Much like his name, Floating Points (aka Sam Shepherd) finds himself at the intersection of musical genres. With a discography that is pulsating and vast, from orchestral compositions to airy and experimental synths, his new album, Cascade, was born during his time in the Californian desert, creating his first ballet score with San Francisco Ballet. Whilst he was out there, the multi-hyphenate yearned to create an album that embodied the sweat of the dance floor.
Constantly looking to keep listeners and dancers on their toes, Shepherd’s new album, Cascade, can be recognised as a continuation of his critically acclaimed studio album, Crush, released in 2019. Following the cancellation of his world tour due to lockdown, Crush lacked live experimentation and collaborations with audiences. Cascade essentially flowed from these feelings, with the intention for the album to be blasted out of speakers in a room full of close contact. It contains music that makes listeners crave movement, touch, and rush. Shepherd hones in on this fluidity, creating a master narrative around concerning time. He also makes a point of delving into his past by paying homage to the city where he fell in love with and first studied music, Manchester. With tracks like “Afflecks Palace” and “Key103”, anyone familiar with the city can appreciate the treasure map of references that he has served up.
Yet, it’s about more than just the record shops and radio stations, it’s about revisiting the area from a fresh perspective. It’s a raw sense of discovery born out of the Northern city that threads its way into the drum machines and buchla synths. Whether the tracks are telling stories of a young Shepherd running up and down the floors of eccentricities in Afflecks, or of his time surrounded by Ocotillo plants on the Californian desert; we are experiencing the album as a whole and singular narrative of vulnerability through time. These heightened emotions manifest themselves in the collective embrace of strobe lights and a dancefloors. With the vulnerability of youth and nostalgia being the means to embrace our uncertain futures, song number five, “Fast Forward”, acts as the all-encapsulating track to summarise the feeling of Cascade. Even though it is located halfway through the album, “Fast Forward” serves to put the listener into a fast trance and catapult them into an unknown space.
Shepherd’s new album is stripped back yet full at the same time, providing a perfect space of exploration for him and his listeners. The takes advantage of every second to expand his ideas fully, exploiting every corner of sound. It’s clear Shepherd is a true narrator who will continue writing some of the most captivating stories emanating from these shores.