There’s something deeply moving — disturbing, even — about the recordings of the performers known as Scala & Kolacny Brothers. The ensemble is built around a Belgian girls choir that takes on contemporary rock standards with a straight-faced, postmodern ferocity that catches listeners unaware.
If you thought you knew Radiohead — or Bjork or U2, Muse or Nirvana, Depeche Mode or Garbage — a listen to the choir’s classical arrangements might prove you wrong. In fact, it was their cover of Radiohead’s “Creep,” featured in the trailer for the film “The Social Network” that made them international stars.
The singers, along with their arranger, Steven Kolacny, and conductor, Stijn Kolacny, bring their act to the Gothic Theatre for a performance Wednesday night.
Brothers Steven and Stijn started Scala in 1996 as a classical endeavor, an opportunity for the two pianists to arrange for a larger group. They gained a following in Europe, and they were solidifying their place in modern classical music, when the group took a turn toward pop.
“At first, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the idea,” Stijn said recently from his home in Belgium, talking about his brother’s suggestion that they switch up their repertoire. “I was afraid of losing it or shocking people. But Steve wanted it.”
And so did the girls.
“We’re working with young women and young girls. They liked singing classical music, and they still do, but we noticed that when we’re singing rock music — the Beatles and the Stones and more contemporary songs that they know from radio and TV — that the rehearsals were more fun, and it went faster in a way.”
Scala’s switch was hardly smooth. The first experiment: Garbage’s “I Think I’m Paranoid” at a classical choir competition in western Canada. The judges hated it. The other choirs gave a standing ovation and asked for the score. Their European audiences took to the new direction quickly, and the results were gold records in Belgium, France and Germany.
“The first month we faced different opinions,” Stijn said. “But later, people fell in love with the idea of a classical choir of 30 girls singing rock music.”
Stijn’s focus on perfection gradually changed as his brother’s arrangements evolved and loosened. While Scala was once in search of tonal perfection, the choir is now more concerned with connection — to the audience, to the original source material, to rock ‘n’ roll.
“When you see Scala now, it’s more about emotion and having fun,” Stijn said. “It’s beautiful. It’s different.”
Not all of their arrangements are winners. Their take on the Police’s “Every Breath You Take” is a sleeper. But some of their songs are transcendent in the way they capture feelings and meanings that weren’t present in the original recordings.
The choir’s “Social Network” experience was, fittingly, a lesson in the power of social media. The trailer served as promotion for the year’s most anticipated film — and for an unknown choir from Belgium.
“We got millions of tweets from that,” Stijn said. “They still come in every few minutes.”
Stijn speaks with guarded tones about working with his brother.
“He’s always the first one with the brilliant ideas,” Stijn said. “Working with your brother is quite special. Working or playing music with him — we’ve been doing it all our lives. We were playing together as children at 10 years old. . . .
“We argue, sure, but the older we get, the smoother it goes.”
Ricardo Baca: 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com
scala & kolacny brothers
Choral-inspired arrangements of modern rock. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. 8 p.m. Wednesday. $20-$25.
