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The duo have just announced UK live shows at the end of November, as support to Fontaines D.C.

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Belfast duo Chalk are emerging as new pioneers of the underground electronic scene, fusing vampiric punk aggression with industrial electronics to create something completely immersive. Their debut album ‘Crystalpunk’ is built for physical intensity in live spaces and total catharsis. 

Somewhere between cinema and sound, a friendship was formed. Chalk met at a Belfast film school the year ‘Blade Runner 2049’ was released. By day they were working on film sets, by night they were immersed into the electronic scene, quietly producing music of their own. The cinematic influence still shapes the band now from self directed music videos to the more experimental producing techniques which run through ‘Crystalpunk.’

“We wrote this manifesto before making the record,” they told me. “We wanted to take risks and be bold, just fully commit to doing whatever felt right creatively.”

When asked what their inspirations were, I was pleased to find out that their inspirations stretch far beyond music and also into the world of film. The lads explained that a film which best captures the feeling of the album is the opening club scene from Wesley Snipes 1998 film ‘Blade’. Imagine being at a venue called Club Blood, strobe lights, industrial noise and many bodies packed tightly together, however a twist, it's a vampire night club. Chalk wanted to build from that world, creating music capable of tipping into chaos at any second. Interestingly even before recording, the band’s planning process was influenced by their education in film, building visual moodboards, treating the project less like an album and more like a fully conceptualised creative universe.

“We’re fucking control freaks really,” they laugh “but the visuals and music work together, sometimes its easier to say things visually then in a song.”

That same sense of immersion runs through ‘Crystalpunk’, with the album turning inward marking the guys most personal project to date. Beneath the aggressive live sets and the distorted electronics the album is shaped by themes of identity and internal conflict, ‘Crystalpunk’ is a “coming of age record,” rooted in the complexity of growing up in Northern Ireland and the uncertainty which can come with it, Chalk lean into this discomfort.

“this album lays out everything on the table, love, death, joy and anger.”

Despite the heaviness of those themes, Chalk are quickly cementing themselves in Belfast’s evolving music landscape, already sharing stages with acts like Fontaines D.C, while building a reputation for their emotionally charged live shows. There’s a growing feeling that the band are beginning to move beyond the “ones to watch.” label placed on them by artists like Fontaines D.C and IDLES and into something far bigger. Chalk are carving out their own place within the scene in a city already so rich with musical history, they are determined to make what they describe as “Belfast music history.” They highlight ‘Ode To Belfast’ as their most culturally inspired track.

“It feels nice being a part of Belfast's music history and it's a great achievement to be able to throw our hat into the ring.”

Chalk’s influences stretch far beyond the confines of electronic music and the Belfast scene. Alongside their niche film background, the duo draw inspiration from the intensity of underworld and the industrial weight of Nine Inch Nails. Their high live approach is also shaped by the renowned explosive force of the prodigy, while being drawn to the defiant, confrontational performance style of Young Fathers .These influences shape ‘Crystalpunk’ into a record that balances noise and emotional intensity perfectly, rather than aiming for polish or restraint, Chalk lean into collision. 

Additionally they also point to newer electronic influences referencing 2Hollis' track ‘Jeans’ and its production style as something that struck a chord with them, certainly influencing their process of producing the album. Chalk admits that echoes of this approach can be recognized in their own track ‘I.D.C’, which they describe as a more fractured experimental approach to texture and rhythm. 

They also highlight emerging names within their scene, including Mmmouth - a name circulating quietly around Belfast's underground electronic space, more reflective of a wider DIY music movement still taking shape.

Chalk’s live shows sit at the centre of their career, where the ideas behind ‘Crystalpunk’ are pushed into something physical and alive, unfolding in real time. Their gigs are designed less like traditional gigs but more like an environment for release, prioritising intensity over polish. The aim they tell me is “catharsis, a space with little to no restraint.

“If you can leave the show feeling almost spent in a positive way, that’s the best outcome,” they say. “It should feel like you’ve actually gone through something.”

Chalk's music is like a black hole, you don't just listen to their music, you get swallowed by it completely. Buy or stream ‘Crystalpunk’ now.