Bernell DorroughWhat do you call a German band that sings in French, maintains a trilingual Web site, and has their latest American release pressed in Canada? In America we’d call that pretty industrious, but in Europe it’s just another day in the life of Stereo Total.
The band Stereo Total grew roots ten years ago when current members Francoise Cactus (she) and Brezel Goring (he) met at a bakery in Germany. They recorded their first four-track EP in New Orleans with legendary pop recluse Alex Chilton, the founder of Big Star.
By 1997 the group was pared down to its current form, a duo featuring Cactus and Goring. The press release accompanying their 1997 release “Monokini” called it 40 percent chanson, 20 percent rock ‘n’ roll, 10 percent punk rock, 3 percent DAF-sequencer, 4 percent Jacques Dutronc-Rhythmique, 7 percent Brigitte Bardot and Serge Gainsbourg, 1.5 percent cosmonaute, 10 percent really old synthesizers, 10 percent 8-bit Amiga-sampling, 10 percent transistor amplifier, 1 percent really expensive and advanced instruments. Whew. For music that is appealing largely because of its simplistic pop sound, that list is rather daunting. Aside from the technical jargon though, the breakdown is easy to understand. “Chanson” is a classic form of French singing; you know it when you hear it. It is the timeless sound that stereotypes older French music: a single soft voice, a violin, perhaps an accordion and of course lots of red velvet drapery. Stereo Total excels at what sounds like the impossible, the combination of French chanson and German electronica.
The Berlin-based group is not unusual in that they don’t sing exclusively in German: what is unusual is that they sing almost exclusively in French, but they don’t always stop there. On “Monokini,” Cactus sings in Italian, French, German and Japanese. The confusion of languages and nationalities perfectly compliments their synthetic pop sound. This is music with beats so accessible and electro-melodic hooks so irresistible that it scarcely matters whether or not you get the gist of every lyric. Also present are less definable but equally necessary elements: the soft, slinky impression that Brigitte Bardot is indeed somehow in this music, the sense that these songs will be jukebox classics in 2066, and the unavoidable comparison to Pizzicato Five, probably the only similar-sounding band that Americans are familiar with.
Stereo Total has not yet made much of dent in North America, though it’s difficult to spend a day in Berlin without seeing at least two people who are cuter than you wearing Stereo Total t-shirts. The band has toured the States on many occasions over the years, usually stints of two to four weeks. Their live show can be likened to that of the Flaming Lips in that it is a multi-genre spectacle rather than just a concert. They project images and film excerpts on screens behind them as they play, and often have full stage decoration.
The new millennium brought change and recognition to the band with the release of “Musique Automatique” in 2001. The album was re-released in the States on the Kill Rock Stars label, and features the title track “Automatic Music” sung in English rather than in French. The song suffers from the change, a change that was more than likely recommended to pacify American audiences who get restless at the thought of a foreign language. Fortunately, the killer beat remains intact, and the song is ultimately as danceable, if not quite as enjoyable, as the European original. Their biggest break into this continent came last year when they opened several dates on tour with the Strokes.
The overall effect of “Musique Automatique” is one of a sort of retro-futurism, the dim-lit sound of Cactus’ Nico-esque vocals paired with electronic murmurs and new wave whines, supplemented by addictive beats. The album sounds exactly like it should-it is where the band has been heading for the past ten years. Producer Cem Oral (from the band Air Liquide) provides the focus on the album, and acts as the (half-Turkish, half-Finnish) link between Stereo Total and electro-pop glory. The North American release of the album has sixteen tracks, plus five bonus tracks including remixes that could only be considered sane in Berlin, and a track titled entirely in Japanese.
What one comes away with after an hour with Stereo Total is a craving for more. This is not only a band that will turn listeners on to their specific music, they are a duo that will show North American fans the light. That light is Euro-pop: music that is not trashy, not dominated by blondes in pleather who don’t write their own songs, not fake. While their tracks may have a synthesized feel, their music is anything but synthetic, and even though you may not catch all the lyrics, the music itself translates everything you need to know.
Have a friend studying abroad? Clue them in to Stero Total’s latest European tour. They stop in Berlin, Hamburg, London and Brighton. Check out www.stereototal.de for more information.