Chocolate Puma

Chocolate Puma

Chocolate Puma are a Dutch house and dance group from Haarlem, active since 1991. The act consists of Gaston Steenkist and René ter Horst, who also work under the names Zki & Dobre. They are associated with house, dance, electronic and club music, and their work is issued on labels including Tonco Tone.

Background

Steenkist and ter Horst begin producing together in the 1990s and build a long-running partnership around club-oriented electronic music. Their early work includes the duo The Good Men, whose track “Give It Up” becomes an important breakthrough and remains one of their best-known records. They later continue releasing under a range of aliases and project names, which makes their catalogue broad and varied.

Releases and notable tracks

As Chocolate Puma, they release “I Wanna Be You” in 2001, which reaches number 6 in the UK singles chart. Other releases under the name include “A Star Is Born” and “Always And Forever”. Earlier highlights associated with their wider work include “Vallee de Larmes” and the Jark Prongo project, with tracks such as “Movin’ Thru Your System” and “Sweet Little Thing”.

Other work and aliases

Beyond Chocolate Puma, Steenkist and ter Horst release records under several other names, including Jark Prongo, Basco, Klatsch! and Tomba Vira. They also produce remixes for artists including Roger Sanchez, Stereo MCs, Britney Spears, Copyright, Bob Sinclar, Fedde Le Grand, Funkerman and Laidback Luke. Their output totals more than 200 releases and 50 remixes.

Style and career

Their music is described as energetic and melodic house, made for club play. They work as DJs as well as producers, and their studio-based output remains central to their career. Their catalogue spans different styles, but their name is most closely tied to floor-focused house records and a long series of club releases.