Floating Points: Danger
After disappearing for a good while (well, that’s what it felt like), Floating Points returned this summer with ‘Marilyn’, a typically bubbly and undulating track which showcased the producer’s strengths: jazzy synths, gentle hi-hats, skillful and intermittent layering, and the implementation of a gentle, strutting groove. Sam Shepherd, the man behind the moniker, is apparently studying for a PhD in pharmacology, and the delicacy and methodical approach he must implement during his studies are clear throughout his production: it is totally, mesmerically, precise.
That is not to say, however, that Shepherd’s music is mechanical and/or soulless. It buzzes with movement, constantly evolving above a simple but often delicious beat. It sits, as all great electronic music does, between definitions. It is at once relaxed, interesting, pugnacious, cool and head-down danceable. To the floor.
While good, Marilyn did not quite tickle my fancy as much as his best work (IMHO, obviously) ‘Truly’, a 2009 release which jutted along with the most ridiculous synth loop and maraca-esque beat. Yet on Monday, two weeks before another EP called Shadows, comes the download release of ‘Danger’, a track which was set out on vinyl a few weeks ago. Quite immediately, it’s more determined and darker than ‘Truly’, ‘Marilyn’ and jazzy-strut smash ‘Vacuum Boogie’. The analogue tap is urgent, unforgiving, harsh in tone. It fades in and out, crossing swords with a restless arpeggio and phasing synths, and it is supported towards the end by Shepherd’s typically evolving and layered drum beats. This is a true example of a producer adapting his work but not to prevailing culture; Floating Points is forging his own way, and his work has never sounded so good.
Floating Points - Danger by 27thaudiovisual.com
Floating Points - Danger : Out now on vinyl, download available Monday
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