There’s magic in Fish And Scale’s music. Something mystical and powerful. Something that touches your forehead gently, but immediately stirs an epiphany. “Stay!” is a song of magic, but in truth, the song is naked compared to the ones that are lusciously dressed and heavily layered. Fish And Scale, in its unfiltered voice, open an honest dialogue with the inner self. Underneath his modest words, finger-picked guitars flow through gently.

There’s nothing very special about it, if you look at the surface. In fact, at first, you’d find it too simple. But when the music starts, the camera focuses on Fish And Scale, aka Roland Wälzlein, and there’s that moment when he gazes into the camera, the stripped-down transparency and nakedness in his eyes just shock you, and that’s exactly what it feels like listening to his music.

It’s an honesty that is hard to explain, but with Fish And Scale, you’d let him peel off the pretense layer by layer. There’s a profound trust between the listener and the singer, and it doesn’t come easily. It hardly ever happens. But you’d let him shake you up, give you goosebumps, draw your soul back into the moment. And his words, intense as they are humble, is nourishing as water to fish, and sharp like a sword. “Stay!” does something to you. In its humble escalation toward the catharsis, a tearful epiphany is at its climax. With songs like “Stay!,” you walk away feeling whole.

Read our interview with Wälzlein where we talk about his music journey.

Punk Head: I love the richness of your song and how it speaks to the audience with authenticity. Is there a specific real-life event that inspired "Stay!"?

Fish And Scale: All my songs are “autobiographical.” I write about the things I experience in me. “Stay!” is about a dialogue between the mind and an all-knowing inner entity. We are all connected inside this infinitely wise version of ourselves.

PH: What do you like the best about this track?

Fish And Scale: When I listen to this song I always get goosebumps :-) Especially at the end when it comes to a final peak.

PH: What was your favorite moment in making the music video?

Fish And Scale: I did the video with a good friend of mine. we shot the movie in his recording studio. His little kid was sometimes with us, it was fun.

PH: Can you tell us more about you as an artist?

Fish And Scale: I grew up in Franconia (a southern part of Germany). As a six-year-old child, I survived a serious heart operation. This life-and-death experience stayed with me all my life. Existential questions are reflected throughout my lyrics. A turning point was my first stay in a “silent retreat”, which completely changed my understanding of life. „Stay!“ is also inspired by that.

PH: What is the one thing that you’d like your fans to know about you?

Fish And Scale: I thank all the people who listen to my music and are inspired and touched by it