Sam Prekop, recently announced his new album Open Close, will arrive on September 26th via Thrill Jockey. Ahead of the album’s arrival, the multi-artist has shared the lead-single “Light Shadow.”

Much of the music of Prekop’s album Open Close was composed for live performance as Prekop prepared for a series of shows both solo and in collaboration with Laraaji. Prekop had been developing new approaches since the release of Comma in 2020 and his collaborative album Sons Of with John McEntire, incorporating their more rhythm-forward constructions and diverging in new invigorating directions. Open Close melds more abstract textural noise of his modular synth debut Old Punch Card into his lush synthetic landscapes. “In my mind that’s what the modular is really good at doing, adding interesting and less predictable textural elements,” notes Prekop. “That’s only one part of the dialog though. It energizes the other sounds and voices. Along with the steady rhythmic pulses I’ve been gravitating towards, the juxtaposition of those elements becomes a form of architecture within abstraction, just by imposing them on each other and layering them in a precise way.”

The Chicago multi-artist’s body of work over the last 30 years, whether created primarily on his guitar or on his modular synth, is consistent in its powerful melodicism, delicate arrangements and subtle evolution. Prekop’s singular blend of melody, impressionistic lyricism and quietly intricate rhythms are a big part of the sound of The Sea and Cake. Since 2010’s Old Punch Card, Prekop’s exploration of modular synthesis and electronic atmospheres, has come into its own. His honed skills have crafted sounds that are instantly recognizable, his pieces express real movement. Harmonies bloom with granular detail and through his careful work he is able to convey emotion. Prekop’s inquisitive eye as an artist focuses on uncovering beauty and complexity within simplicity. Open Close is an album that captures the flow and energy of a live performance through the lens of a deft craftsman, an equilibrium of intuitive composition and the excitement of possibility.

Pre-order Open Close by Sam Prekop HERE