NUREMBERG, GERMANY — German independent folk artist Fish And Scale — the project of songwriter and musician Roland Wälzlein — announces the release of his new single, “Letter from Paulus,” available now on all streaming platforms from May 14, 2026. Taking direct inspiration from 1 Corinthians 13 — the Hymn to Love, one of the most enduring and profound pieces of writing in human history — the track is a warm, intricately arranged pop-rock ballad that brings ancient wisdom into soulful, contemporary sound without losing an ounce of its weight.
“Letter from Paulus“ explores the hollow nature of human achievement when stripped of genuine compassion — a theme, as Roland Wälzlein understands better than most, that does not age.
The story behind Fish And Scale is not separate from the music. It is the music.
Growing up in Franconia in southern Germany, Roland survived a serious heart operation at six years old. That early, intimate encounter with mortality has threaded itself through his lyrics ever since — a permanent undercurrent of existential questioning that gives his work a depth and sincerity that cannot be manufactured. Years later, a stay at a silent retreat shifted his understanding of life still further, opening dimensions of experience that have shaped both the themes and the texture of everything he has made since.
The result is an artist who describes his own music as Independent Folk Music with a mystical touch — characterised by an intense, slightly smoky voice (with what reviewers have noted as a Mick Jagger colouring), unusual song structures, and lyrics that consistently reach toward something beyond the personal. Sometimes powerful and passionate, sometimes subtle and soulful. And always, as those who know his work will tell you, a touch different, surprising, and extraordinary.
The gorgeous layers of intricately woven melodies on “Letter from Paulus” are some of the most inspired in a while. Simplicity is the hardest thing to achieve in art, but Roland Wälzlein manages to achieve it with poignant and deliberate melodies that essentially tell a side story next to the poetic lyrics — they give depth and add richness in a way that is second to none.
The source text is about the hollowness of human achievement when stripped of genuine compassion — a theme that doesn’t age. What Wälzlein has done is find a musical register that matches that weight without becoming heavy-handed about it.
“The gorgeous layers of intricately woven melodies are some of the most inspired in a while… Roland Wälzlein manages to achieve simplicity — the hardest thing in art — with poignant and deliberate melodies that give depth and add richness in a way that is second to none.” — Rock Era Magazine
