Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points will return with a new album called Cascade, due out via Ninja Tune on 13 September. It follows his ballet score Mere Mortals and his Pharoah Sanders collaboration Promises and takes inspiration from his hometown of Manchester. Shepherd says:
“There’s something about Manchester that keeps coming back to me, and I think it’s partly to do with its record shops. 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, 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.”
Lead single “Key103” is also a nod to this heritage as its named after “an underground Manchester radio station I’d listen to religiously” according to Shepherd.
Additionally, it’s a clear return to the dancefloor-focused electronics that we last heard on 2019’s Crush. Across its seven minutes, Floating Points keeps the tempo turned way up while he uses his army of synths to draw impossible shapes and hypnotic atmospheres that lure you deeper into the techno lair. This is one meant to be heard in a dark club – but crank it up, close your eyes, and you will be transported there from your very desk.
Floating Points’ new album Cascade is out 13 September via Ninja Tune (pre-order/save). You can find Floating Points on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Tour dates:
12 Jul – Lisbon, PT @ NOS Alive
13 Jul – Bilbao, ES @ BBK
20 Jul – Istanbul, TR – Babylon Sound Garden Festival
26 Jul – Niigata, JP @ Fuji Rock Festival
3 Aug – Waterford, IE @ All Together Now
16 Aug – Wimborne @ We Out Here Festival
23 Aug – London @ All Points East
24 Aug – Lincoln @ Lost Village Festival
31 Aug – Bristol @ Forwards Festival
20 Sep – Philadelphia, PA Making Time
21 Sep – Los Angeles, CA @ Boiler Room
28 Sep – Chicago, IL @ Warm Love Cool Dreams
29 Sep – San Francisco, CA @ Portola Festival
5 Oct – Arcosanti, AZ @ Form
16 Oct – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
16 Nov – Paris, FR @ Le Nef 104
28 Nov – Berlin, DE @ Festaal Kreuzberg (1900-2300)
29 Nov – Berlin, DE @ Festaal Kreuzberg (2330-0400)
