Composer-producer-musician-DJ Floating Points, aka Sam Shepherd, presents 'Mere Mortals', his first full-length ballet score. Commissioned and directed by the San Francisco Ballet’s Artistic Director Tamara Rojo, with choreography by Aszure Barton and design and visuals by Hamill Industries, the ballet reimagines the story of Pandora in a fusion of myth, music and movement. Recorded with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon, the 14-track album is a potent mix of elegiac strings, apocalyptic brass and pulsing electronics. From the lyrical solo violin of Hope to the dissonance and pummelling percussion of 'Rage of the Gods', and the exquisite harp melody of 'Her Gift' before the eeriness of 'Opening of the Jar', the score is rich in texture and effect. Orchestral music emerges from an electronic haze, mirroring the ballet’s central question: where does the human end and the machine begin?

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: No stranger to working on special commisions or collaborations, Sam Shepherd this time teams up with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra for a retelling of the Pandora's Box story through dance. Floating Points' sound has oft stretched into obtuse shapes and drawn-out ambience, but it's here we get to see his fragmented experimental sounds brought to the fore and celebrated as the main focus. A perfect standalone listen, and an unsurprisingly perfect soundtrack.

TRACK LISTING

1. Movement 1 - Fire
2. Movement 2 - Hope
3. Movement 3 - Rage of the Gods
4. Movement 4 - Zeus’ Command
5. Movement 5 - Pandora’s Creation
6. Movement 6 - Pandora’s Theme
7. Movement 7 - Gift from the Gods
8. Movement 8 - Falling to Earth
9. Movement 9 - Prometheus’ Warning
10. Movement 10 - Her Gift
11. Movement 11 - Opening of the Jar
12. Movement 12 - A Plea
13. Movement 13 - Hope Taking Flight
14. Movement 14 - Nowhere to Land