Pedal is a Copenhagen-based electro-acoustic duo formed by pianist and sound artist Nolan Lem (El Portal, Joe Rehmer) and drummer/producer Matt Carroll (Resavoir, Courtney Marie Andrews, Girls In Airports).

The two first met 15 years ago as students at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, where they played jazz standards and early original works together before life carried them in separate directions. Nolan went on to New York, later earning an MFA from Columbia University and a PhD from Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, developing an interdisciplinary practice centered on sound, systems, and contemporary art. Matt, a Chicago-bred drummer and producer, continued performing and recording across jazz, electronic, and indie contexts before eventually relocating to Denmark. A decade later, by coincidence, both found themselves living in Copenhagen, where their collaboration quietly resumed.

Pedal's music is both intimate and architectural. Acoustic gestures are extended through electronics, grooves stretch and reconfigure, and improvisation becomes a framework for exploring motion, memory, and place. At its core, Pedal is a long-delayed conversation resumed between two musicians, between structure and spontaneity, and between human touch and technological systems.

Rooted in jazz but shaped by electronic production, sound art, and improvisation, Pedal operates at the intersection of acoustic performance and system-based experimentation. Their debut album City Chicken (coming in 2027) draws from a wide range of musical interventions, blending duo improvisations into immersive electro-acoustic dreamscapes marked by melodic longing and hypnotic, Nordic-leaning minimalism.

The title surfaced during a trip to Berlin, over a simple shared meal. It mirrored the spirit of the recording itself, with two friends gathering at the table, listening deeply, exchanging ideas, and shaping something meaningful in real time.