Scala & Kolacny Brothers -- "I Touch Myself" (2002)

You're the one who makes me feel happy
You're the sun who makes me shine
When you're around I'm always laughing
I want to make you mine

Scala & Kolacny Brothers is a Belgian girls' choir.  The Kolacny brothers are Stijn, the conductor of the choir, and Steven, who accompanies them on piano.

The brothers started the choir in 1996, with just 18 singers.  Currently, Scala consists of more than 200 young women (or girls) between the ages of 16 and 26.  While Scala initially performed classical choir music, it became famous when it became a "rock choir," performing pop and rock hits in traditional choral arrangements.

Here's a link to their website.

Scala has issued several studio CDs.  The first, titled On the Rocks, was released in 2002 and included versions of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Nirvana), "Every Breath You Take" (the Police), and "Creep" (Radiohead).  Their recording of "Creep" was used in the trailer for The Social Network.  It is a stunning performance, and it makes the trailer pretty stunning, too.  

They've subsequently recorded songs by Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Kings of Leon, Metallica, Peter Gabriel, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2, and a host of European recording artists I've never heard of.  They are very good singers.  

To hear a girls' choir sing this kind of music is a somewhat unnerving experience, but they are irresistible.  Their performances reveal so much about these songs.

I don't know whose idea it was to have them record "I Touch Myself."  Maybe the Kolacny boys have a very twisted sense of humor, or maybe they don't quite get the song.  They're lucky they live in a relatively enlightened country -- I hate to think what would have happened to them in a country like Saudi Arabia or Iran.

Here's Scala performing "I Touch Myself":