Kolacny Brothers Interview

It’s the Sunday and final day of Latitude festival. The weather remains murky and damp as it has done for most of the festival and I’m about to catch up with the Kolacny Brothers after they’ve just filled the prestigious midday Sunday slot at the Obelisk Arena. Offering uniquely composed choir versions of modern rock and indie hits, the Kolacny Brothers don’t just have one of the best music tastes around; they’ve also managed to seamlessly throw a more classical sound into modern music with fantastic results.

Sat in the glamorous surroundings behind the Obelisk stage at Latitude, I shamefully returned to my childhood to raid the free sweets and capture myself a lolly. A yellow one, just in case anyone was interested. We are surrounded by some of the acts playing the main stage later including Glasvegas, who are being pampered by the backstage runners.

Chatting with the pair Stijn and Steven, the guys are really pleased with the reaction their set got from the crowd. Accompanied by the Scala choir, their hour long set proved a massive hit with the soaked Southwold revellers, churning out their own compositions of hits such as Marilyn Manson’s Beautiful People, Sterephonics’ Have a Nice Day and their now infamous version of Radiohead’s Creep, which was featured in 2009 film The Social Network’s trailer.

The pair are chatty from the outset, with Stijn and Steven quickly expressing their delight and the crowd they drew. Whilst it is common for fans of Latitude to jump, clap and roam about catching different bands, the Kolacny Brothers created a different vibe. Steven commented on his surprise that people were actually listening to the music, rather than dancing, drinking or chatting.

Discussing how the band felt at received international acclaim after Creep, they admitted that the change was ‘phenomenal’, turning the pair from being known in a few European countries to becoming the attention of music fans worldwide. They also discussed how their song selection comes about; whilst admitting nothing was impossible they did state that their versions of Robbie Williams and Michael Jackson don’t really work with alongside Scala. To test out new songs, Steven stated they always tried them live a few times and gauge the audience reaction to them before choosing whether they remain in the set list.

When the conversation turns to the pair’s favourite song, they both enthuse about their version of U2’s With or Without you, which they showcased live earlier in the day. They take off quickly after the interview to bag a decent spot for O.M.D, playing the word arena later in the day. The pair proved their music worth earlier in the day and fans of the indie/rock genre might find them a refreshing change to their usual tastes.

Check out some of the bands previous work here:

http://open.spotify.com/track/7qMvr0UUzSCs2749usEJeI (Champagne Supernova)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axrqVfuGHh0 (Creep)
http://www.scalachoir.com/en/music.htm