Crystalpunk, the first full length album from Belfast duo Chalk, is a call for unity. Growing up in Northern Ireland, Chalk bandmates Ross Cullen and Benedict Goddard have spent their lives in a search for identity. Ross framed the feeling to me as: “Imagine you are a stretched toy, being pulled by the left and the right, and you’re not really too sure where you exist.”
Yet, within this intermediary space, Chalk forged their own sense of self, coining their shared sentiment, “Crystalpunk.” A fusion of the punk rock spirit that raged through Ireland in the 70s and 80s and the electronic music found in clubs across Belfast today, Crystalpunk exists as something entirely its own. Now, it has become an album. In creating Crystalpunk, Ross Cullen and Benedict Goddard reflected on their past — and the divisive binaries that shaped it — to imagine a more unified future.
Can you introduce yourselves?
Ross: I’m Ross, I do vocals and production.
Ben: I’m Ben, I play guitar.
How did you two meet?
Ross: We met at university in Belfast studying, we were both on the same filmmaking course, so that’s how we became acquainted. It probably was not until the second year when we started to talk a bit more, and I think from the get-go, as soon as we met, we started the band, because Ben was interested in putting something together and reached out to myself.
What music did you guys bond over when you were first forming Chalk?
Ben: Ross had a girl band poster in his room of a noise rock experimental band from Dublin, and I was a fan of them. When I moved up to Belfast, I didn’t know anyone else who was listening to girl bands, and I think I knew, well, okay, we can probably start a band together. There was no need for the tryouts or anything like that. It was like, okay, we can probably start a band.
It’s been about a month since you released Crystalpunk, how do you feel about the release?
Ross: We’ve just come back from tour, so it’s been nice to meet people who’ve been following us for a few years and are enjoying the album and meet those people face-to-face after the show. We’ve just been flat out in that regard with the live shows, and now we’re able to have a small break, and reflect on how the last month has gone. So, we’ve been having a great time, it’s been very busy, but we’re very proud of Crystalpunk and how everything’s gone so far. It was a pleasure to put everything in place, and have it received the way it was.
What does the word Crystalpunk mean to you?
Ross: I think Crystalpunk represents us trying to have our own kind of spin on our music and shy away from labels. Even though, you know, we’ve given ourselves this label of calling the music Crystalpunk. We broke it down into crystal being this lighter electronic element, and punk being the harder angry element, and that feels like the balance of our sound. Putting the two together, we have an overarching word that all of our songs on the album can live under.
But, at its core, Crystalpunk is about identity and growing up in Ireland. So Crystalpunk, I suppose, is all about staying true to yourself, having your own unique self, believing in yourself, and having the confidence to do what you want to do in life, and go for it. That’s sort of a mantra that we’ve stuck by.
The UK scene is booming with alternative acts like Fontaines DC and Idles, which are all primarily guitar driven bands. What steered you to making a mix of electronic and guitar music?
Ben: We started as a guitar band and were interested in seeing what it would be like to open up the doors to electronic production. Living in Belfast, and being surrounded by different musicians and DJs, with electronic music being such a big genre in Belfast for people going out and listening to music, we experimented with that production and style.
Ross: We’ve been big fans of a lot of electronic bands. I suppose our songwriting has kind of developed from being in a room with different instruments and being able to work off a laptop to have more electronic production. The electronic punk rock sound evolved naturally.
How did Belfast’s punk and rave scene shape Crystalpunk?
Ross: Well, the history of punk in Belfast during the 70s and 80s is huge. I think when our parents went to gigs in the 70s or 80s, punk rock was the biggest scene and a lot of punk rock bands, from England and all over the world, came to Belfast to play. So, that history of punk rock has got its roots in the city. Then, in the 90s, dance music was huge and still is to this day. I suppose we looked at both of those kinds of subcultures of the past and wanted to make something that sounded like it was ours and was the future, but also paid respect to the past scenes and cultures that the country has seen over the last like forty to fifty years.
You wrote a manifesto prior to releasing Crystal Punk. Why did you write this and what was included?
Ben: When things can be quite cerebral and when the album wasn’t fully shaped, going in with a set of rules or ideologies helped make sense of everything. On the manifesto was, “Be bold, each song tells a story, take risks, kill your darlings, atmosphere is essential, go with your gut, trust each other in the process, no one person is right all the time, speak your mind about everything.” Then, the main one being, “This album will be the only Chalk album ever to exist.” Weirdly putting the rules on it was actually quite a freeing experience. Especially that main one, because it made a lot of decisions easier for us. If this was the only album I was ever going to make, I wouldn’t leave anything off the table. You know what I mean? So, it was actually incredibly helpful throughout the process.
If this is the only Chalk album, what is next for you two?
Ben: Crystal Punk 2? We still have a lot to explore with Chalk. Crystalpunk just scratched the surface for us. I think it was probably the most creatively satisfying thing we’ve ever done. We’re very excited to keep mining that world and see what more we can get from it.
In Crystal Punk, you guys carve out your own lane of industrial dance, post-punk. Do you believe that this like amalgamation of genres is a reflection of your Northern Irish identity?
Ben: I mean, yes, you can say that in a way. Growing up in the North of Ireland, there is a wanting for identity and it can be quite confusing for a lot of people. Belfast is a beautiful city, it has such a rich history and it’s become a melting pot for lots of different people, cultures and different types of music. The song Béal Feirste is our ode to Belfast in that way. I do think Crystalpunk wouldn’t exist where it does if Chalk wasn’t born in Belfast.
I listen to a lot of music, and I feel like many Irish artists weave their nationality into their work. Is that a conscious choice for you or does it feel like your Irish heritage is inherent to your music and comes out without intentional effort?
Ross: I think on this album, we definitely looked into ourselves more in that regard. In previous EPs, we were beating around the bush. In Crystalpunk, all the songs lean into the context of growing up, but not knowing where we sit amongst everyone else in the country or on the island. Growing up in the North, you’re kind of confused and pulled to different sides with religion, your nationality, or where your parents grew up, or what school you go to. The album was an opportunity for us to sort of finally explore those things that we’ve been putting off for a while.
We wanted the album to be bold and true and not shy away from vulnerability and put the message out there that we believe in. We hope that not only people who feel the same way in Ireland can take something away from Crystalpunk, but across the world, in different countries, in different cultures and religions.
Any last words?
Ross: If you can, go see a live show, go support an independent cinema and read a book.
Listen to Crystalpunk