Having completed his studies in classical piano, Sarp met Vogel, who was experimenting with his own keyed instruments, as he was immersing himself in Steve Reich’s work. Their duo grew out of the simple idea of connecting the piano’s hammers with Vogel’s cache of instruments. John Cage’s famed quip became their motto: “I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.”
With the 2017 Open, the Düsseldorf duo made the album that finally set them apart from the multitude of new neoclassical productions. The formula of Grandbrother’s chemistry, the harmony between the sweeping electronic soundscapes and the ringing melodies of the piano, is as playful and captivating as it is unassumingly fragile.
Meet the greatest European promises of a contemporary classical sound that overlaps with the outer reaches of electronica.
