Grandbrothers

Grandbrothers play an inventive fusion of modern classical and electronic music, producing highly rhythmic and harmonic material using a grand piano equipped with electromagnetic hammers. They issued their full-length debut, Dilation, in 2015, and went in a more dance-influenced direction with subsequent releases like 2021′s All the Unknown. The more atmospheric Late Reflections (2023) was recorded in the Cologne Cathedral. Erol Sarp and Lukas Vogel met at university in Düsseldorf, Germany, and it was there that they began to hone and combine their talents to form Grandbrothers. Sarp had trained as a jazz pianist, and Vogel constructed synthesizers at Access Music. The pair used their respective talents to fuse classical composition with modern production techniques. They applied this practice to their delicately wrought first single, “Ezra Was Right,” and it benefitted from the support of radio DJ Gilles Peterson, who played the track extensively on his show. In 2015, the duo released their debut full-length album on the Film label. Dilation was a confluence of techno, ambient music, minimalism, and IDM, which they achieved through an unusual technique. The album was based around piano played through a self-invented system of electro-mechanical hammers, which resulted in a fresh and original sound. The band went on to sign to the independent label City Slang, which released their follow-up LP. Open appeared in 2017 and built on the sweeping sound they had created on their debut. The record was preceded by the single “Bloodflow,” which was remixed by producers such as Lone and Brainwaltzera. Grandbrothers’ third album, All the Unknown, appeared in 2021, emphasizing the dance elements of their sound. The duo contributed an interpretation of “Gnossienne No. 1” to Fragments, a 2022 collection of reworks of Erik Satie pieces. The same year, the pair performed a concert at the 700-year-old Cologne Cathedral, playing music specifically designed for the building’s vast size and acoustics. Late Reflections, recorded at the cathedral prior to the concert, was released in 2023. ~ Bekki Bemrose & Paul Simpson