2012 has started at the same amazing pace as 2011 for Scala & Kolacny Brothers, with a tour of Northern Spain, dates in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Ireland, an upcoming trip to Korea as well as TV appearances at ITV's Dancing On Ice (UK) and at the famous San Remo Festival... But 2011 was the breakout year for Scala & Kolacny Brothers as they conquered the United States and Canada with a major tour, in support of their first North American CD release, including headlining stages at SXSW and Coachella. This success was immediately followed by a first record release in the U.K., a sold out show at London's Union Chapel in June and a triumphant “special guest” performance at the Latitude Festival, where they played the prestigious Sunday noon slot. In June the group headlined at the Heineken Dia De La Musica in Madrid, in November the album ‘Scala & Kolacny Brothers’ was released in Italy, where it immediately hit the top 10 (!) and in December the group returned to 4 sold out shows in Berlin, as well as a Radio Eins very special-alternative-Christmas-songs special. 2011 has brought Scala & Kolacny Brothers the status of international phenomenon and it all seemed to start with a simple email.
When the email arrived in May 2010, the Kolacny brothers thought it was some kind of joke. “Yeah”, the brothers thought, “right.” But the request was genuine. And the film turned out to be The Social Network. It transpired that the director, David Fincher, is a huge fan.
The song in question is a hauntingly beautiful acoustic reworking of Radiohead¹s Creep. In July 2010, two months after the brothers received the email, the Social Network trailer was released. The powerful music was center stage, heightening a growing sense of unease like a chorus of fallen angels.
Like the film itself, the trailer has been a huge global hit more than 250m people have seen in the Cinema, on TV or online. Thanks in part to the subsequent buzz on social media, traffic to the brothers’ website went through the roof: their interpretation of Creep is an internet phenomenon, watched in various forms well over 25m times.
A record-label bidding war erupted in America but the brothers chose to sign with Atco, a subsidiary of Warner, with whom they had been negotiating. They released an eponymous album in in the US in March in the US and in the UK and most of the rest of Europe - 6 June 2011 (on Wall Of Sound). Italy followed in November of this year and the album was re-released in December in the UK, with two additional titles. In 2011 Scala & Kolacny Brothers also released 2 acclaimed video clips, for their versions of Use Somebody (directed by Inti Calfat) and Everlong (directed by Mark Woollen, who also directed the The Social Network trailer).
In September Scala & Kolacny Brother’s version of U2’s With Or Without You, was featured in the trailer for Season 2 of the British hit drama series Downton Abbey (broadcast in the USA on PBS where Scala & Kolacny Brothers also have their new special ‘Live From Bruges’ airing from December). And in December Scala’s version of Last Christmas was used in the trailer for the Downton Abbey Christmas special, while the group performed at Downton Abbey’s VIP Christmas special launch party in London.
But even with numerous TV shows (including 'the Simpsons'!) using Scala & Kolacny Brother’s music in 2011, it was the Social Network trailer which shone a spotlight on the unique musical project that is Scala & Kolacny Brothers an indie-rock choir, comprising of the two Kolacny brothers, Steven and Stijn, and Scala, their all-girl choir. Steven plays the piano, Stijn conducts the choir. The brothers usually work with 20-30 singers, aged 16-26, at a time, but these days have more than 200 girls on their books, ensuring plenty of cover for their increasingly busy schedule.
Scala & Kolacny Brothers take rock and indie songs and reinvent them as elegiac hymns to breathtaking effect with the piano often the sole accompaniment to the voices. On occasion they also use drum machines, sequencers and synthesizers, and also often perform with a full rock band.
The new album includes versions of Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana), Champagne Supernova (Oasis), With or Without You (U2), Use Somebody (Kings of Leon), Everlong (Foo Fighters) and more. Creep also features, as do three original compositions Seashell, Masquerade and Our Last Fight.
Rock and indie music works best because “the beating heart of the songs is often very black and very emotional, and the female voices of the choir add a certain melancholic touch”, says Stijn. “Sometimes they bring out whole new dimensions in the songs our version of Nothing Else Matters could be
classical music; its sound is nothing to do with Metallica anymore.” Other influences range from Sigur Ros to Nirvana and include the dark electro-pop of Goldfrapp and Depeche Mode, and the brooding mini-symphonies of Massive Attack.
I Touch Myself
Scala & Kolacny Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I feel down I want you above me
I search myself I want you to find me
I forget myself I want you to remind me
I don't want anybody else
When I think about you I touch myself
Ooh I don't want anybody else Oh no, oh no, oh no
You're the one who makes me come runnin
You're the sun who makes me shine
When you're around I'm always laughin
I want to make you mine
I close my eyes and see you before me
Think I would die if you were to ignore me
A fool could see just how much I adore you
I'd get down on my knees I'd do anything for you
I love myself I want you to love me
When I feel down I want you above me
I search myself I want you to find me
I forget myself I want you to remind me
I want you,
I don't want anybody else and
When I think about you I touch myself
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ah ah ah ah oh ah
I don't want anybody else
And when I think about you I touch myself
Ooh, ooh, oo, oo. ahh
I don't want anybody else
When I think about you I touch myself
Ooh I don't want anybody else
Oh no, oh no, oh no
The song “I Touch Myself” by Scala & Kolacny Brothers seems to be a love song that is addressed to a person whom the singer loves deeply. The lyrics reveal the singer's intense love and desire for the object of her affection. The first verse shows the singer's self-love and her desire for reciprocal love from her beloved. She wants to feel that her partner is always there for her, especially when she feels low. She also wants her partner to find her when she loses herself and remind her of who she is.
The chorus makes it clear that the singer's love is only for one person and she doesn't want anybody else. The second verse expresses the singer's deep passion for her beloved. Her partner is the source of her happiness, and she wants to make her beloved hers. She imagines her partner before her eyes even when her eyes are closed. The third verse reveals that the singer is willing to do anything for her partner, even though it might make her look foolish.
Overall, the song shows a deep and intense love from one person to another. The singer's desire for an equally passionate and dedicated love is evident from the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
I love myself I want you to love me
I value myself and my own worth, but I also desire for you to value me and love me just as I am.
When I feel down I want you above me
During times of sadness or despair, I crave your comfort and support to lift me up and help me persevere.
I search myself I want you to find me
I'm exploring who I am as a person and trying to understand myself better, and I hope that you can see and appreciate me for who I truly am too.
I forget myself I want you to remind me
I sometimes lose sight of who I am or what I want, but I trust you to help guide me back on the right path and remind me of what's truly important in life.
I don't want anybody else
When I think about you I touch myself
Ooh I don't want anybody else Oh no, oh no, oh no
I don't desire anyone else's love or attention but yours; the mere thought of you makes my heart race and my body respond in a physical way that only you can satisfy.
You're the one who makes me come runnin
You're the sun who makes me shine
When you're around I'm always laughin
I want to make you mine
You bring joy and light into my world, and just being near you fills me with happiness and laughter; I long to have you as my own so I can bask in your love and warmth.
I close my eyes and see you before me
Think I would die if you were to ignore me
A fool could see just how much I adore you
I'd get down on my knees I'd do anything for you
I envision you in my mind constantly and the thought of you turning away from me is too painful to bear; I am head over heels in love with you and would do anything to prove my devotion and win your heart.
I want you,
I don't want anybody else and
When I think about you I touch myself
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ah ah ah ah oh ah
Above all else, it's you that I crave, and only you can satisfy the desire that burns within me whenever I think of you.
I don't want anybody else
And when I think about you I touch myself
Ooh, ooh, oo, oo. ahh
My feelings for you are so intense that I don't even have eyes for anyone else, and just the thought of you can send me into a dizzying, passionate frenzy.
I don't want anybody else
When I think about you I touch myself
Ooh I don't want anybody else
Oh no, oh no, oh no
All I want is you, and nobody else can compare to the way you make me feel when I think of you.
Contributed by Emma N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.