Our obsession with the conscious and thought-provoking artistry of Fish and Scale seems to grow with every listen. We last featured the artist as he tapped into existential notions with the cinematic and anthemic self-referential single, Tapestry, so naturally, when we heard that he was back with Letter from Paulus, we couldn’t wait to listen and share our experience.
Letter from Paulus opens with a reverberating xylophone tone, and expands with an immersive piano performance as Fish and Scale shares the vulnerable prose, “I could give away my fortune, lay my dream down at your feet, build a tower out of canvas for every sorrow that I meet…”
The opus expands with an orchestral energy as Fish and Scale delivers poetic prowess with metaphorical depth and a high emotional quotient. We appreciate his raw authenticity and philosophical approach to songwriting.
Lyrics like, “But if I don’t know true compassion, I learn nothing at all, if I don’t know the love inside, I have nothing at all…” come from a place of deep spiritual practise and are the words of a self-realized man. For some context, Fish and Scale is also known as artist Roland Wälzlein. Raised in Franconia, in southern Germany, Roland underwent a serious heart operation at the age of just six years old.
This life-changing near death experience stayed with him throughout his life. It has shaped his perspective and inspires the existential themes woven into his lyrics. Letter from Paulus is yet another powerful example of this. Speaking on the release, the artist confesses, “Taking direct inspiration from the Hymn to Love (1 Corinthians 13), the track explores the hollow nature of human achievement when stripped of true compassion.” The message feels zeitgeist and something that society needs to experience now more than ever.
The song comes with a cinematic video by Romin Katzer, which sees Roland Wälzlein‘s face being painted silver and gold as he shares a captivating performance alongside the key instruments, performed by Julia Fischer. We could imagine the song being featured in the closing moments of an episode of the psychedelic TV show Nine Perfect Strangers, or perhaps a film like One Battle After Another.
Needless to say, we continue to be in awe of what Fish and Scale creates, and have added Letter from Paulus to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to stream his exquisite growing discography and cinematic visuals.