The listening experience behind ‘Tapestry’ is incredibly peculiar and layered. A true work of art, the song emerges from the rich lyrical imagery and painful personal experience of German troubadour Fish and Scale. Known by day as Roland Wälzlein, the talented storyteller champions a wholesome and rather theatrical brand of folk music. It’s all delivered with heightened pathos and evocative allure, also featuring a certain urgency and intensity. We’d go as far as say that ‘Tapestry’ borders rock music, and that there’s a multi-genre tension in it.
That said, Fish and Scale does a good job on it. Thanks to his wholesome and heartfelt vocal tone, part gritty and part deep, Wälzlein is able to connect with listeners on a cathartic level, unfurling a particularly tragic experience he endured at six years old. Originally from Franconia, Roland underwent and survived major heart surgery, something that he recalls today with unmatched trepidation and honesty.
Delving deeper into such a striking experience, “the song captures the oppressive feeling of helplessness before life-altering heart surgery; the sterile cold of the clinic and raw fear”, as we are told. Plucking very precise imagery from that faithful day, Fish and Scale take listeners with him as he tries to process a complicated chapter from his past. The accompanying music video translates it all into an artsy visual trip.
Recommended! Discover ‘Tapestry’ now: