Sam Shepherd, known professionally as Floating Points, is a British electronic music producer, DJ, and musician. He is the founder of Pluto Records, co-founder of Eglo Records and leader of a 16-piece group called Floating Points Ensemble.

Biography

Raised in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England, Shepherd studied piano at

Chetham's School of Music Chetham's School of Music () is an independent co-educational music school in Manchester, England. Chetham's educates students between the ages of 8 and 18, all of whom enter via musical auditions. Students receive a full academic education a ...

before receiving a PhD in

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...

and

epigenetics In biology, epigenetics is the study of stable phenotypic changes (known as ''marks'') that do not involve alterations in the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix '' epi-'' ( "over, outside of, around") in ''epigenetics'' implies features that are ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. He also worked as a DJ at Plastic People, a London club, in the late 2000s. Shepherd's musical influences include Claude Debussy, Olivier Messiaen, and Bill Evans. He began releasing work under the Floating Points moniker in 2008, and in 2017 toured with

The xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), a ...

. Between 2019 and 2020, Shepherd collaborated with

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and

The London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orche ...

for the album '' Promises'', which was released on 26 March 2021 to critical acclaim. It was the first major new album released by Sanders in nearly two decades. He collaborated as a producer for Japanese American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada album

Bad Mode is the eighth Japanese-language studio album (eleventh overall) by Japanese-American singer Hikaru Utada. It is also her first bilingual album release, with songs in both Japanese and English. It was released on the Sony Music Japan sublabel E ...

, working on the songs "BAD MODE", "Kibunja Naino (Not In The Mood)" and "Somewhere Near Marseilles".

Floating Points Ensemble

Shepherd has previously 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 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Maida Vale Session".

Discography

Studio albums

*''

Elaenia ''Elaenia'' is a genus of passerine birds in the tyrant flycatcher family which occur in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Except by voice, specific identification is often difficult since many species are very similar. The ...

'' (2015) *'' Crush'' (2019) *'' Promises'' (with Pharoah Sanders &

) (2021)

Soundtrack albums

*''Reflections – Mojave Desert'' (2017)

Compilation albums

*'' Late Night Tales: Floating Points'' (2019)

EPs

*''Vacuum EP'' (2009) *''Shadows EP'' (2011) *''Kuiper'' (2016)

Singles

*"J&W Beat" (2009) *"Love Me Like This" (2009) *"For You" (2009) *"People's Potential" / "Shark Chase" (2010) *"Post Suite" / "Almost in Profile" (2010) (as Floating Points Ensemble) *"Sais (Dub)" (2011) *"Marilyn" (2011) *"Danger" (2011) *"King Bromeliad" / "Montparnasse" (2014) *"Sparkling Controversy" (2014) *"Nuits Sonores" / "Nectarines" (2014) *"Kuiper" (2016) *"For Marmish Part II" (2016) *"Silurian Blue" (2017) *"Ratio" (2017) *"LesAlpx" (2019) *"Last Bloom" (2019) *"Anasickmodular" (2019) *"Bias" (2020) *"Vocoder" (2022) *"Grammar" (2022) *"Problems" (2022) *"Someone Close" (2022)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Floating Points English electronic musicians English experimental musicians Living people Luaka Bop artists Musicians from Manchester Ninja Tune artists 1986 births