Grandbrothers: 12V/3A

Now here's a mysterious release to wrap your ears around. Whether Grandbrothers haven't started their marketing campaign yet or are being elusive and secretive by choice I couldn't tell you. I am told they're looking for a UK promoter, so maybe we'll learn more about them in due course. What we do know is that they hail from Germany and are peddling a bewitching blend of piano and The Books-esque rhythmic playfulness.

Their EP, 12V/3A is available to stream in its entirety on their Bandcamp page, although only the opening track Ezra Was Right can be downloaded. That track on it's own is enough to keep anyone happy for far longer than its not-quite-eight minutes would suggest, but the real stand-out jaw-dropper track is 5gegen1. If you manage to find out anything about this elusive instrumental duo then do let me know, but in the meantime simply take pleasure in their magnificent music.

UPDATE: Further detective work (a.k.a. Googling) has revealed a rather sparse Grandbrothers blog containing several videos showing off the fancy machine that makes their distinct sound possible. While one of them plays the piano regularly, the other uses a series of laptops and home-soldered mechanics to trigger an array of little bolts that hammer down on the innards of the instrument. It's an ingenious mechanism, and knowing how it's done only adds to the wonder of their music.