Pat Fulgoni
Huddersfield's Pat Fulgoni is a man with many strings to his bow, if you can pardon the musical pun. Front man for local band Kava Kava, Pat Fulgoni has signed several record deals in his own right, in addition to sessioning and performing on a variety of different projects, including playing trumpet on Embrace's debut album and singing for house music labels such as 2020 and Subliminal (New York). Not content with securing his own record deals, Pat has now moved on to ensuring that the next generation of musical talent is given the support and professional expertise needed to secure a foothold in the competitive world of the music industry.
Over the last few years, Pat Fulgoni has developed his own record label; Chocolate Fireguard. Initially under the guise of a bookings agency, Pat started out with a loan from the Princes Trust and began booking those bands that were 'vaguely funky'. One year, Pat managed to secure Glastonbury performances for six different bands and the realisation dawned that these bands needed to have their own commercial products available to the public at large. Accordingly, Pat organised a compilation entitled 'Taster...Sounds From The Funky Underground' and the concept of his own record label, 'Chocolate Fireguard', was born. 
In recent years, Pat has been fortunate enough to work on single artist products from bands of the calibre of The Bluefoot Project and French hip hop outfit LA Cédille, in addition to producing a few different compilation albums and releasing Kava Kava's latest album, 'Maui'.
'Chocolate Fireguard' now has various distribution deals worldwide and the label's releases are also available to buy online from www.chocolatefireguard.co.uk, www.amazon.co.uk and i-tunes, for example. Recent developments include LA Cédille's amazing debut 'Vu Du Large' being 'album of the issue' in DJ magazine and negotiating a slot for Kava Kava's music in the pilot episode of 'The Weeds', the latest blockbuster US TV series, hitting our screens on Tuesday 11th October at 10pm on SkyOne. Kava Kava have just returned from profile Festival slots in Switzerland and Eastern Europe and a few weeks ago, Chocolate Fireguard was chosen as one of 15 British labels to present to approximately 75 Japanese music industry delegates in Tokyo.
Pat Fulgoni has also been dedicating his time and expertise to local-based talent. In 2002, Pat developed the Timeless Festival, held annually in Ravensknowle Park, Wakefield Road and this year set for Saturday 10th September. Comprising three stages and accommodating local bands who can play alongside 'out of town' established acts, the Timeless Festival has hosted acts such as James Brown saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis and crossover acts like Lo Fidelity Allstars and the Freestylers. Last year, the Timeless Festival was the Guardian Guide and Yorkshire Post's 'pick of the week'. This year's line up includes Rodney P Playback, Panjabi Hit Squad (BBC 1 xtra), Kava Kava (Chocolate Fireguard), LA Cédille (Chocolate Fireguard, France) and DJ Vadim's One-Self.
In 2004, Pat Fulgoni applied for funding to set up the Timeless Music Project, designed to assist the abundance of Huddersfield-based talent and a natural and logical progression from the Festival. Acting as a Music Development Agency which includes a community record label, the Timeless Music Project produced a triple CD box set called 'Sounds From A Big Town'. It was promoted worldwide, to date, music featured on the CDs has been played in over forty different countries and five bands have been licensed to Japan. Acting as a showcase for local talent, the Project has huge potential. Pat is currently developing CDs for Mary Jane who recently recorded in Prague with Killing Joke's Geordie Walker and Dalton hip hop crew Practical Headz.
Pat Fulgoni's contribution to the Huddersfield and international music scene is indisputable.
To find out more about Pat Fulgoni, Chocolate Fireguard or the Timeless Music Project/Festival, please contact info@chocolatefireguard.co.uk.
