Stereo Total
Encyclopedia
Stereo Total is a Berlin-based multilingual, French-German duo comprising Françoise Cactus (born Françoise Van Hove and formerly co-leader of the West Berlin band Les Lolitas) and Brezel ('pretzel
') Göring (aka Friedrich von Finsterwalde, born Friedrich Ziegler). Both Cactus and Göring sing and play multiple instruments. When they appear on stage as a duo, Cactus frequently plays drums while Göring plays guitar and synth; at other times the touring band has included additional musicians such as Angie Reed
.
Their early career was nurtured within Berlin's easy listening scene, and they frequently supported the DJ team Le Hammond Inferno, who went on to form Bungalow Records and sign Stereo Total to their label. Stereo Total became the most successful act on Bungalow, finding an audience not just beyond Berlin but also across Europe and eventually in Japan and the US.
, electronica
, punk rock
and pop music
. The most consistent element in their cut and paste compositions is a retro-hip European 1960s style, with references to psych and garage-rock as well as to 1960s French-pop in the vein of Françoise Hardy, Jacques Dutronc, France Gall, and Brigitte Bardot. Some of their most recognized tracks are kitschy lo-fi covers of pop, rock
and soul
songs, such as their self-consciously trashy version of Salt-N-Pepa
's electro rap hit "Push It."
Their songs are primarily sung in German, French and English, but some of their output also features a number of other languages, such as Japanese, Spanish and Turkish. The band has covered songs by Sylvie Vartan
, Françoise Hardy
, Brigitte Bardot
, Serge Gainsbourg
, Johnny Hallyday
, Velvet Underground, Nico
, The Rolling Stones
, The Beatles
, Pizzicato Five
, Hot Chocolate, Die Tödliche Doris
, KC and the Sunshine Band
and Marjo
(Corbeau
).
, was used by Sony
in a European commercial for the Handycam in June 2005, and was also featured in Robot Food's snowboarding hit "Afterbang". In 2009, the song was used in a Dell
commercial for the Studio 15. The title of the Stereo Total version is a play on both the original Plastics title and Yoko Ono
, and is a likely homage to the original's Japanese origin.
Another one of their songs, "L'Amour à trois" (the French version of the song "Liebe zu Dritt"), was used in a commercial for 3G
-phones in Sweden in the fall of 2005 by the company 3, as well as by the Spanish TV Channel Cuatro in an advert for the company and in the disco scene in the independent Argentinian film "Glue". Their song "Cannibale" was included in the console game Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 4
, released in November 2006. "Megaflittchen" was also used in a commercial by Estonian mobile operator EMT.
"Aua" from the Monokini
album was used in the trailers and closing titles for Adam Curtis
's BBC Two
documentary series All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace
.
Pretzel
A pretzel is a type of baked food made from dough in soft and hard varieties and savory or sweet flavors in a unique knot-like shape, originating in Europe...
') Göring (aka Friedrich von Finsterwalde, born Friedrich Ziegler). Both Cactus and Göring sing and play multiple instruments. When they appear on stage as a duo, Cactus frequently plays drums while Göring plays guitar and synth; at other times the touring band has included additional musicians such as Angie Reed
Angie Reed
Angie Reed is an electronica vocalist and multiinstrumentalist.After playing in Angie et ses Tigres, she joined Stereo Total at the age of 21 as a bassist and vocalist. She left the band to pursue a solo career in 2000. Her debut solo concept album Presents the Best of Barbara Brockhaus, recorded...
.
Their early career was nurtured within Berlin's easy listening scene, and they frequently supported the DJ team Le Hammond Inferno, who went on to form Bungalow Records and sign Stereo Total to their label. Stereo Total became the most successful act on Bungalow, finding an audience not just beyond Berlin but also across Europe and eventually in Japan and the US.
Musical style
Their music is a playful, wildly eclectic mash-up of synth-pop, new waveNew Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. The most consistent element in their cut and paste compositions is a retro-hip European 1960s style, with references to psych and garage-rock as well as to 1960s French-pop in the vein of Françoise Hardy, Jacques Dutronc, France Gall, and Brigitte Bardot. Some of their most recognized tracks are kitschy lo-fi covers of pop, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
songs, such as their self-consciously trashy version of Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa is an American hip hop trio from Queens and Brooklyn, New York, that was formed in 1985. The group, consisting of Cheryl "Salt" Renee James, Sandra "Pepa" Denton, and Deidra "DJ Spinderella" Roper, was one of the first all-female rap crews....
's electro rap hit "Push It."
Their songs are primarily sung in German, French and English, but some of their output also features a number of other languages, such as Japanese, Spanish and Turkish. The band has covered songs by Sylvie Vartan
Sylvie Vartan
Sylvie Vartan is a French singer. She was one of the first rock girls in France. Vartan was the most productive and active of the yé-yé style artists, considered as the toughest-sounding of those. Her performance often featured elaborate show-dance choreography. She made many appearances on French...
, Françoise Hardy
Françoise Hardy
Françoise Madeleine Hardy is a French singer, actress and astrologer. Hardy is an iconic figure in fashion, music and style. She is married to the singer and movie actor Jacques Dutronc.-Biography:...
, Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is a French former fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was one of the best-known sex-symbols of the 1960s.In her early life, Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer...
, Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
, Johnny Hallyday
Johnny Hallyday
Johnny Hallyday is a French singer and actor. An icon in the French-speaking world since the beginning of his career, he was considered by some to have been the French Elvis Presley. He was married for 15 years to one of the most popular French female singers: Sylvie Vartan...
, Velvet Underground, Nico
Nico
Nico was a German singer, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress, who initially rose to fame as a Warhol Superstar in the 1960s...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Pizzicato Five
Pizzicato Five
Pizzicato Five was a Japanese pop group best known to audiences in the West in their later incarnation as a duo of Maki Nomiya and Yasuharu Konishi...
, Hot Chocolate, Die Tödliche Doris
Die Tödliche Doris
Die Tödliche Doris was a German performance art and music group based in Berlin from 1980 to 1987. It was founded by band members Wolfgang Müller and Nikolaus Utermöhlen and later joined by Chris Dreier, Dagmar Dimitroff, Tabea Blumenschein and Käthe Kruse .Die Tödliche Doris was part of the...
, KC and the Sunshine Band
KC and the Sunshine Band
KC and the Sunshine Band is an American musical group. Founded in 1973 in Miami, Florida, their style has included funk, R&B, and disco. Their most well known songs include the disco hits "That's the Way ", " Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man", "Keep It Comin' Love", "Get Down Tonight", "Give...
and Marjo
Marjo
Marjolène Morin , professionally known as Marjo, is a francophone Canadian singer-songwriter.-Biography:...
(Corbeau
Corbeau (band)
Corbeau was a Quebec rock group, very popular at the end of Seventies. The group was formed in 1977 by the film-maker and lyricist Pierre Harel with Michel « Willie » Lamothe and Roger « Wézo » Belval . Donald Hince joined the group some time later, and Jean Millaire completed the make up of...
).
Songs used in advertisements
"I Love You, Ono",—a re-titled cover version of "I Love You, Oh No!" by Japanese new wave band, The Plastics—from their album My MelodyMy Melody (Stereo Total album)
My Melody is Stereo Total's fourth album. This album's theme was centered around love. It was released on April 27th, 1999. The second track on the album, "I Love You, Ono" was featured in a 2009 commercial for Dell's Studio 15...
, was used by Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
in a European commercial for the Handycam in June 2005, and was also featured in Robot Food's snowboarding hit "Afterbang". In 2009, the song was used in a Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
commercial for the Studio 15. The title of the Stereo Total version is a play on both the original Plastics title and Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, and is a likely homage to the original's Japanese origin.
Another one of their songs, "L'Amour à trois" (the French version of the song "Liebe zu Dritt"), was used in a commercial for 3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
-phones in Sweden in the fall of 2005 by the company 3, as well as by the Spanish TV Channel Cuatro in an advert for the company and in the disco scene in the independent Argentinian film "Glue". Their song "Cannibale" was included in the console game Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 4
Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 4
Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 4 is the twelfth home version of Dance Dance Revolution released in the United States. It was released by Konami on November 14, 2006, for the Microsoft Xbox video game console. About 70 songs are available in total in this version...
, released in November 2006. "Megaflittchen" was also used in a commercial by Estonian mobile operator EMT.
"Aua" from the Monokini
Monokini (Stereo Total album)
Monokini is Stereo Total's second album.- Track listing :#"Ach Ach Liebling" – 1.58#"Lunatique" – 2.13#"Supergirl" – 2.32#"Furore" – 2.53#"Schön Von Hinten" – 2.50#"Dilindam" – 2.36#"Cosmonaute" – 3.02#"Aua" – 2.04...
album was used in the trailers and closing titles for Adam Curtis
Adam Curtis
Adam Curtis is a British BAFTA winning documentarian and a writer, television producer, director and narrator. He works for BBC Current Affairs.-Early life and education:Curtis was born in 1955...
's BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
documentary series All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (television documentary series)
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace is a three part BBC documentary series by filmmaker Adam Curtis, well known for other documentaries including The Century of the Self, The Trap and The Power of Nightmares...
.
Albums
- 1995 · Oh Ah!Oh Ah!- Track listing :#"Dactylo Rock" – 2.32#"C'Est La Mort" – 2.50#"Miau Miau" – 2.01#"Comme Un Garcon" – 2.39#"Belami" – 2.10#"Johnny" – 1.56#"Morose" – 2.09#"Je Suis Venue Te Dire Que Je M'En Vais" – 3.06#"Push It" – 0.58#"Souvenir Souvenir" – 1.28...
- 1997 · MonokiniMonokini (Stereo Total album)Monokini is Stereo Total's second album.- Track listing :#"Ach Ach Liebling" – 1.58#"Lunatique" – 2.13#"Supergirl" – 2.32#"Furore" – 2.53#"Schön Von Hinten" – 2.50#"Dilindam" – 2.36#"Cosmonaute" – 3.02#"Aua" – 2.04...
- 1998 · Juke-Box AlarmJuke-Box Alarm- Track listing :#"Holiday Inn" - 2.33#"Comicstripteasegirl" - 1.41#"Sweet Charlotte" - 1.31#"Touche-Moi" - 2.23#"Crazy Horse" - 2.57#"Supercool" - 3.34#"Les Minets" - 3.34#"Oh Yeah" - 1.24#"Film D'Horreur" - 1.46#"Vertigo" - 2.02...
- 1999 · My MelodyMy Melody (Stereo Total album)My Melody is Stereo Total's fourth album. This album's theme was centered around love. It was released on April 27th, 1999. The second track on the album, "I Love You, Ono" was featured in a 2009 commercial for Dell's Studio 15...
- 2001 · Musique AutomatiqueMusique AutomatiqueMusique Automatique is Stereo Total's fifth album.- Track listing :#Automatic Music 3:18#L'Amour A 3 3:12#Ma Radio 2:23#Wir Tanzen Im 4-Eck 1:59#Les Chansons D'A 3:38#Kleptomane 3:00#Adieu Adieu 3:22#Forever 16 1:43#Je Suis Une Poupée 2:37...
- 2002 · Trésors cachés [Hidden Treasures] [available free on their website]
- 2005 · Do the BambiDo the Bambi- Track listing :#Babystrich - 2.43#Do The Bambi - 3.23#Ich Bin Nackt - 2.39#Cinémania - 2.27#Vive Le Week-End - 2.49#Das Erste Mal - 3.47#La Douce Humanité - 3.23#Les Lapins - 2.23#Hunger! - 2.51#Ne M'Appelle Pas Ta Biche - 1.53#Orange Mécanique - 2.43...
- 2006 · DiscothequeDiscotheque (Stereo Total album)Discotheque is a remix album released by Stereo Total in 2005. It features covers of Motormark's "I hate everybody in the discoteque", the Rolling Stones' "Mother's Little Helper", Velvet Underground's "Stephanie says" with new lyrics by Taxigirl, and Serge Gainsbourgs "Bad News from the...
- 2007 · Paris-BerlinParis-BerlinParisBerlin is Stereo Total's seventh album.- Track listing :#Miss Rébellion Des Hormones - 3.12#Ich Bin Der Stricherjunge - 2.07#Plastic - 2.52#Komplex Mit Dem Sex - 2.45#Lolita Fantôme - 3.21#Küsse Aus Der Hölle Der Musik - 2.26...
- 2009 · No ControlesNo Controles (Stereo Total album)- Track listing :#No Controles#Amo Amor A Tres#Voy A Ser Mamá#Todo El Mundo En La Discoteca#Bailamos En Cuadrado#El Chico De Anoche#Plástico#Más Menos Cero#Bonito Por Atrás#Lolita Fantôme#Holiday Innn#Tócame#Complejo Con El Sexo...
- 2010 · Baby ouh!Baby ouh!Baby ouh is Stereo Total's new album and it will be released on March 26 in Europe and on 4 May 2010 in the USA .- Track listing :# Hello Ladies - 2:19# Alaska - 2:46# Divine's Handbag - 2:27# Andy Warhol - 3:37...
External links
- The Official Website of Stereo Total
- Stereo Total News
- French Page about Stereo Total
- Monokini, Stereo Total Fan Page
- Stereo Total on Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
- Stereo Total in Chaos Control Digizine