Scala & Kolacny Brothers Choir Announce Olympia Show

Comprised of two brothers, Steven and Stijn Kolacny, and Scala, their all-girl choir, Scala & Kolacny Brothers are a unique musical project to say the least. Originally a choir accompanied by a piano, the act is more of an an indie-rock choir nowadays as it tours the world, boasting drums, sequencers and synthesizers along side the still-present keys. Steven and Stijn are the constant fixtures of the act, tending to perform with between 15-20 singers from the choir, of which they have 150 members to meet the growing demand for concerts.

The group was initially formed in 1996 as a classic, traditional choir and found early success in their native Belgium, where they were voted Choir of the Year for 1999-2000. The change in direction came in 2001 when Steven found himself inspired after a friend in London sent him a Radiohead CD with some recordings the band had done for the radio station XFM, including a live version of "Creep". Finding himself compelled to reinvent the act, he admitted that "performing for older audiences" was "very nice, but you always play the same old music again and again. It’s like cover versions – there are a trillion cover versions of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. And I didn’t like the feeling much, so that’s why I started making my own music".

In its new indie-rock incarnation, Scala & Kolacny Brothers began to receive even greater acclaim. Their debut record, Scala on the Rocks, went gold soon after its 2002 release, and they've gone on to build on that success exponentially in the subsequent years, with their more eclectic sound broadening their audience (Steven even had a club hit with the dance music track "I Fail" that he recorded with the Belgian DJ Regi). As well as further records being received well on the European charts, they have also brought their resplendent live act across the world, even as far as headlining stages at SXSW and Coachella in the United States.

Having previously performed in Ireland a number of times down the years, they'll be bringing their "classic and indie rock meets elegiac hymns" live show back to The Olympia on the 14th of June next year. Tickets from €32.50 including booking fee go on sale this Friday, October 12th, at 9am from Ticketmaster and The Olympia Theatre Box Office.

You can get an idea of what Scala & Kolacny Brothers have in store for the show by checking out their performance of 'Engel (Rammstein)' below: