SAM PREKOP has been building beguiling melodies with the lightest of touches for decades now; firstly with Chicago’s The Sea and Cake, and then as a solo artist.
If you don’t know his self-titled debut for Thrill Jockey, you really ought; it’s masterful, light, sun-drenched, jazzy. Of recent times he’s moved further and further into electronica, and he’s set to release his latest album, Comma, this Friday (read our review here).
And ahead of the release he’s shared an enigmatic, dreamlike video for album closer “Above Our Heads”. Watch below.
The video opens with the camera soaring over the Colorado cityscape at sunset, eventually descending to follow a lone figure running through an empty industrial estate.
Sam says: “‘Above Our Heads’ started as a suite of quite disparate parts that I just couldn’t get to work or make sense of ultimately, but this section which would become ‘Above Our Heads’ kept pulling me back into it.
“Every record needs just the right last track, so I decided this would be it and thinking about it as the final piece solidified it’s direction for me.
“To me it feels quite celebratory and mournful simultaneously, a quality that seems difficult to pin down; this dichotomy is something I’m always hopeful of achieving.”
Video director Tim Sutton explains: “In both direct and abstract ways, for years Sam’s music has helped me describe how I see the world – these strange days we live in are no exception.”
Sam Prekop’s Comma will be released by Thrill Jockey on September 11th on both trad black and white vinyl, CD and digital formats. Click through to order yours at Bandcamp or Thrill Jockey.
