BREAKING THE CHAINS

Rockers And Bikers Stand United Against Child Abuse!

Breaking The Chains is a charity rock project, uniting more than 40 of the best Dutch rockstars, to record an album. Breaking The Chains, the collaboration and foundation, was established early 2017 to support the Dutch division of Bikers Against Child Abuse (B.A.C.A.) in their great and important work. B.A.C.A. is a worldwide organization of bikers who help abused children by creating a safe environment for them. The BTC project began as an idea to do something special and meaningful for B.A.C.A., using music as a medium to reach a new, wider audience. Starting off by creating a single soundtrack for B.A.C.A.’s mission, this soon grew out to be a full-length concept-album. An album with original music, specially written for this amazing project and to benefit B.A.C.A. Together with top-musicians from the Dutch rock-scene, this album is written to raise the awareness for abused children and for B.A.C.A. and their important mission. The first video single ,,Valley Road’’ was released on the 16th of November 2017 on YouTube and on December 2nd 2017 this single will officially be released on all digital audio platforms for streaming and downloading. Featuring singer John JayCee Cuijpers [Praying Mantis], guitarist Bart Hennephof [Textures], guitarist Timo Somers [Delain], bass player Johan van Stratum [VUUR, Stream of Passion], keyboard player Ton Scherpenzeel [Kayak], drummer Dirk Bruinenberg [Elegy, Place Vendome] and guitarist Frank Schiphorst [MaYaN, My Propane]. HeadBangers Lifestyle sat down with initiator, Swedish musician Kristoffer Gildenlöw [Kayak, For All We Know, Neal Morse, Dial, Pain Of Salvation] who has actually lived in The Netherlands for the past 15 years now, to talk about the latest facts.

How do you feel about finally letting the world hear some actual music that is made by BTC, with the first single ,,Valley Road’’?
,,It feels great to finally let people hear what we have been working on so long. Not only talking about the project but we can finally show proof of what we are aiming for: great music, high quality and rock ‘n roll.’’

Why did you choose ,,Valley Road’’ to be the first single?
,,We decided on ,,Valley Road’’ as the first single as it’s a great straight forward rock song, a bit catchy and with some great musical performances by the involved musicians.’’

What is the most important message or awareness of this video that you want to present to the world?
,,We wanted to introduce the audience to the recording process of this album by showing the musicians in the studio. We also wanted to make the connection with B.A.C.A. and the mission clear for the first-time-viewers.’’

Who made the music and who made the video?
,,Bart Hennephof wrote the music and the lyrics of this song and he’s also producing the whole album. The video was scripted and edited by myself. Video editing is not something I do every day but it was great fun doing it.’’

On December 2^nd ,,Valley Road’’ will officially be released on all digital audio platforms for streaming and downloading. Are you hoping for airplay as well?
,,We are hoping to get as much media attention as possible to spread the word of this project and the great cause that it’s supporting. We’ve already had some airplay on Dutch radio and we are grateful for every piece of support we can get.’’

Will the single also be available on hardcopy?
,,No, the single will only be available as digital download and streaming via the most known platforms. The album will be available as a physical CD though. The release date is planned before summer 2018. We are also looking into a limited vinyl release as well, probably only available via crowd funding, starting January/February 2018. We will probably release a second single and video as well, somewhere early next year.’’