THE BREAKS
Created by Jules Buckley and Chris Wheeler
DANCE
Agent: Theresa Vibberts
Territory: North America
ABOUT
The pioneering, Grammy award-winning composer, conductor, orchestrator, curator and artist Jules Buckley introduces his new creation, ‘The Breaks’. With hip hop embedded into mainstream culture, the music from ‘The Breaks’ promises to appeal to across generations of music fans and explores the culture-defining music that has inspired the world of scratch DJs and breakdancing since the 1970s.
The Breaks debuted at the BBC Prom in 2019, which saw B-boys and B-girls take to the stage at Royal Albert Hall alongside Buckley’s and Chris Wheeler’s Heritage Orchestra, percussion collective Ghost Note, Vula Malinga, Alice Russell, Mr. Switch and Madon for an exhilarating and spectacular musical celebration.
For ‘The Breaks’ program, Buckley slices up and reimagines the iconic tracks that originated hip hop culture in the Bronx nearly 50 years ago, featuring tunes from James Brown & The J.B’s, The Sugarhill Gang, Incredible Bongo Band, Lyn Collins, Zapp, Babe Ruth, Jimmy Castor Bunch, The Soul Searchers, Herman Kelly & Life, Kool & The Gang, as well as pieces that mashup a number of seminal samples to delight music lovers, from cratediggers to connoisseurs. Of the four pillars of hip-hop culture, alongside MC-ing, DJ-ing and graffiti art, breaks and breakdancing has developed from its original roots of disco, funk, soul, latin and beyond, to become a globally recognized artform.
On the album which will be released on September 3, 2021 through Decca Records, Buckley said “Take the most infectious bit of a funk record that makes people dance and loop it. These are ‘The Breaks’! It’s so exciting to finally release ‘The Breaks’, an album that has been two years in the making, with Heritage Orchestra, Ghost-Note and the incredible featured artists. We are raising the bar a little more in homage to the music that has helped define the Breakdance scene and cemented its place in the four pillars of hip hop culture worldwide. The Breaks are the sonic blueprint for the foundation of a scene that birthed hip hop. It’s an honor to now share this collection of killer music with the world.
This incredible orchestral production is slated to tour globally just as the amazing artform of breakdancing has received its Olympic status, and will make its debut in the Paris Games of 2024. Through The Breaks, Buckley continues to honor the global phenomenon of Breaking, by introducing its artistry to orchestra concerts halls worldwide.