They’re cute, fun and kitschy, no matter what language you speak.
Françoise Cactus and Brezel Göring make up the band Stereo Total, and there’s little they can’t do.
For starters, they can perform in multiple languages. They also tour in multiple countries. And they mix multiple musical styles.
“Our music is inspired by a lot of different styles,” said Cactus. “Rock ‘n’ roll, disco, German electronic, a mixture of all these elements. Plus we sing in different languages: French, Spanish, German, English, Italian, Japanese, Russian, whatever.”
On Saturday, catch the quirky duo when they perform at the Troubadour fresh off the Canadian leg of their tour and a show in Austin, Texas.
“We were really freezing a lot in Canada,” said Cactus. “We’ve already played in Montreal, Quebec, Toronto. It was a little bit shocking because we were playing in Boston one day before that shit happened. We are happy to come to California.”
The band is no stranger to the West Coast. Its newest album “Cactus Versus Brezel” was recorded in LA’s Stonehenge Studio and features a song titled “LA, CA, USA.” It was produced by Gus Seyffert, the bassist from The Black Keys.
True to form, Cactus sings in French, English and German.
It’s one thing to sing in a number of languages, but Cactus actually speaks five.
“I speak French perfectly because I’m French and German perfectly because I’ve been living there a long time,” she said. “English, not too bad. My accent is very French but it’s okay. I speak a little bit of Italian and Spanish. As for Japanese, I ask my friend to make me a translation and how to pronounce lyrics and I write it down with the phonetic alphabet.”
Cactus has a timeless physical beauty and vocal style. She successfully emulates her favorite performers.
“As a French girl, I love the French singers from the 60s, like Françoise Hardy, Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin and Brigitte Bardot,” she said. “American rock ‘n’ roll, I love it. Rockabilly especially. I like garage goth bands from Japan. I had a garage band myself before, a rock ‘n’ roll band called Les Lolitas. Brezel is a big fan of electronic music, like Kraftwerk and Der Plan. All the bands they had in Germany in the 80s. Also experimental music.”
In 1993, Cactus met her sonic counterpart, Göring, in Germany. At the time, Göring was involved with the sound effect project Sigmund Freud Experience.
“We were living on the same street. He was living on the east side and me the west side,” said Cactus. “It was shortly after the Berlin Wall had been torn down.”
Stereo Total went to work after the fall of the Iron Curtain. First, they wrote a song about a cooking recipe with every ingredient carrying a sexual allusion.
“We went to rent a room and try to make a song together,” said Cactus. “It was a really funny song. It was 15 minutes long.”
Brezel originally opened for Cactus’ garage band, Les Lolitas. Eventually the pair worked on Stereo Total full-time. Excluding a few years, the band has released an album every year since 1995.
Both members play multiple instruments, making for an eclectic audio sound.
“Onstage I play mostly drums, a little synthesizer, guitar, trumpet, the theramin, which is a little Russian instrument you play without touching it,” said Cactus. “I also play the ukulele and the kazoo. Brezel plays all the pianos, organs, guitar, bass. He can even play drums. The only thing he does not play is trumpet.”
Check out the latest video from Stereo Total below.
