The Breakers DK - bio
Release date: May 8, 2007
Pssssst! The boys are back in town. Well, no, I take that back – what I meant was The Breakers’ music is in town, fresh off the boat from Copenhagen. Here For A Laugh is a fine howdy-do from these randy Danish upstarts. Give ‘em a listen and a big hearty “Wilkommen!” Or something like that.
Long story short: Once upon a time (the mid-90s) in Denmark, 14-year-olds Toke Nisted (singer) and Anders Bruus (guitar player) met in school and began rocking in the “classic” vein, a la the Faces, the Stones, AC/DC and Thin Lizzy. Yah.
They started hanging out at Copenhagen’s legendary rock spot, Floss, soaking up the stylish rogue rocker mystique and honing their chops. After a few years they booted the other guys they were playing with, replaced them with some guys that shared their motivation to rock, and formed The Breakers. That was 2002. By 2003 they were signed to Sony Denmark.
The debut record came out in 2004 on the major label. “A crude, dirty, noisy affair,” according to an early Breakers bio, it got “a mixed reception from the music press” and sold pretty much nil. Sony dropped the band in 2005, and they got picked up briefly by another, smaller Danish label, only to be dropped again right after recording their second album.
The second album turned out to be Here For A Laugh. Luckily for the fellas, and for Danish lovers of the rocking and the rolling, the band’s former promotions guy from Sony was starting his own label. He hooked up with the Breakers and had the band re-record the album, this time with ex-Bob Dylan guitarist Billy Cross producing, and Fort Apache bigshots Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie mixing.
Here For A Laugh came out in the band’s neck of the woods – meaning Denmark and some other places over in them parts -- and immediately started getting noticed. The re-recording process had forced the band to revise and freshly realize the songs, and it marked a big step forward artistically for the Breakers. A far less scattershot endeavor than their previous recording forays, the album has a stylish energy and broad aural palette. The basic tone throughout is one of unadulterated rock n roll with plenty of punch and verve, and heavy doses of soul, swing and R&B. Crisp, clear, melodic guitar lines by Anders Bruus and Lukas Scherfig are driven by the heavy grooving rhythm of Jackie Larsen on bass and Mikkel Hald on drums. And Toke’s glam-ass gutter punk vocals conjure Rod the Mod in full Faces glory.
Funzalo boss Mike Lembo was turned on to the Breakers by producers Kolderie and Slade, and found the music irresistible. And that, my friends, is how Funzalo Records came to put out Here For A Laugh in the U.S. Anyway, we’re just proud as punch. America ... Meet the Breakers!
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