The pioneering, Grammy award-winning composer, conductor, orchestrator, curator and artist Jules Buckley has teamed up with long-time collaborator and producer Chris Wheeler, Heritage Orchestra and percussion collective Ghost-Note to release album ‘The Breaks’ on Decca Records and focus track ‘The Mexican’ featuring Mattiel – a fresh, energetic take on the track that has been compiled, covered and mixed many times and is considered one of the most influential songs within the Breaking scene.
With hip hop embedded into mainstream culture, the music from ‘The Breaks’ promises to appeal across generations of music fans. There will be a string of singles released from the 15-track album, which is a stunning collection of the much-loved, culture-defining music that birthed the Breaking scene and influenced hip hop and scratch DJs in the Bronx since the1970s. ‘The Breaks’ sees Buckley assemble some stellar featured artists, from Kamasi Washington, Vula and Mr Switch, to Mattiel, Mr Talkbox and US keys impresario Cory Henry. The album follows up the acclaimed ‘The Breaks’ BBC Prom in 2019, which saw B-boys and B-girls take to the stage at Royal Albert Hall alongside Buckley, Heritage Orchestra and Ghost-Note, for an exhilarating and spectacular musical celebration.
‘The Mexican’ by British prog/blues band Babe Ruth was recorded at Abbey Road in 1972, with the lyrics written as a retort to the 1960 western ‘The Alamo’. It has been sampled by the greats from Afrika Bambaataa, The Jungle Brothers, Grandmaster Melle Mel, GZA, Kool Moe Dee to Doug E. Fresh and even The Prodigy, but it was the version created by John “Jellybean Benitez, the superstar producer and remixer of the 80s who worked with Madonna, that made the track famous. Buckley and Heritage Orchestra have infused ‘The Mexican’ with the modern energy and expansion of the orchestral palette, alongside the bold and brilliant vocal delivery from Mattiel.
Focus track ‘The Mexican’ (feat. Mattiel)
LISTEN HERE
