THE CHAINS - Copenhagen Ska & Boss Reggae
With the formation of The Chains, Denmark has gained a new supergroup within the Jamaican genres of reggae and ska.
The members consist of three generations of ska and reggae connoisseurs, some of whom have been active since the early 1980s, while others joined in the 1990s and 2000s. They came together to honor Terry Hall, the charismatic lead singer of The Specials, who died too soon in December 2022 and was subsequently celebrated at a sold-out memorial concert at Loppen in February 2023.
As lead singer and producer Pato Siebenhaar, who began his career in the ska-punk band Furillo, puts it: "We all love the energy in this music, and it's hard to find elsewhere, so when Lasse Elmer, who previously organized the music festival Copenhagen Ska Convention and plays guitar in Fall Back Down, suggested that we come together and play a few The Specials tunes to honor Terry, it was like coming home. It felt right."
It felt so right that Pato, along with bassist David Peter Jørgensen, a lifelong lover of early Jamaican music, and founding member of Cry Tough Sound, went into the studio and quickly produced some demos. Guitarist and singer Kevin Leo, from the internationally touring band Leo & The Lineup, also contributed a few tracks, leaving the band with a full albums worth of material. On drums is Bjørn Hardenberg, who has been a part of Von Dü, one of Denmark’s best live bands, and on organ is Jacob Palitzsch, who comes from the legendary band Napoleon Solo, formed in 1984 and who has played alongside The Specials, which was the very reason The Chains were formed.
"We sat down and agreed to make what we felt was missing: a really cool ska and reggae band," says Pato Siebenhaar. "We all come from a DIY background; we are all a product of the underground scene where this music lives. We know that if we're missing something, we have to make it ourselves, because no one from the commercial world will do it for you. It's just a matter of, writing some songs, rehearsing and playing them, and get the people dancing."
On january 1.st, 20024, The Chins released their debut single “My Baby Is Hooligan”, a fast and heavy Boss Reggae tune, followed up by Ska stomper “So Unkind”, showing the potential of the band and garnering attention worldwide.
The Chains will release their debut LP "Crying' On The Dancefloor," in the september 2024.
