"The Match" – between grand piano, double bass, and electronics!
Johanna Borchert: piano, vocals, synths
Miles Perkin: double bass, vocals, percussion, electronics
The English word "match" has many meanings. It can convey a feeling of compatibility and connection. Or it can imply a challenge, a competition, or a conflict. This contradiction forms the basis for this new duo formation between Copenhagen-based pianist
Johanna Borchert and Berlin-based double bassist
Miles Perkin.
Two instrumentalists. Two voices. Two compatible sound worlds combine to form a far-reaching network of musical points of contact. With their respective instruments, the duo brings in an extensive, otherworldly sound vocabulary, using preparations and extended techniques and incorporating influences from jazz, new music composition, and long-form improvisation. As singers, they combine these elements with the craft of songwriting and influences from pop music to create long arcs that move between abstract, multi-layered soundscapes, simple songs, edgy rhythmic outbursts, quiet soundscapes, and everything in between. This makes for a captivating and moving listening experience where it's impossible to predict what's coming next. Voices and sounds weave together to create a unique musical world that's greater than the sum of its parts.
While the process of their music production is based on these points of connection, the songs revolve around the challenges and conflicts embedded in everyday life: doubt, fear, mistrust of those around you, your partner, yourself, and the chaos of life in a turbulent time when every day feels not just like a "game," but like a game against a formidable opponent for which you are unprepared. This can be so overwhelming that sometimes you just want to light a match and burn everything down. Their music serves as a refuge from these tensions. It is a place where edges soften, expectations become more flexible, definitions blur, and you can find a place of peace, refuge, and hope.
The Match' s debut album was recorded in June 2024 and will be released in February 2026 on Enja/Yellowbird Records.Â
