Floating Points | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Shepherd performing in Montreal, 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Samuel Shepherd |
| Born | 1986 (age 37–38) Manchester, England, UK |
| Genres | Electronic, jazz |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Pluto Records Eglo Records Luaka Bop Ninja Tune |
| Website | floatingpoints |
Samuel Shepherd, known professionally as Floating Points, is a British electronic music producer, DJ, and musician. He is the founder of Pluto Records,[1] co-founder of Eglo Records and leader of a 16-piece group called Floating Points Ensemble.
Raised in Manchester, England, Shepherd studied piano at Chetham's School of Music[2] before receiving a PhD in neuroscience and epigenetics at University College London.[3] He also worked as a DJ at Plastic People, a London club, in the late 2000s.[4][5]
In late 2008, Shepherd and Alexander Nut launched the Eglo record label.[6] Eglo Records had released music by Floating Points, Fatima, Funkineven, Steve Spacek, Dego & Kaidi, Shafiq Husayn, K15, Mizz Beats, Natalie Slade, Destiny71z, Shy One, Henry Wu, Chunky and others.
In 2010, Shepherd performed with a 16-piece live incarnation of Floating Points, entitled the Floating Points Ensemble. The group won an award for "Best BBC Radio 1 Maida Vale Session".[7]
In 2015, Shepherd founded Pluto records. He released projects such as Eleania, Kuiper, Crush, and Reflections: Mojave Desert from the label.[8][9]
Shepherd's musical influences include Claude Debussy, Olivier Messiaen, and Bill Evans.[4] He began releasing work under the Floating Points moniker in 2008,[10] and in 2017 toured with The xx.[11]
He also featured on bills with The Chemical Brothers, Bicep, FKA Twigs, Foals, Jungle, and Jon Hopkins and he has remixed Thundercat, Caribou, Basement Jaxx, Skepta & Headie One.
Elaenia was the first studio album by Sam Shepherd and released under his alias Floating Points. It was released on 6 November 2015.
At the time of the Elaenia release, Shepherd launched an 11-piece live show and immediately sold-out a string of global live dates including headline shows at Islington Assembly Hall and two dates at Electric Brixton in London.
Elaenia featured on many of 2015’s “Album of the Year” lists including: Resident Advisor (#1), XLR8R (#2), Mixmag (#3), Bleep (#6), Dummy (#9) The Guardian (#16), Clash (#19), Pitchfork (#20) and was ‘Album of the Month’ for Rough Trade.[12]
This was the first in a planned series of environmental recordings by Shepherd to be filmed and recorded at different locations around the world. The album recording was accompanied by a short film produced by long-time collaborator Anna Diaz Ortuño of Hamill Industries.
Taking its name from the surroundings in which it was formed, the album came together in August 2016 in the Mojave Desert when Shepherd and his band were rehearsing for their upcoming US tour. While out there they found that their surroundings offered a unique recording environment that led to the album's formation.
Floating Points explained: "Whilst we were out playing and exploring the area around us – the sound reflecting from the rocks, the sound of the wind between them, complete stillness at night and packs of roaming coyotes in the distance, it became apparent that we could use this as its own unique recording environment”. This intuitiveness has led to some of the most incredibly creative and sonically tuned takes on library, chamber, and kosmiche jazz that Floating Points has ever conceived.”
Reflections: Mojave Desert begins with chords played on a Rhodes Chroma and recorded with a surround sound microphone. Throughout the filming, microphones were placed throughout the landscape to capture the natural sonic textures of the desert: the undulating sound of wind, a bird call, the rustling of bushes and more created a backdrop on which much of the record rests. The music softly shifts from the Fender Rhodes introduction to ‘Silurian Blue’, an expansive full band piece that balances refined restraint with explosiveness. In one scene, ‘Kites’, Shepherd walks through a valley with a super directional microphone, swinging it back and forth as a synthesiser loop gets faster to showcase the natural reverb and shifting phase of sound waves. ‘Kelso Dunes’ signals the film’s final act: the sky grows dark, lasers flash, the band and rocks gleaming in the pitch black around them.
In 2019 Shepherd contributed towards the iconic Late Night Tales compilation series, further cementing his reputation as a highly respected curator of music.
Crush was the second studio album by Shepherd released under his alias Floating Points by Ninja Tune. It was released on 18 October 2019.
Crush was well placed on numerous Album of the Year lists including Mixmag (#2), Magnetic Mag (#2), Loud and Quiet (#9), Dummy (#9), The Vinyl Factory (#22) and DJ Mag (#25).
There were favourable reviews from Pitchfork (Best New Music, 8.3), Mixmag (Album of the Month, 9/10), Loud and Quiet (9/10), The Observer (4/5), The Independent (4/5), Resident Advisor (4/5), CRACK Magazine (8/10), Financial Times (4/5) and others.
During the Crush tour, Floating Points sold-out shows at Printworks (London), Elysee Montmartre (Paris) and Funkhaus (Berlin). The Printworks show included massive floor-to-ceiling projections and received glowing reviews from The Times, Resident Advisor and The 405.
During lockdown, Shepherd collaborated with KDV Dance Ensemble and Boiler Room to host an interactive live stream on Zoom. He was Interviewed by New York Times.[13]
The album Promises was released on 26 March 2021 with Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize 2021 and reached #6 in the Official UK Albums Chart and #1 in the Official UK Vinyl Albums Chart.[14][15][16]
The album was released on New York label Luaka Bop. Sanders was impressed by Elaenia and befriended Shepherd, who was 40 years younger than him. Sanders proposed that they produce a collaborative album. Shepherd composed the music and played both electronic and non-electronic instruments.[17][18][19]
Shepherd put together a one-time live performance of the album in tribute to Pharoah Sanders at Hollywood Bowl, conducted by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson with an ensemble cast of Sam Shepherd, Kieran Hebden, Dan Snaith, Shabaka Hutchings, Kara Lis Coverdale, Hinako Omori, and others. The special guest was Sun Ra Arkestra.
Billboard ran an interview feature with Shepherd in the lead up to the Hollywood Bowl show in which he discusses his relationship with Pharaoh and how the late jazz musician has shaped his approach to music.
The Independent reviewed the performance, calling it “A near perfect body of music paired with a beautiful tribute” and gave it 4/5 stars.
Promises was awarded Album of the Year by TIME Magazine, The Guardian (Contemporary), The New York Times (Jazz), Mojo, Paste, Magnetic Mag, and The Vinyl Factory. Other Album of the Year positions included Uncut (#2), The Observer (#3), The Wire (#3), Pitchfork (#4), The Washington Post (#5), The Telegraph (#5), NPR (#6), Loud & Quiet (#6), CRACK Magazine (#10) and others.
Promises was included in BBC 6 Music’s Albums of the Year 2021 list and Promises: Through Congress, a collaboration with visual artist Julie Mehretu and filmmaker Trevor Tweeten, was screened at the Barbican Centre, London.[20]
During 2022, Floating Points played festivals across the globe including Coachella (US), Glastonbury (UK), Portola (US), Field Day (UK), Sonar (PT), Le Bon Air (FR), and Pitch Music & Arts (AU).
Floating Points played Forest Hills Stadium (14k), New York, alongside Jamie xx, Four Tet, Avalon Emerson & Omar S. He also co-headlined a US DJ tour with Four Tet and joined Flume for a US date in April 2022.
Floating Points played a marathon open-to-close set at London’s then-new 25,000 square-foot club, HERE, on New Year’s Day 2023.
During this period, Shepherd had single releases of Vocoder, Grammar, Promises, Birth4000, and Someone Close
Vocoder was heralded as an unmistakable anthem, a floor filler, and a sign that summer fun and festivals were soon to be kicking off. Vocoder received outstanding press pick up from over 80 publications, including Pitchfork - review ‘Best New Track’, New York Times, Pitchfork - news, Pitchfork - playlist, and Resident Advisor - review.
Grammar received notable UK and US press coverage on announcement, including The Guardian Guide Newsletter, Pitchfork, The Fader, Stereogum, DIY Mag, The Quietus, and The Quietus - Monthly Dance Roundup.
UK & US press coverage for Problems and the official music video included Pitchfork (with homepage support plus Pitchfork Selects playlist), Billboard, The Guardian (plus playlist), Billboard, The Fader, and NME (which mentions the HERE London show).
Birth4000 was Shepherd’s only release in 2023. Originally spun in 2022 by himself and fellow DJ friends, the track became a sensation that everyone was after. The track saw reviews and pickups from the likes of DJ Mag, Pitchfork, Mixmag, Stereogum and more, with plays across global dancefloors from the likes of Peggy Gou and Four Tet. Akiko Nkayama, a Tokyo-based artist, produced single artwork + visuals for the release.
He collaborated as a producer for Japanese American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada album Bad Mode, working on the songs Bad Mode, Kibunja Naino (Not In The Mood) and Somewhere Near Marseilles.[21]
Hamill and Floating Points joined forces and were part of an exciting exhibition ‘Future Shocks’ at 180, The Strand in London in collaboration with FACT. The exhibition features an installation by Hamill called “Vortex” and music by Floating Points.[22]
Shepherd composed an original score for Mere Mortals for the San Francisco Ballet which premiered on 26 January 2024. Artistic Director Tamara Rojo commissioned Shepherd to write the ballet and launched the 2024 season with an immersive sensory experience where sound is influenced by dance shaped by orchestral and electronic music.
The new work with music by Floating Points and choreography from Aszure Barton contextualized the ancient parable of Pandora’s Box for the current technological world. Shepherd worked with long-time creative collaborators of Floating Points, Hamill Industries.
This run of shows was a sellout.[23][24][25][26][27] A new run is planned for April 2024.
