We last featured Fish and Scale for blending spiritual introspection with cinematic grandeur on his single, Letter from Paulus, so when we heard that the visionary artist was back with Holy Man, we couldn’t wait to listen and share our experience.

Holy Man opens with an intricate piano expression, sonically designed to evoke the sound of an organ with a high spiritual quotient as Fish and Scale taps into a more introspective and vulnerable nature with the prose, “Holy Man tell me what’s going on in this world, do you know why I feel so alone? Explain to me, is there a God above, and can he fill the void in my heart?”

Fans of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen will immediately be able to connect with Fish and Scale‘s timbre on Holy Man, and the deep emotive core that manifests. The poetic prowess is absolutely captivating, and the wisdom that Fish and Scale continues to share with his art is moving and philosophically profound.

In essence, Holy Man is about the search for inner peace, faith and self-discovery. The song is poignantly framed as a conversation between the conscious mind and a wiser inner presence. It suggests that guidance and freedom come not from external sources, but from connecting with the deepest, most authentic part of ourselves.

As a reminder, Fish And Scale is the project of German singer-songwriter Roland Wälzlein. We learn that the track was recorded live in his studio to preserve its natural, emotional atmosphere, and as with all of his artistry, Holy Man comes from personal experience. Fish and Scale survived major heart surgery as a child and later experienced a life-changing silent retreat, which inspired his own spiritual journey to explore life’s deeper questions.

We always love the raw authenticity that transmutes with Fish and Scale‘s songs and have added Holy Man to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to stream the exquisite, wider discography of Fish and Scale, and anticipate future releases.

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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.

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The last time we featured Fish and Scale was when he shared his expansive wisdom on the charming and connected single, Stay!. When we heard that the conscious artist was back with Tapestry, we were curious, and couldn’t wait to immerse ourselves in his sonic universe once again.

Tapestry opens with a cinematic acoustic guitar performance, and brooding vocals as Fish and Scale sings, “Sometimes when the rain falls into my heart, and fragments of the past covering up my mind, long corridors, tall men, white robes, clean and glaring, in the air, a smell of fear… I was longing for you…”

We deeply connect with the raw authenticity of the song, and there is no doubt that Tapestry would be perfect for a multitude of sync placements, notably a coming-of-age movie like Marty Supreme, Awake, or The English Surgeon. The build of the track is sublime, tapping into iconic 80s notions with emotive piano and a stripped-back energy with textured drums, allowing Fish and Scale‘s soul and voice to shine.

Essentially, Tapestry serves as a deeply emotional reflection on trauma, memory and longing for connection. The imagery of “long corridors,” “white robes,” and “a smell of fear” suggests a hospital setting, which we learn is about Fish and Scale‘s lived experience with open-heart surgery.

Fans of Mick Jagger, Bon Iver and Ben Howard will be able to connect with the soundscape and Fish and Scale‘s sublime timbre. We appreciate the journey from disillusionment to hope and the existential theme that runs throughout this song, and in fact, Fish and Scale‘s wider discography.

The visionary artist, also known as Roland Wälzlein, is known for his emotionally authentic music that fuses powerful intensity with a soulful expression. Growing up in Franconia, he survived a life-threatening heart operation at the age six. This was an experience that deeply shaped his perspective and continues to influence his lyrics.

We continue to be in awe of Fish and Scale, and have added Tapestry to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we watch the stunning accompanying visual for the song by Romin Katzer, and stream Fish and Scale‘s exquisite growing discography, including the entirety of his album, You Can Call Me Love.

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Setting the tone with an emotive cello, fused with the soundscape of rippling water, Fish And Scale‘s new single “Rumi says” has the intention to remind us of truth; “a truth that blossoms in your silence.”

As we go through a collective consciousness expansion, it is more than inspiring to experience artists like Fish and Scale, who create with the intention to help us choose love and heal.

The song opens with the lyrics, “Rumi says what you seek is seeking you, I see my beauty in you”, followed by “Rumi says look inside yourself, everything is inside of you”.

Elegant guitar comes in after the opening words of wisdom from Fish and Scale, and we love the textures used in the track that are super meditative, including the bell detail.

“Whatever you are, whatever you do, be in love, be in love”, “everything in the whole universe is inside of you”, the artist continues in this almost six minute epic masterpiece to raise the vibrational frequency of the planet.

The video is an intimate portait of the artist, moving slowly, a meditative opus. The mystical sounds and the lyrics inspired by Rumi’s poetry guide us to go inward and manifest peace.

“Musical authenticity that opens the heart” is what distinguishes the artist Fish and Scale aka Roland Wälzlein. He loves to touch people deeply with his music.

Roland Wälzlein describes his music as Independent Folk Music with a mystical touch, and that totally makes sense to us.

As we immerse ourselves in the conscious artistry of Fish And Scale, a deeper dimension of music comes into play, which roots in the mystical secret of life.

Growing up in Franconia (a south part of Germany), as a six-year-old child Roland survived a serious heart operation. This life and death experience stayed with him all his life. Existential questions are reflected throughout his lyricism. A turning point was his first stay in a “silent retreat”, which completely changed his understanding of life.

We have been listening to Fish and Scale’s album, You Can Call Me Love, designed to amplify love energy and we couldn’t be more grateful that an artist like this exists!

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