French Horn Rebellion: Brothers, Lifelong Collaborators
WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN: When brothers David and Robert Perlick Molinari were kids in Milwaukee, piano and French horn lessons opened the doors on a world of undiscovered sound. “I realized when I was 6 years old that I didn’t have to play what was on the sheet, I could write my own music,” says David. “Everything I’ve learned since then and all the technology, has aided in that exploration of what I could do to make things sound the way I want to hear them.”
Robert and David Perlick Molinari of French Horn Rebellion, on one of their many sonic quests
As kids, the brothers began experimenting with MIDI programming on their Apple 2GS and Notator Logic. Computers and production became a permanent part of their songwriting process. Now living in Williamsburg, the Perlick Molinari’s front French Horn Rebellion (FHR), a dance-party-starting synth-pop duo who’ve been producing music, touring and remixing relentlessly in ’09.
We caught up with FHR on the eve of their UK tour. They’d just released the Beaches and Friends EP in collaboration with Brazilian cohorts Database, remixed a track for Kitsune Records, and were beginning a remix of a new Tigercity track “Ancient Lover.”
How do you guys tend to work on music? You both play and produce, so where does it start?
David: Robert will usually start the track, or the remix. I think because he’s younger and has less production experience, he gets less hung up on different elements of the creative process. He’s just able to dive into this visceral, almost subconscious thing.To me, that’s what the creative process is all about — getting in touch with your subconscious self, try to ride those waves and be able to blend it with the knowledge and experience you’ve gained in your life.
Robert’s able to just put material down and it’s really good, but it’s often pretty raw and needs to be developed. So I’ll work on it from there and we’ll go back and forth. When we’re remixing, he’ll also start it and then when he’s exhausted his idea, he’ll pass it off, and I’ll arrange and re-arrange, produce the idea from there.
What about your dynamic makes you such good creative partners?
David: We’re both producers and work in Logic, and we both play and sing, so that’s all key, but I think even more so, the difference in age and experience is what really helps us balance each other out. I think balance is the most important part of the creative process because that’s how you’re able to make something that hits on all these different levels. Robert will see something big, have a great big concept, but maybe not necessarily have it in him to fully get there. Like, we did a remix of Magic Magic’s song “Sleepy Lion” and Robert came up with this concept that got us started.
Robert: I thought of that part in Lion King when Simba’s roaring at the top of that rock, and I thought it’d be cool to do a Roaring Lion remix of “Sleepy Lion.” I wanted to tell the story of his journey to the top of the rock. Most of our remixes start out with a concept or an idea. And usually, if there isn’t one, the remix isn’t as good. We’ve found we need to have a story.
How do you get your remix projects?
Robert: We have a remixing agent. But, we just did a remix for Kitsune and that came through our publishers in the UK (Once Upon a Time Publishing). They’d approached Kitsune about our track “Up All Night,” and the label wanted to release it on their next compilation. Then they asked us to remix a song, called “I Can’t Talk,” by one of their new artists. Most of our remixes simply come to us through our friends.
So, how do you actually collaborate on these projects? You both use Logic? Is there one that does beats, where the other does lyrics, vocals, etc…?
David: We both do everything. We have the same basic skill-set with different strengths and weaknesses. The best way for us to throw sessions back and forth is by using the same program, same plug-ins, etc. So we have mirror systems of Logic. Basically once we have all the audio files on each other’s systems, we don’t have to throw audio files back and forth unless we record something new. We can just attach the session file in an email with notes on what’s been updated.
And, how did the collaboration with Database come about?
David: Robert’s DJ friend, Chris Molina, turned us onto this whole electro-disco niche, which was really in-line with what we were already doing and inspired us to keep doing it, keep experimenting. One of the tracks he played for us was by Database.
Robert: It was Database’s remix of The BPA ToeJam, featuring Dizzee Rascal. We loved how clever it was, all the fake-outs, it’s not like other music; this track takes you on a journey. It plays with your expectations about where you’re going and what you’re doing. The rhythms, harmonies, melody…the way he messes with the different elements.
David: We decided to put out a single. We’d had a record out that was more rock-oriented, but we’d moved away from that, and wanted to introduce ourselves fresh, without complicating things by producing a whole record. So, we released our song “Up All Night,” and sent it out to people we liked through Myspace, including Database, to see if anyone would remix it. Database was into it, and did a remix.
And now you’ve collaborated with Database on your latest EP as well?
Beaches and Friends EP
Robert: Database had this track called “Beaches & Friends,” and they thought we should work on it together. They’d remixed our track, and now we were going to work on their track. But then it turned into a bigger collaboration.
David: They sent us splits of this track they were working on, and we messed with them. Not so much in a remix style, more like we were producing and adding to it. We came up with the verse and chorus, we sang lyrics, and put that over their beat. They liked it. So we went even further with it and started to warp what they were doing even more. The track just became something else entirely through this process. After we were done, we sent them the splits of our track and they took those splits and did something completely new from that.
So your remixes and their remixes became the Beaches & Friends EP?
Robert: Well, it’s kind of mysterious because the actual song, “Beaches and Friends” isn’t on the EP. The EP is four remixes of a song that doesn’t exist. I think of it like the concept behind Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, which instead of being variations on a theme, is variations on an enigma; there is no theme.We encourage people to buy the whole EP because it really does all belong together. Plus, there’s a bonus track that’s like the coda.
David: The bonus track is an idea from our new record we’re working on. The whole EP is supposed to provide a segue from the old “Up All Night” and “Broken Heart” sound into the newer material.
So, outside of French Horn Rebellion, David, you also do scoring and sound design? And you produced MGMT’s Time to Pretend EP? How did you get started in producing and scoring?
David: I’ve been making music for TV, film, commercials and a variety of other creative outlets as well as producing records for years through my company, YouTooCanWoo whose website right now is in sad state of neglect because of all the recent French Horn Rebellion work. This is the company where I do all my independent production. When I decided I really wanted to pursue my childhood passion and do creative jobs as my career, I was very curious as to how to make it something that would be able to support me. I did loads and loads of work and attempted to solve this question.
During this grand adventure my friend Will Griggs was inspired by a band called “the management” and thought I would be good to collaborate with for their debut EP. Will really wanted to help them out so he formed this new indie label, Cantora Records, to release what we were working on. After the success of that EP they were able to release other music — including this other band I’m involved with called Savoir Adore. They have a brand-new record In the Wooded Forest that is Cantora’s first album they’ve ever put out.
Through all these projects I’ve been able to get closer at cracking the code on how to make doing creative projects work as a career. And now, Deidre and Paul, of Savoir Adore, Jorge of Violens (another Cantora band), Robert, and a childhood friend of mine Zach Meyer form the core of the creative team for Youtoocanwoo projects.
Sounds like between French Horn Rebellion, your remix projects, production, you guys are finding a variety of ways to get out there?
David: We’re constantly looking for new, inspiring opportunities. And we’re always working on things that may not seem to have any logical connection to one another. But we’ve found that someone will hear or see something we do, and then the next opportunity comes. You have to be a little reckless about it. You have to have that fever. If everything’s too calculated, you’ll waste too much time and set yourself up for disaster.
It’s the same thing with the creative process: you have to first be right brain, just get those ideas out there, not try to filter it. And then the filters come in later. You just go and go, and try as hard as you can, do work you believe in…and then good things happen. And it’s only because you’re constantly saying keep going, not enough, not enough, etc.