UNDER THE RADAR

Artists, bands, and labels meriting more attention

- Chris Wheatley

Exponents of post-Cabaret Voltaire/23 Skidoo/Pop Group avant-disco, Chakk formed in Sheffield and were active from 1981 until 1987. Their potent blend of funk, punk, and tape manipulations veered toward the experimental, and, while the band's singular sound did not lead to commercial success, their influence on subsequent acts was considerable.

Chakk founding member, bassist and producer Mark Brydon remembers that time as one of open-minded invention.

“From an early age, I'd been sitting in a bedroom with a guitar,” he recalls. “I taught myself by playing along to the radio. I wasn't in bands until I went to Sheffield and hooked up with Alan Cross.” Brydon had relocated to the 'Steel City' to study as an architect. “But I didn’t in the end,” he smiles, “because I was too busy being in bands.”

By that time, Cross had already been experimenting with tape loops. “He had a four-track reel to reel recorder,” Brydon says. “We would go and sit in his living room and make kick drum sounds by hitting a cushion to get a regular beat, then put effects on as it went round.” The idea of starting a group seemed natural. “It was something that everyone aspired to at the time, but it was only when we discovered the DIY approach that it seemed like a reality.”

Chakk formed partly from former members of Sheffield post-punk group, Vendino Pact — John Stuart, Sim Lister, and Dee Boyle — plus Brydon, Cross, and friend Jake Harries. “We made a little cassette tape [Clocks And Babies, 1982] that was sold out of Record Collector in Broomhill, which is an iconic record shop. We were doing gigs at The Leadmill, playing with bands like Hula and Cabaret Voltaire. It was a very sort of cottage industry approach, then the Cabs approached us to do something.”