According to Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” If you’ve ever watched the creation of modular synth music, you’ve probably felt as if you were watching what could easily be described as magic. That is to say, it’s technology applied in ways that exist beyond conventional explanation. The kinds of minds that have the capacity to understand how to make a dizzying array of patch cables, knobs, and switches create coherent, listenable, and even dance-worthy music are too rare. It’s lucky, then, that one of Portland’s most accomplished producers, Tortoise’s de facto frontman/multi-instrumentalist John McEntire, has decided to bring out his longtime collaborator and Sea and Cake bandmate, Sam Prekop, for an evening of close-up magic.
On July 14th, after a series of warm-up shows in Europe and Chicago, the duo will be recording their sophomore Sons Of record, improvised live in the front lounge of Holocene, right in front of the curious eyes of any massive synth dork in Portland with $32 to spare.
The nagging question: “Why is this happening?” The simple answer is the hunger for redemption. Back in 2022, the duo conceived the first Sons Of release as a live album. Due to technical issues in the recording process, it didn’t quite work out that way. The version we got was, instead, a hybrid version, taking what they recorded in front of audiences, then refining and augmenting the music at McEntire’s Soma Studios (now located in Gladstone after 25 years in Chicago), turning it into the gorgeous album we received. If anywhere in McEntire’s adoptive home could serve as a place to try things again, it’s Holocene, an increasingly difficult-to-define club that is just as much a home to Snap! and Emo Nite as it is to serious producers making Capital-A Art, like Grouper, Matmos, or Olivia Block.
Much like when the duo performed together in the same space in 2023, you can guarantee anyone you see there will be quietly geeking the fuck out over every note the pair play. Let’s pretend for a moment, though, that you aren’t one of those geeks, but wish you could be. Let the Portland Mercury help you out: we’ve chosen four albums from McEntire and Prekop’s recording history—both together and separately with their other musical projects—to get you up to speed and figure out what to expect.
The Sea and Cake — The Sea and Cake (1994)
The only way to begin is by beginning. The Sea and Cake sounds nothing like any other record on this list, but it marks the beginning of the relationship between frontman Prekop, drummer McEntire, and their longtime guitarist Archer Prewitt. Like most Sea and Cake records, this album is impossibly easy to love, with opening track “Jacking the Ball” pulling you into a friendly, warm embrace that you may not want to break away from.
Tortoise — Standards (2001)
2009’s dance-jam bruiser Beacons of Ancestorship could be here, but while albums like Millions Now Living Will Never Die and TNT put Tortoise on the map, Standards pushed them to the forefront of the form. We could talk for hours about this record. After a brilliant album of overdubs and patchwork excellence, Standards found the collective making use of their new, much larger space at Soma Studios, capable of weaving magic live and direct. This is also when McEntire’s synth wizardry really began to take off, most evident on tracks like opener “Seneca” and the album’s funky centerpiece “Monica.”
Sam Prekop — Old Punch Card (2010)
Some artists just take a little extra time to get where they want to be. Prekop’s first two albums, Sam Prekop (1999) and Who’s Your New Professor (2005) are lovely records, but they’re not going to blow the minds of any Sea and Cake fans. Old Punch Card changes the pattern: here, Prekop discovers the magic of being a synth weirdo. Later Prekop solo records would get the artist closer to the type of music he makes with McEntire, but Old Punch Card finds him evading traditional pop architecture in favor of a series of open-ended moods and textures. It’s not for everybody, but at that point in Prekop’s career, he’d spent 15 years making truly lovable music. Old Punch Card is him flipping the script with something that asks for patience.
Sons Of — Sons Of (2022)
When you hear about a project like Sons Of—one where two producers create largely improvisational music with tables full of pedals, switches, cables, and all sorts of assorted tricks— it’s easy to imagine stuffy, difficult, even un-fun music. Maybe you even imagine Prekop’s early synth explorations, which are more about form than function. It takes less than one full minute for opener “A Ghost at Noon” to upend that idea. This is dance music for people who side-eye MDMA and favor a good shroom trip, and who don’t mind when their dance records include a 23-minute slab of sizzling synths and bubbly beats. It is unquestionably dance music, no matter how long its four mondo tracks last. If the duo come anywhere near re-harnessing this atmosphere on their second LP, we are all in for a real treat.
Honorable Mentions:
If you really want to cut to the chase and figure out the vibe you’ll experience at Holocene, there’s an hour-long recording of the duo’s performance at Chicago’s beloved performing arts space Constellation in May of this year. You can also check out this snippet of their last Holocene performance, which is short enough that it may be what forces you to buy that ticket. Both are worth it just to marvel at how bonkers Prekop’s synth array looks. Speaking of Prekop, his solo album from September, Open Close, is a dynamite way to acclimate to the kind of synthsmanship he’s been honing in recent years. Also, while you’re at it, McEntire’s Tortoise released their first album in nine years, Touch, back in October. It’s no Standards, but it’s a great reminder of the awesome power of Tortoise.
McEntire/Prekop play July 14 at Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, 8 pm, $32, all ages.
