Photos by Miriam Marlene, find more of her work on Instagram
Faux Real have been around for a minute, starting off a couple of years back performing at a senior center in Brooklyn. This year at South by Southwest, the two brothers proved, unarguably, that they’re meant for absolute, bolo-tie-slinging, fringe-sleeved, perfectly & salaciously choreographed greatness. Brothers Virgile and Elliott Arndt have perfected their performance and have settled into such a singular persona, shared between them, that experiencing them live is truly unlike anything else. Their recent release “United Snakes of America” buzzes with a grungy synth bass & grooves so hard on the chorus, drenched in these Bee-Gees-esque harmonies – even when you listen alone at home it feels like you’re sweating at a party right there with them.
I saw them perform twice this year in Austin and loved every second of it. I asked them a bit about their experience & checked in on what’s next
What’s the best thing that happened at sxsw?
Finding diamonds in the rough floorboards of dirty clubs. Writhing up against old friends and new faces, sweating on the unsuspecting, ranting and raving on baseball pitches and laser-tag arenas, being our very best pretend-ballerinas. Finding our lyrics graffitied on bus stops. Involuntary hunger strikes and heat strokes of genius. Breaking and mending instruments.
What’s the worst thing that happened at sxsw?
Please see above.
Did you find any artists you didn’t know about before?
Llora, at the FreqSystem rave, and MOTHERMARY’s spitting image doom pop, to name just two.
I saw y’all at The Dance a couple years ago and I was with a group of people that just didn’t get it. Maybe they just weren’t ready haha — do you think there’s anything specifically different in the music landscape or general existential landscape that’s aligned for you to click with people now more than ever before?
Kindred spirits often don’t get it. They don’t see the whole circle because they are too close. Sometimes it takes a step back to get the full whack. The show you are referring to was, in their defense, extremely chaotic. We weren’t ready either. RIP The Dance!
Maybe these last two difficult, trying years have made people thirsty for whatever is the polar opposite of a Zoom call. This is what we hope our live shows are like: a meeting that definitely could not have been an email.
Who does the choreo, what inspires it, and how long does it take to nail it?
The choreography comes from a deep spring well of sibling admiration and rivalry, a Manichaean mimicry of age-old themes, Sisyphus’ personal pornography stash, the desire to create something grotesque and glitzy all at once. Our limitations as dancers mean we have to stick to what we think we know. It has taken us 20-odd years to perfect this 40-minute performance.
Seeing Faux Real feels like an immersive experience. Best audience connection during a show?
Thank you. We are very deeply immersed, and we try to bring the audience into The Depth™ with us. We started performing at the LoveJoy Senior Daycare Centre in Brooklyn a couple of years ago, on Saturdays at 11AM before bingo. We’re never as nervous as when we play there.
Do you believe in an afterlife?
We only believe in the afterparty.
Do you think it’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all?
Yes, but it is even better to have loved and not lost. Does the winner not take it all?
What do you love most?
The next question!
Tell me about “United Snakes of America”
This song started out as a disSss track…… But then we turned it into a hisSsS track… It’s a song about the power of love and community through troubled times. It’s a song about snakes getting a bad rap. Or maybe a bad rap about snakes getting a song. Either way it’s a scaly, slithering mindfuck that leaves us gasping for air, fair wages, and the exoneration of innocent reptiles the world over. Fuck the system!
What’s next? What direction do you see your music going?
Full Circle.
More scales, less notes, higher fidelity, lower overheads, further from the center, closer to the heart.
