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FLOATING POINTS

Floating Points

Birth4000

    Crunchy, gnarled, all-out energy. The track has already had a lasting impact on the summer's dancefloors having been played out by Four Tet at his Finsbury Park headline show as well as gracing Arcadia’s industrial spider when played by Shepherd and Caribou b2b at this year’s Glastonbury, also appearing in festival sets from Peggy Gou, Ben UFO, Call Super, Palms Trax and more, as well as being the highlight of Shepherd's secret headline slot at this year's NTS summer party.

    STAFF COMMENTS

    Matt says: Floating Points gives gives The Chemical Brothers a run for the money when it comes to conjuring up cranium-bursting, stadium-slaying hits. Squealing, shuddering and juddering after an intro that'll have meeker ravers legging it for the back door. This one's bigger than an arctic truck!

    TRACK LISTING

    1. Birth4000 (Extended)

    Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra

    Promises

    Promises is the result of three distinct musical worlds colliding. Pharoah Sanders’ jazz improvisation and Flo Po’s twinkling electronics are layered over the string section of the LSO, bound together by a loose symphonic structure. These are textures that rarely sit together in a single composition, yet somehow they seamlessly knit into a cohesive whole. It’s quite a feat, one that could only be pulled off by artists as accomplished as these.

    The entire album revolves around a recurring phrase played by Sam Shepherd on the piano, harpsichord and celesta. This phrase becomes the central pulse around which the other textures float, suspended in the space inbetween. The loose tempo allows for the improvised saxophone passages to flow freely and for Pharaoh to lean into the most tender moments of his performance.

    At the beginning of the album the string section gradually emerges like a delicate silver thread before building through a series of sweeping chord progressions and moments of bittersweet dissonance. This leads into the third movement where Sam Shephard’s deft synth arrangement becomes the focal point. And later on we hear a hushed vocal performance from Pharoah. It’s one of the most touching moments of the album, with years of lived experience seeping through every crack and bend of his voice in a captivating way.

    Promises is an album of subtle expression which invokes a feeling of boundlessness. It’s a wide open sonic space where each note is allowed to resonate to its full conclusion. There’s a constant feeling of push and pull, of tension and release, though it never really resolves fully. Something is always left hanging in the air - a question, a prayer, an inexplicable feeling. It’s perhaps one of the most surprising and profound releases of the year. 

    STAFF COMMENTS

    Matt says: A beautiful orchestral piece that while both resplendent with FP's and PS's wonderful idiosyncrasies; recalls the gorgeous depth of Prefab Sprout's "I Trawl The Megahertz" but without the vocal parts! Epic!

    TRACK LISTING

    Side 1
    1. Promises (Movement 1) (1:16)
    2. Promises (Movement 2) (3:56)
    3. Promises (Movement 3) (3:16)
    4. Promises (Movement 4) (3:39)
    5. Promises (Movement 5) (6:06)

    Side 2
    1. Promises (Movement 6) (8:25)
    2. Promises (Movement 7) (3:26)
    3. Promises (Movement 8) (9:57)
    4. Promises (Movement 9) (5:43)

    Ultraísta

    Ordinary Boy: The Remixes (Floating Points / Zero 7/ FaltyDL / Crate Classics / Leifur James)

    Following the release of their highly acclaimed new album ‘Sister’ in March 2020, Ultraísta have announce a remix package featuring the talents of Floating Points, FaltyDL, Zero 7, Crate Classics and Leifur James. Ultraísta are formed by Grammy-winning producer/engineer/musician Nigel Godrich, best known for his two decades helming Radiohead’s groundbreaking studio output; celebrated drummer Joey Waronker, who’s toured and recorded with everyone from R.E.M. and Beck to Roger Waters and Elliott Smith; and singer Laura Bettinson, an acclaimed solo artist whose work combines synthdriven electropop and dreamy vocal looping.

    TRACK LISTING

    Ordinary Boy (Floating Points Remix)
    Ordinary Boy (FaltyDL Remix)
    Ordinary Boy (Zero 7 Remix)
    Ordinary Boy (Crate Classics Remix)
    Ordinary Boy (Leifur James Remix)

    We've come an awful long way since Floating Points' first utterances entered our stratosphere. That opening trio of twelves ("J&W Beat", "Love Me Like This" and "Vacuum Boogie") immediately caught the attention of us and our customers and we've been hooked on this cat throughout the last ten years.

    Whereas the incredible "Elaenia" (2015) was a five-year process, "Crush" was made during an intense five-week period, inspired by the invigorating improvisation of his shows supporting The xx in 2017. He had just finished touring with his own live ensemble, culminating in a Coachella appearance, when he suddenly became a one-man band, just him and his trusty Buchla opening up for half an hour every night. He thought what he’d come out with would 'be really melodic and slow-building' to suit the mood of the headliners, but what he ended up playing was 'some of the most obtuse and aggressive music I've ever made, in front of 20,000 people every night,' he says. 'It was liberating.'

    Fundamentally, this is still stylistically a Floating Points record. Classically informed pieces drift into focus without beats, only to dissolve into a mist of modular-generated textures. There's some speaker-tested mainroom techno moments, namely the lead single "LesAlpx" which concludes side A's meticulously programmed schedule with a moment of undiluted dancefloor energy. Fans of his jazz-flecked house will find tracks like "Last Bloom" and "Anasickmodular" a joy to behold; possessing that idiosyncratic shuffle and swing that instantly characterize an FP production. "Bias" opens side B with a unfathomably futuristic, attitude-ridden bass monster until Sam unexpectedly flips into his patented, cerebral jazz-house hybrid. Don't get me wrong though, he's not resting on his laurels in any way. His New Sounds bite and spit, as he seems to harness extraordinary levels of intricacy and power from his trusty Buchla synthesizer and his much lusted-after Arp Odyssey. More refined, more evolved, deeper, richer - but the same Floating Points - sound up your tree? It should be. 


    STAFF COMMENTS

    Matt says: The Chetham's graduate has been a permanent fixture on our shelves for the last decade. 'Crush' embodies everything we love about him across a succinct and direct two sides. Drifting through a highly musical sanctum, we get expressions on modular and synth informed, and indeed elevated, by Sam's well documented and rich musical education.

    TRACK LISTING

    Side A: 
    Falaise
    Last Bloom
    Anasickmodular
    Requiem For CS70 And Strings
    Karakul
    LesAlpx

    Side B: 
    Bias
    Environments
    Birth
    Sea-Watch
    Apoptose Pt1
    Apoptose Pt2 

    For the past 10 years, all roads Shepherd has followed have been slowly leading to 'Elaenia' - an album with roots deep in his formative years, and one that draws upon everything Shepherd has done so far. An album that provides context to the music that Shepherd has been making to date. Every DJ set he’s performed, every talent he has produced, every composition he has written are thought of as precursors to 'Elaenia' - a dazzling score which puts Shepherd in the spotlight as a composer who has produced an album that bridges the gap between his rapturous dance music and formative classical roots. Drawing inspiration from classical, jazz, electronic music, soul and even Brazilian popular music, 'Elaenia' - named after the bird of the same name - is the epitome of the forward-thinking Floating Points vision in 2015.

    STAFF COMMENTS

    Barry says: A big hit in the shop this one, and rightfully so. I remember first hearing the soaring arpeggios and jazzy twists, and being thoroughly hooked. Known to use a Buchla 227 and an Arp Odyssey, Sam Shepherd has really shown that there is no need to shy away from melody whilst utilising patchable synths, and Elaenia is all the better for it.

    TRACK LISTING

    1. Nespole
    2. Silhouettes (I, II & III)
    3. Argenté
    4. Elaenia
    5. Thin Air
    6. For Marmish
    7. Peroration Six


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