Francesca Tay
It would be hard to justify their music as in vogue, but the two brothers of Brooklyn-based duo French Horn Rebellion certainly has a good sense of how to use a French Horn, a very unconventional orchestra instrument you would least expect in a club.
Often compared to bands such as MGMT due to their similar sounds, including production credits on the ubiquitous ‘Time to Pretend’, French Horn Rebellion, made up of brothers Robert and David Perlick-Molinari, treats their music as a passion project and aims to “spread the love with gigs after gigs around the world”.
And their love descended upon our shores at the Velvet Underground in Zouk on 31 March.
The 100-strong crowd comprising cosmopolitan young adults slowly streamed into the venue, and grooved along to Mei from indie-electronic single-member group The Analog Girl, the opening act of the night.
I was expecting a laid back night while enjoying the synthetic dance-pop tunes by French Horn Rebellion but boy I was pleasantly surprised the moment they came on stage.
The duo began the show at about 9pm playing the euphoric sounds of ‘What I Want’ and driving the impatient crowd wild by cooing repetitively of their desires, “we can tell it’s not enough, just bring it back to what I want”. The synthetic pop music of French Horn Rebellion combined with a rainbow spectrum of ultraviolet lights in the background provided an electrifying atmosphere.
At one point, the unabashed crowd clamoured around younger brother Robert Perlick-Molinari when he stepped off the stage for a more intimate performance during performances of hits ‘Up All Night’, ‘Last Summer’, ‘Broken Heart’ and their remix of Two Door Cinema Club’s ‘I Can Talk’, the latter a funky arrangement that left the crowd lusting for more.
And once in a while, Robert lifted up his French horn in pride and glory, teasing the crowd to reach out for his signature instrument.
Thereafter, Robert of the duo picked up his French horn and played a short solo of classical symphonic music, ending cheekily in what seemed like gibberish, resulting in a playful and mock bashing by older brother David. The crowd cheered as Robert lied flat on the stage, straddled by his older brother, yet still holding firmly to his beloved instrument.
The entire set lasted a mere 60 minutes , a tad too short and way too early for most of the fans, in comparison to the brothers’ performance in Madrid and Barcelona where the party didn’t start till 3am. You could see the hesitation of the already blithesome duo as they left the stage during the call for an encore, which made most fans cry out even louder.
The brothers, who seemingly felt overwhelmed by the enthusiastic crowd took to the stage once again, playing one of their debut singles, ‘Beaches & Friends’, ending the night with a bang.
But the short-lived night didn’t end there. The exhausted but intoxicated duo was spotted interacting with fans while enjoying a cold beer outside the club, which was a nice and friendly gesture.
And somewhere, I spotted the brothers holding onto their French horns too.
Acknowledgements to Lumina Live!, the organiser of the French Horn Rebellion concert.
Photos: Carissa Abidin, HYPE magazine