“A few years ago, a friend of mine tried to take her own life. I had a bad gut feeling that night. The next day, another mutual friend called me and said she also felt something was wrong. We called the ambulance, who broke down the door of her flat and found her lifeless with foam at the mouth. She was admitted to the intensive care unit for a long time and her chances of survival were 50/50. The doctors didn’t have much hope. Brain damage was very likely. I wrote “Grace” in the days of her coma – I saw myself at her funeral. I saw her spirit hovering over the mourners – and yet with a smile on her face. The grace of her spirit, pride – sublime and at peace…this title is dedicated to that spirit, that soul.” Johann Paetzold (Secret of Elements)

“Grace” is an illuminated, strolling funeral march led by a surreal piano melody and soaring strings into a sky of soothing electronica. The Grace EP compiles two new versions by Secret of Elements himself and three remixes ranging from precious bass-techno to dreamy house to acid piano loops.

Kitsuné affiliated musician Obsimo from France turns the somber piano piece into a driving, ghostly piece of electronica. The galloping drums thundering ahead underneath an acid-y lead synth sound like the soundtrack to a high-speed chase through the dark – only to be resolved when the original’s gorgeous piano comes back in.

Surgeons Girl, a hotly tipped newcomer from Bristol, UK, garnered international attention after releasing her debut EP on Peverelist’s Livity Sound label. She delivers an expansive, mind-bending version of „Die Liebe“, that walks the tightrope between fast paced, harsh drums and warm, analogue melodies. A trip to outer space only made sweeter by the plucking marimbas slowly creeping in towards its second half.

Next up is Avondlicht, who turns Secret of Elements’ Aurora into a melancholic ambient-house tapestry. Everything is transformed into waves of ambience and warm sound, slowly rising with the beat of the kick drum. A truly epic rendition of one of the album’s lushest tracks, it seems like Avondlicht tapped into something in the undercurrents of Secret of Elements’ compositions. The live version of “Grace “closes things off – a gorgeous rendition of one of the album’s central pieces that shows off Johann Pätzold’s entirely self-taught precision and mastery of composition, and simultaneously shows great things ahead for a young German artist in the prime of his powers.

Out November 26, 2021 on InFiné

→ More info & tour dates