Faux Real Are Living On The Edge (of Something)

Orbiting their DIY universe, Virgile and Elliott Arndt’s live show is over the top and light years ahead of its time.

by Julia Dumbrell

Photo by Kristofski

Published on February 5, 2025

Already achieving ‘one to watch’ status with their first full-length release, brothers Virgile and Elliott Arndt – of electronic/dance duo Faux Real – live in the future. They project this future over a video call, wearing black and chrome, together at their studio in Los Angeles. In a week, they’ll fly out to premiere the Faux Real experience from a small theatre in Mexico City. Committed to creating a new world by themselves, this live show has sent them into overdrive.

“It’s going to be the most Faux Real thing ever,” says Virgile. “We’re giving the show a huge upgrade and overhaul. It’s proving to take up an insane amount of life.”

The show is supercharged off the success of Faux Real’s debut LP, Faux Ever, which they released in October. Priding their project on its DIY mentality, the live experience — which is just as sweaty as it is shirtless — ambitiously tries to manifest their music’s alternative, futuristic sound.

“Faux Real exists in a world where parameters aren’t set. So everything becomes mobile, and you can build your own universe,” Elliott elaborates, before Virgile adds “I don’t want to give too much away, but visually, it’s gonna take a step up. Harder, better, faster, stronger, you know?” We want to know.

Catching them in a moment of creativity between tours, they reflect on bringing their DIY universe around the globe. Faux Real has touched down in New Orleans, any live act’s dream stage. In Montréal, a city aligned with their “bilingual mishmash.” And soon, in Vancouver, where the brothers will be visiting what they predict to be “a sort of cold, naturally beautiful LA” for the very first time.

They’ve even taken the project out as far as Gothenburg. In the early days of Faux Real, I’m impressed they’ve got fans out in Sweden, and like recalling a late night from a video call on a Monday, it’s confirmed with awe. “Now we do.”

“We love these unexpected cities where at first you’re like, okay, this is one of those stops. But then they take us by surprise with great music and people,” says Virgile. “Like we’re actually getting flack for not going back to Salt Lake City. Which is flattering.”

It’s in these new settings that Virgile and Elliott became aware of a future we can’t fathom. Even though their music feels psychic, dialled into the sounds of the beyond, they face a void as dark as the rest of us, as they’re unsure what to answer when asked what they think 2025 has in store. Virgile’s best guess: “2003 without the whimsy? Like, extremely depressed steampunk.”

It’s one reason why they feel the need to liven things up with their spandex stage presence and tight harmonies, which falls in line with their fashion prognostications. “Skinny jeans will make a huge comeback,” says Virgile. “Uncomfortable, but you know, fashion dictates.”

About to fly south for a dress rehearsal from Mexico City’s Teatro Lucido, the Arndt brothers certainly couldn’t have imagined their present performances.

“At the very start of our project, we didn’t have any music released, and people didn’t know what to expect from the show,” says Elliott. “So the elements were ever changing and evolving. We try to stay true to that.”

Faux Real fans may not know what the future holds, between the secret surprises of the Arndt brothers’ tireless efforts in preparation for their live show, the cities where they’ll resonate, or the ahead-of-its-time payoff of circulation-numbing jeans. According to Elliott, this is the very essence of this electronic dance project.

“When we’re living on the edge and not too comfortable, that’s when good, interesting things happen. You know?”

If you want to know, catch Faux Real on the dancefloor at The Waldorf (Vancouver) on Feb. 20, The Baby G (Toronto) on Feb. 26 or Cabaret Fouf (Montreal) on Feb. 27.