Following the announcement of their debut collaborative album Split Scale, due out January 24th, acclaimed Berlin composers Brueder Selke & Midori Hirano share aching, minimalist new single “Scale A”. Opening the new album, “Scale A” begins the conversation between the artists, the first step on a “long, colorful staircase” as Hirano describes it. Hirano feels out the space with a minimal, aching piano arpeggio resonating out into the void, with Brueder Selke adding subtle texture and color with washes of smudged cello and synthesizer.
Hirano elaborates on the making of the track: “As this was the very first track I started recording for this album, I tried to keep it simple, with repetitive piano phrases in arpeggios that gradually go up and down. When I listen back to this now, it sounds like it really defines a basic scale that is connected to the concept of the album. Then Sebastian’s cello and Daniel’s subtle synth noise wrapped it up beautifully.” Brueder Selke add: “In order to keep the soundscape tight and organic, we would both play multiple instruments and devices simultaneously.”
Brueder Selke & Midori Hirano’s debut album unites two artists who share both inimitable skill and depth of expression. The group are in-demand composers and instrumentalists, with an expansive ouvre spanning everything from celebrated soundtracks for film and television, contributing to sample packs for fellow travellers like Ólafur Arnalds, and remixing artists including Rival Consoles and Robot Koch. Split Scale touches on many western musicians’ foundational experiences with sound, the equal tempered scale. The album was born of a collective experience and mastery of instrumentation and arranging that manages to convey a dazzling sense of wonder, as if one was playing an instrument for the first time and truly listening.
