Maxwell of Brighton/London, who says, “Some seriously heavy production on this 12”! It starts off well with ‘Get The F**k Out, which is a massive beat, and ‘Stop the Diction' is equally as powerful!”
            The humorous side of Practical Headz is also becoming a big part of the group's notoriety on the hip-hop scene as well. “Ha!” says Ian Cracknell of “Vibra Recs” in Sheffield. “Get the F**k Out' is hilarious, really cheered up an otherwise grey morning. Really like ‘Reality' – giving plays and may drop on a future mix-tape – nice 12”
  Chocolate Fireguard Music's most notable Stateside releases over the past few years include Maui, the third album by Kava Kava, songs from which received airplay on more than 300 college radio stations and have been licensed all over including a slot in new Showtime TV series ‘The Weeds' ; Interesting Flavours, a sizzling compilation featuring tracks from Freddy Fresh, Jason Sparks, Kava Kava, Bentley Rhythm Ace, The Bluefoot Project and La Cedille; Brave by The Bluefoot Project, a hybrid band led by vocalist Rachel Modest, whom one critic called “a smouldering fusion of raw soul, tortured blues, slick jazzy break beats and gritty funk”; and Vu Du Large by the hard driving, seven piece French hip-hop ensemble La Cedille.
            “Practical Headz are really talented and as with all artists I sign to the label, have an enormous amount of soul,” says Fulgoni. “I think adding them to our roster really helps us diversify, and with this release it's exciting to be part of the ever-expanding, influential UK hip hop scene.”

UK INDIE LABEL CHOCOLATE FIREGUARD MUSIC LTD.
THROWS HEAT ON STATESIDE SCENE
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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
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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. (www.chocolatefireguardmusic.co.uk ) 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 intern ational 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 a separate media dispatch.)

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 (www.timelessmusicproject.com) 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