{"title":"Floating Points","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"zen10278","title":"Floating Points Ensemble - Post Suite\/Almost In Profile","description":"\u003cp\u003eNinja Tune are very proud to announce that the first record by the \r\nhotly tipped Floating Points Ensemble will be released by the label on \r\n13th December. The double A-side 10\" vinyl single features two tracks by\r\n the full Ensemble, recorded and mixed at the legendary Abbey Road \r\nStudios for the Ninja Tune XX twentieth anniversary celebration.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eSam Shepherd aka Floating Points has been wowing the electronic music \r\nworld since his self-released debut 7” single came out early in 2009. \r\nReleasing predominantly on Eglo records (which he runs alongside Rinse \r\nFM’s Alexander Nut) as well as Planet Mu and R2, Shepherd’s productions \r\nhave earned him the support of such luminaries as Theo Parrish, Kyle \r\nHall, Benji B, Ramadanman, Four Tet, Kode 9 and Mary Anne Hobbs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat’s \r\nless well known, perhaps, is that Shepherd is also classically trained, \r\nan aspect of his character which is allowed full rein when writing, \r\ncomposing and arranging for the Floating Points Ensemble. The 16 piece \r\ngroup led by Shepherd recently won last year’s ‘Best Maida Vale Session’\r\n at Gilles Peterson’s ‘Worldwide Awards’ and this spring spent a week at\r\n Abbey Road recording the music contained on this release.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe results are sumptuous and soulful, Fatima Bramme Sey’s voice literally floating above massed strings, percussion and Shepherd’s interventions on Fender Rhodes. A beautiful suite of music which confirms Sam Shepherd’s role as a key player in modern British music.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninjatune","offers":[{"title":"10\"","offer_id":44934137675935,"sku":"ZEN10278","price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/products\/post-suite-almost-in-profile-main.jpg?v=1736247124"},{"product_id":"zen12517","title":"Floating Points - LesAlpx \/ Coorabell","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2019 Pluto under exclusive license to Ninja Tune\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSam Shepherd aka Floating Points shares his first new track since 2017 in the form of 'LesAlpx'. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'LesAlpx' arrives as the next step in a career that has positioned Shepherd as one of electronic music's most surprising, innovative and uncompromising artists. The track's undeniable groove recalls breakout tracks like 'Nuits Sonores' which took over dancefloors around the world while simultaneously driving forward with the sophisticated craftsmanship and depth of production that has gained Floating Points respect far beyond the clubbing community.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpeaking of the track Shepherd says:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"I started going back to my early records and all the sounds I loved playing at clubs like Fabric and Plastic People. I wanted to capture the immediacy of that music and the feeling that I got when I was on the dancefloor, of being immersed in a track that pulls you along instantly. I actually made these tracks quite quickly, which helped to get rid of any desire to overthink the music – it’s essentially the sound of me having loads of fun with the machines in my studio and going back to basics.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShepherd's 2015 debut album Elaenia was critically adored, proving the depth of his influences and skill in drawing on them whilst being utterly singular. Elaenia was awarded 'Album of The Year' at Resident Advisor and featured on many additional best of the year lists including Pitchfork, who named it ‘Best New Music’ with a 8.4 review, Mixmag and The Guardian who gave it a rare 5\/5. Since then Shepherd has continued to explore his sound with other notable releases including his short film and soundtrack Reflections - Mojave Desert and 2017 single 'Ratio' which was Annie Mac's Hottest Record In The World.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing the success of Elaenia, Floating Points sold out headline shows at London's Islington Assembly Hall and two nights at Electric Brixton, since then he has gone on to take his live shows to the biggest venues and festivals the world has to offer. As his live show continues to evolve, Floating Points maintains a reputation as an exceptional curator and global DJ. This was solidified earlier this year with his Late Night Tales compilation which received widespread praise.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninjatune","offers":[{"title":"12\"","offer_id":44934141903007,"sku":"ZEN12517","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/products\/lesalpx-coorabell-main.jpg?v=1736247038"},{"product_id":"zen259","title":"Floating Points - Crush","description":"\u003cp\u003eSam Shepherd aka Floating Points has announced his new album Crush will be released on 18 October on Ninja Tune. Along with the announcement he has shared new track 'Last Bloom' along with accompanying video by Hamill Industries and announced details of a new live show with dates including London's Printworks, his biggest headline live show to date.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe best musical mavericks never sit still for long. They mutate and morph into new shapes, refusing to be boxed in. Floating Points has so many guises that it’s not easy to pin him down. There’s the composer whose 2015 debut album Elaenia was met with rave reviews – including being named Pitchfork’s ‘Best New Music’ and Resident Advisor’s ‘Album of the Year’ – and took him from dancefloors to festival stages worldwide. The curator whose record labels have brought soulful new sounds into the club, and, on his esteemed imprint Melodies International, reinstated old ones. The classicist, the disco guy that makes machine music, the digger always searching for untapped gems to re-release. And then there’s the DJ whose liberal approach to genre saw him once drop a 20-minute instrumental by spiritual saxophonist Pharoah Sanders in Berghain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFresh from the release earlier this year of his compilation of lambent, analogous ambient and atmospheric music for the esteemed Late Night Tales compilation series, Floating Points’ first album in four years, Crush, twists whatever you think you know about him on its head again. A tempestuous blast of electronic experimentalism whose title alludes to the pressure-cooker of the current environment we find ourselves in. As a result, Shepherd has made some of his heaviest, most propulsive tracks yet, nodding to the UK bass scene he emerged from in the late 2000s, such as the dystopian low-end bounce of previously shared striking lead single ‘LesAlpx’ (Pitchfork’s ‘Best New Track’), but there are also some of his most expressive songs on Crush: his signature melancholia is there in the album’s sublime mellower moments or in the Buchla synthesizer, whose eerie modulation haunts the album.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhereas Elaenia 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.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis new album feels similarly instantaneous – and vital. It’s the sound of the many sides of Floating Points finally fusing together. It draws from the \"explosive\" moments during his sets, the moments that usually occur when he throws together unexpected genres, for the very simple reason that he gets excited about wanting to \"hear this record, really loud, now!\" and then puts the needle on. It’s \"just like what happens when you’re at home playing music with your friends and it's going all over the place,\" he says.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eToday's newly announced live solo shows capture that energy too, so that the audience can see that what they’re watching isn’t just someone pressing play. Once again Shepherd has teamed up with Hamill Industries, the duo who brought their ground-breaking reactive laser technologies to his previous tours. Their vision is to create a constant dialogue between the music and the visuals. This time their visuals will zoom in on the natural world, where landscapes are responsive to the music and flowers or rainbow swirls of bubbles might move and morph to the kick of the bass drum. What you see on the screen behind Shepherd might \"look like a cosmos of colour going on,\" says Shepherd, \"but it’s actually a tiny bubble with a macro lens on it being moved by frequencies by my Buchla,\" which was also the process by which the LP artwork was made.\" It means, he adds, \"putting a lot of Fairy Liquid on our tour rider\".\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninjatune","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":44934146097311,"sku":"ZEN259","price":29.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Limited Edition LP","offer_id":44934146130079,"sku":"ZEN259Y","price":29.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":44934146162847,"sku":"ZENCD259","price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/products\/crush-main.jpg?v=1736246985"},{"product_id":"zendnl303bdj","title":"Floating Points - Birth4000","description":"\u003cp\u003eSam Shepherd aka Floating Points has shared a new single, 'Birth4000', which is out now via Ninja Tune.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Birth4000' couldn't be more different sonically to these pursuits in its crunchy, gnarled, all-out energy. Officially out now, 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe track's artwork comes from Tokyo based artist Akiko Nakayama. Nakayama is a painter who depicts the beauty of conveying energy metamorphosis through media such as installation, videos, and performance. She brings painting to life by combining the energy of movement and the vibrance of colours, called \"Alive Painting\".\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninjatune","offers":[{"title":"12\"","offer_id":44934154387615,"sku":"ZEN303BWL","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/products\/birth4000-main.jpg?v=1736246923"},{"product_id":"zendnls538dj","title":"Floating Points - Bias","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\"\u003eLast year Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points released Crush. As is typical of his career so far, the album defies all expectations - solidifying his position as one of Britain's most respected electronic artists. Crush received widespread critical praise including a cover feature with DJ Magazine, 9\/10 'Album of the Month' from both Mixmag and Future Music and 9\/10 from Loud and Quiet as well as 8\/10 from Crack, The Line of Best Fit, Uncut and more. Following the album release Shepherd went on to play a sold out show at Printworks debuting his innovative new live show to rave reviews, you can watch the full set back via RA here.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eToday Shepherd has shared two new versions of album highlight 'Bias', a track which was praised both for it's \"sense of air, as if you can sense the room it was recorded in\" (DJ) as well as \"a drop so nasty it could send your pulse out of kilter\" (Mixmag).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Bias' began to morph and expand during Shepherd's live shows and today he presents a recorded version based on those exciting, in the moment improvisations. The Mayfield Depot mix stems from a performance at the end of 2019 as part of the Warehouse Project series. Named for the Manchester venue, the mix is based around a live recording from the night with crowd noise bleeding into Shepherd’s microphone, giving a palpable sense of energy in the room. The extended mix stretches out the album version of 'Bias', unfolding new layers and giving even greater depth to that satisfying build.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShepherd also recently shared a new mix 'Dialogue Between Dreamers Pt. One'. Made during lockdown with time to reflect on the records he returns to again and again for comfort, the mix traverses soul, jazz and country, with rarities alongside tunes from Steve Kuhn, Susan Pillsbury, Family Circle and more. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninjatune","offers":[{"title":"12\"","offer_id":44934155239583,"sku":"ZEN12538","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/products\/bias-main.jpg?v=1736246905"},{"product_id":"zendnls633","title":"Floating Points - Someone Close","description":"\u003cp\u003eSam Shepherd aka Floating Points has shared a new single, 'Someone Close' which is out now via Ninja Tune.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShepherd has also today announced that 'Someone Close' will be released on vinyl alongside the three other new tracks he's shared this year: 'Grammar', 'Vocoder' and 'Problems'. All four will be available on limited vinyl for the first time on 16 December.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Grammar', 'Vocoder' and 'Problems' were met with widespread praise including a Best New Track from Pitchfork and a glowing review from Resident Advisor describing Shepherd as \"one of electronic music's undisputed MVPs\". 'Someone Close' changes track completely, something Shepherd has done effortlessly across his career, capping off a run of releases that have showcased the many strings to his bow yet still holds together seamlessly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing a summer of festival sets at Glastonbury, Coachella and Field Day, this Autumn\/Winter Shepherd will take things back indoors. With an upcoming show on an incredible bill from The Warehouse Project he'll follow up with a marathon open-to- close set at London’s brand new 25,000 square-foot club HERE on New Year’s Day 2023. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninjatune","offers":[{"title":"12\"","offer_id":44934155403423,"sku":"ZEN12633","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/products\/someone-close-main.jpg?v=1736246902"},{"product_id":"zendnl303d","title":"Floating Points - Del Oro","description":"\u003cp\u003eSam Shepherd aka Floating Points has shared a new single, 'Del Oro', which is out now via Ninja Tune.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing the crunchy, gnarled, all-out energy of last year's smash single 'Birth4000'; 'Del Oro' ebbs and flows, twinkling with vintage Floating Points nostalgia before pulling the rug and locking in to a head-down, dancefloor packing groove.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs with 'Birth4000', 'Del Oro''s artwork comes from Tokyo based artist Akiko Nakayama. Nakayama brings her painting to life using vibrant, brilliant liquids that combine and wash away, meant to represent the natural growth, change and life cycle of all things on earth. Nakayama worked alongside long-time Floating Points collaborators Hamill Industries to create the “Alive Painting” to accompany the track.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninja Tune","offers":[{"title":"12\"","offer_id":45516724666527,"sku":"ZEN303DWL","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/files\/del-oro-main.jpg?v=1736246319"},{"product_id":"zendnl303","title":"Floating Points - Cascade","description":"\u003cp\u003eSam Shepherd aka Floating Points has announced his new album Cascade will be released on 13 September via Ninja Tune. Along with the announcement Shepherd has shared lead single 'Key103' which comes with visuals continuing his ongoing collaboration with Tokyo based artist Akiko Nakayama.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eCascade is an eruption of unfinished business. In late 2022, Shepherd – renowned for drifting between genres as freely as his stage name implies – found himself in the Californian desert working on something new. Mere Mortals, his first ballet score, created with the San Francisco Ballet, was to be a collision of sound and dance exploring the ancient parable of Pandora through the prism of technology. \"It was one of quite a few left turns I was taking around that time\", recalls Shepherd. You can say that again: Promises, his multiple end-of-year-list-topping previous record, released in 2021, had seen him swap his typical modular synth tapestries and intricate drum patterns for airy dreamscapes, crafted with late legendary saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra. It was a collaboration so popular, a Mercury Prize nomination and sold-out show at the Hollywood Bowl in September 2023 followed.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eBetween these projects and an upcoming anime score for Adult Swim - from the outside it might have seemed as though Shepherd was departing the dance floor for good. But as he wrote his ballet score by day, at night he found himself longing for the sweaty communion of a dance floor. For the pulse-racing abandon of electronic music.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShepherd released Crush, his rave-reviewed second studio album, in November 2019. It was hailed as one of the albums of that year by Pitchfork, The Independent, Mixmag, Loud And Quiet and more – \"but I never got to explore its ravey, experimental side live\", laments the musician, whose world tour was cancelled due to lockdown. Cascade was devised as a follow-on from Crush that would allow him (and audiences) to experience Floating Points in its traditional form on a dancefloor once more: bursting with Buchla rhythms, glitching melodies bewitching a room full of heaving bodies. \"It’s meant to be kind of a continuation\", adds Shepherd. This explains Cascade’s artwork: another colourful sleeve, full of fluid imagery (created once more by Akiko Nakayama). It also explains its evocative title: like Crush, one word that implies movement, beauty and pressure. Most importantly, it explains its mesmerising sound: sumptuous sonic chasms to lose yourself in again and again.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCreating the album stripped Shepherd back. Not only in terms of his set-up – \"I have a studio at home with all the gear I usually use, but I wasn’t there so I had to use my laptop, doing it all on headphones\", he says – but in terms of his connection to electronic music, and to his home city where his love of music first flourished. \"There’s something about Manchester that keeps coming back to me, and I think it’s partly to do with its record shops\", says the producer, who found himself instinctively naming tracks after local landmarks and institutions. \"As a kid, my school was around the corner from the Northern Quarter so at lunchtimes, I’d run out of the school gates and skip lunch altogether to go and listen to records. I’m sure I was a total pain in the arse constantly pulling records off the shelves\", he laughs, \"but it was amazing. I’d be listening to Autechre at Pelican Neck, Dilla at Fat City, David Morales mixes at the Factory Records shop… It gave me a parallel education in music to what I was being taught at school\". This can be found in multiple tracks on the album including lead single 'Key103' - named after \"an underground Manchester radio station I’d listen to religiously\" that helped expand his music sensibilities beyond the classical composers he focused on in his academic work (Shepherd studied composition at Chetham's School of Music).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOther tracks took inspiration from the dust bowl surroundings off the Californian desert, but make no mistake: Cascade is a record forged in an adolescence spent in Manchester, discovering the mind-expanding (and emotion-purging) power of electronic music in all its forms. Though devised as a continuation of Crush, Cascade nonetheless pushes Floating Points’ sound forward into new places. The nine songs here are allowed to smoulder and spark for up to eight minutes at a time, allowing for more expansive exploration of sounds and grooves than before. Almost a decade on since Elaenia, his revered debut album, the composer has discovered ways to thread his experiments outside of club music seamlessly into his music designed for the dancefloor. \"I’m just constantly chasing challenges\", says Shepherd, explaining how this album fits into his ever-expanding web of creative projects, of which there are many. \"I always want to keep things moving and go all in on things that excite me. Whether that’s working with a 100-piece orchestra on a ballet or on a laptop on my own\", Shepherd grins. Cascade is the proof – when it comes to electronic innovation and simmering tracks that stand hairs on end, Floating Points will always, always have unfinished business.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninja Tune","offers":[{"title":"2xLP","offer_id":45893589500063,"sku":"ZEN303","price":34.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":45893589532831,"sku":"ZENCD303","price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2xLP (Limited Edition)","offer_id":45893589565599,"sku":"ZEN303N","price":34.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/files\/cascade-3.jpg?v=1736246302"}],"url":"https:\/\/merch.ninjatune.net\/collections\/floating-points.oembed","provider":"Ninja Tune","version":"1.0","type":"link"}