New music video from Fish and Scale

Fish and Scale, the artistic banner of Roland Wälzlein, operates in the overlap where personal history and sonic exploration feel inseparable. Hailing from Franconia in the south of Germany, as a child, he underwent a serious heart operation at just six years old, a moment that stayed with him and continues to shape the emotional context of his musical vision to this day. That early confrontation with life and fragility runs ripples throughout everything he creates, surfacing in lyrics that often circle existential questions without necessarily offering resolution.

Since first introducing his sound with the 2012 debut album Straight Ahead, Fish and Scale has built a catalogue that stretches across singles, EPs and a sophomore full-length release. Over time, that output has drawn a growing audience, reaching listeners across different spaces and attracting attention from figures including journalist and Emmy Award winner Michele Gillen, actor Chas Burns and film director Lana Read.

Still, the expansion of his audience hasn’t shifted the internal focus of his work and his music remains tethered to something profoundly personal, informed by the need to process experience. A key shift in his perspective came through his first experience of a silent retreat; that period of stillness altered his understanding of life in a way that continues to echo through his work. It introduced a different kind of awareness that seems to affect the pacing and atmosphere of his music, allowing space for reflection rather than filling every moment with sound.

This balance between intensity and restraint has become part of what defines his approach and his latest single titled “Tapestry” brings these elements into sharper focus. The track centres on the childhood experience that’s long sat at the edges of his work, revisiting the memory of open-heart surgery but instead of presenting the event in a linear way, the song moves through fragments of feeling, contrasting the sterile environment of the hospital with moments of surreal, almost fragile hope.

Framed in his unique alternative folk sound, the track arrives with emotive vocals and soft piano backing, forming a moving soundscape that flows with poignant lyricism and memorable melodic writing. Developing with strummed guitar chords and rising intensity in his voice, the song swells with pattering percussion and surging instrumental energy to cast a gripping slice of cinematic folk pop music.

Reaching an epic crescendo, the song simmers down to a tender finale, bringing the arrangement full circle with his heartfelt voice hovering above gentle piano. Paired with the single is a music video by Romin Katzer which features Fish and Scale performing the song, bathed in soft light to bring the song alive on screen in a truly engaging fashion. Marking his return after a hiatus from sharing his sound, with “Tapestry,” Fish and Scale resumes his exciting musical adventure and opens a thrilling new chapter in his story.

Watch the music video for Tapestry below

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