“We perform like our life depends on it, which it kinda does because we don’t see ourselves doing anything else,” says Cupcakes, one half of Brooklyn-based duo HANK & CUPCAKES.

Recently named one of Time Out New York’s “Must See” acts at CMJ 2010, Hank & Cupcakes captivate audiences and dominate the stage with a unique performance and a “funky fresh sound,” says the New York Post. As The Jerusalem Post states very accurately, once they take the stage, they “create wildly invigorating music that is full of danger, mystery, noise, and sex – all the ingredients of great rock and roll."

With Grammy Award-winning producer Mark B. Christensen (N.O.R.E., 50 Cent) at the wheel, their debut self-titled EP has already generated plenty of underground critical buzz for its unique, uncompromising but highly addicting nature.  NYC’s Dirty F*cking Hipster writes about the EP, "Right off the bat, this band introduced something sexy, something raw and taboo. Two songs hit you in the face and before you’ve had time to put into perspective how awesome what’s happening really is, you’ve had an orgasm."  Surprisingly, they’re not wrong.  From the opening synthesized basslines of the New Wave disco of “Ain’t No Love,” the seethingly slinkiness that’s a trademark of who they are hits you like a bag full of Beth Dittos with a healthy slice of Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  Cupcakes’ drumming lays down a bedrock back beat that’s solid enough to build a skyscraper on while she’s wailing out a tough lyric with the soulfulness of an R&B diva. The 80s funk of first single and video “Pleasure Town” is a jittery dance romp that New York Post describes as “a dunk-disco enthused ‘Love Shack’,” and with good reason since it perfectly showcases Hank’s popping bass mastery.  The heartfelt balladry of “Roses” and their dark and breathless cover of the Joy Division classic “She’s Lost Control” round out the EP into what The Deli pegs as “distinctive edgy sound… that is reminiscent of New York City’s energy and restlessness combined with bits of soulfulness and youthful spirit.”

“We’re always in constant search for new inspiration,” says Cupcakes.  While this may sound like a lofty proclamation, it’s pretty spot on. This search for inspiration has been a transcontinental one, starting off in Jerusalem, Israel for Hank, in Melbourne Australia for Cupcakes, and extending to the far reaches of the world, including Cuba and the US.  “We both moved to Havana, Cuba in 2006 to study music for six months, then back to Tel Aviv, and then moved to New York,” she continues, also noting that she grew up in Melbourne, AUS and Tel Aviv while Hank was centered around Jerusalem.

But don’t talk to them about geography or their political outcroppings because that’s not what they’re about and they’re not interested.  They’re centered on their music.  “We both started playing music at a young age and started our first band when we were 18,” explains Cupcakes.  Their passion for music hasn’t waned.  “We rehearse every day, seven days a week,” explains Cupcakes. “Our aim is to always reinvent ourselves, to produce a sound from the bass and drums that is completely different and fresh.”

While their recorded music may sound full and dense for a two-piece, the fact that Hank & Cupcakes’ live incarnation is identical to their recorded lineup (Hank on bass and Cupcakes on drums and vocals) provides even more proof of their musical dexterity. When they take the stage, their infectious energy dominates the room, generating a fierce groove that immediately has the crowd up and moving.  Pennsylvania’s FLY Magazine captures it best: “Armed only with a drum kit, a bass guitar and a complete disregard for their own limitations, the two smack and slap their way through herky-jerky dance-pop songs that bristle with sass and sexuality."

A musical and multi-culti panache, Hank & Cupcakes create a unique and swirling blend of rhythmically dense tracks that’s at once remarkably concise and compact, yet encompassing a sound that is so bafflingly full of vibrancy and expansiveness that you’re compelled to look for the non-existent guitar player.  “If I had to define it, I’d call our music experimental pop,” Hank says about their impossible-to-pigeonhole sound. “We’re trying to make pop music with a completely new kind of pop sound.”