Belfast post-punk/electronic band Chalk have returned with their new single “Tell Me” and its accompanying video.
The song, produced by Chris Ryan (NewDad, Enola Gay, Just Mustard) and bandleader Ross Cullen, features on their forthcoming EP ‘Conditions III’, due to be release on February 21st 2025 via Nice Swan Records. Pre-order it here.
UPDATE 10/14/2024: “Tell Me” is our new Single of the Week!
The band have also announced an extensive 2025 UK/IRE/EU tour, including a headliner at London’s Village Underground on March 6th, see the dates below.
Fusing elements of heavy guitar music, electronica and breakbeat into a euphoric and frightening finished project, and recorded against the backdrop of bleak landscapes and Nordic vistas in remote northern Iceland, Chalk have shown another evolution in their already confrontational sound.
Winners of the ‘Best Live Act’ at the NI Music Prize in late 2023, Chalk have certainly proved worthy of this title with sold-out headline shows across the UK and Europe, festival appearances galore and impressive tour support for the likes of IDLES, Sprints and PVA.
Discussing their latest effort, frontman Ross Cullen explained:
“‘Tell Me’ is the first release of our trilogy-ending third EP ‘Conditions III’. For this track, we conjured up a world in which the song’s protagonist is running away from a dark past into unknown territory, encountering an unsuspecting new acquaintance on their journey. It’s a song that dives head-first into themes of the unknown, breaking norms, and a feeling of running away and never wanting to return again. It explores the idea that life is moving rapidly around us and the lack of belonging, confusion, and disassociation one experiences on their journey, growing older in an increasingly discouraging and bleak urban landscape. These are themes of which we’ve scratched the surface with ‘Conditions’ and ‘Conditions II’; but we want to delve even deeper into their grittier sides as we continue to figure ourselves out along the way.”
About the video, directed by Benedict Goddard & Sam Bell, Goddard added: “Within the ‘Tell Me’ video we wanted to focus on creating a pressure cooker of tension encapsulated in the confined space of a car and heightened by the physical presence of a guilty conscience. Visually, we were inspired by the dramatic lighting of 1970s Italian horror films, such as Suspiria. We wanted to add further intensity and stylisation to the video through the use of constant heavy rain and hand-built a rain machine to achieve this effect. We were able to realise this vision with our fantastic cast and crew, including Desmond Eastwood, Venetia Bowe and our director of photography, Alba Fernandez.”
Watch /listen now.
CHALK 2025 Live Dates
27th Feb – King Tuts, Glasgow
28th Feb – Band on the Wall, Manchester
1st Mar – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
4th Mar – Bodega, Nottingham
6th Mar – Village Underground, Village
7th Mar 2025 – Strange Brew, Bristol
8th Mar – Concorde 2, Brighton
9th Mar – Heebie Jeebies, Liverpool
12th Mar – Paradiso, Amsterdam
13th Mar – Trix Bar, Brussels
14th Mar – La Lune des Pirates, Amiens
15th Mar – Maroquinerie, Paris
17th Mar – L’Astrolab, Orleans
18th Mar – Marché Gare, Lyon
20th Mar – Artteater, Cologne
21st Mar – Kantine am Berghain, Berlin
22nd Mar – Turmzimmer, Hamburg
26th Mar – Locomotiv, Bologna
27th Mar – Arci Bellezza, Milan
29th Mar – M4music Festival, Zurich
10th Apr – Ulster Sports, Belfast
12th Apr – Whelans, Dublin
Photo credit: Aaron Cunningham
