Uroko (鱗, fish scales) is the first single off blueblue, the latest full-length from prolific multi-instrumentalist and certified vibe wizard, Sam Gendel, out October 14th via Leaving Records. Uroko arrives by surprise, indeed, like some gilded and ancient carp, briefly breaching the still nightlake. Which is to say that the track is elusive — keen and slippery. Beautiful. Hypnotic, even. But opaque, and not without an element of disquiet. Pizzicato rain casts sails across the water’s surface. Something half-remembered lingers at the outer edges of consciousness.

Uroko, like all of blueblue’s 14 track titles, refers to a pattern within sashiko, a traditional style of Japanese embroidery. Developed during the Edo period, sashiko involves reinforcing indigo-dyed cloth with white cotton thread. Sashiko pieces (traditionally clothes), are both functional and decorative, distinguished by their palimpsests of blue gradients, and the bright contrast of the white stitchwork.

So, we’re concerned with form here. Craftsmanship. We’re attentive. We’re keyed in. Retreating, in 2022, to a floating Oregonian Cabin-turned-studio, Gendel composed, performed, and recorded the bulk of blueblue alone, with Craig Weinrib subsequently contributing drums. Half woodshedding session, half studio experiment, blueblue is a conceptually tight, mesmerizing, virtuosic, and sonically idiosyncratic LP.

Words by Emmett Shoemaker, written 9pm July 5th 2022, edits completed 9:30pm July 11th, 2022

Photography by Marcella Cytrynowicz