Grandbrothers - Naive Rider

Excellent musicianship combined with technical wizardry draws some unusual sounds out of a grand piano.

Grandbrothers are so named because their two members – Erol Sarp and Lukas Vogel, brothers-in-arms rather than actual brothers – use a grand piano as a primary instrument.

Something that you might not expect from Grandbrothers is that every track on their debut album 'Dilation' comes from that piano. So even though Naive Rider sounds like a meld of keys, synthesizers, beats, FX, and other textures, it actually all comes from the one instrument.

So it goes, Lukas – a bit of a technical wiz – developed a system of electromechanical hammers that could be controlled via laptop and which would 'play' the piano, allowing the duo to discover new and previously unheard, unknown sounds. These were then manipulated, looped, amplified, re-cut, or slathered with effects to create something at once traditional yet also forward-thinking.

None of this, of course, should overshadow the real heart of Naive Rider, which is the incredible musicianship on display. It's a sweeping, expressive piece of music.

Grandbrothers 'Dilation' tracklist:

01. Prologue
02. Wuppertal
03. Naive Rider
04. Arctica
05. Rotor
06. Ezra Was Right
07. Studio 5 2496
08. Newton's Cradle
09. 5gegen1
10. Neon
11. Start From Innocence
12. Ghost Clock