Floating Points, the deep house moniker of UK mastermind Sam Shepherd, is back. Today, he shared “LesAlpx”, his first new music since 2017. It will arrive as a 12-inch vinyl single on July 12th via Ninja Tune.
“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,” Shepherd says in a press release. “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.”
(Read: Floating Points Grows Comfortable With a Live Band on Kuiper)
A digital version of “LesAlpx” is currently available to stream. The track clocks in just under five minutes. What begins with a thudding beat quickly spirals into a blissful swirl of cascading synth, phone-like beeps, and a menacing melody that hangs around the bass register. It’s a hell of a return to form from Floating Points, and one that shows how much he’s grown in the past few years. Check it out below.
The 12-inch vinyl will feature an extended version of “LesAlpx” on the A-side and new song “Coorabell” as the B-side. The digital bundle will include both of those along with the shortened version of “LesAlpx” heard above. Pre-orders are currently available.
In recent news, Shepherd compiled a 17-track collection as Floating Points to contribute to the Late Night Tales compilation series. If you listen closely, you can trace some of those influences on through to this new song.
Below, check out the official artwork for the “LexAlpx” 12-inch release.
“LexAlpx” b/w “Coorabell” Artwork:
This summer, Floating Points will be performing a few DJ sets and live sets during a short tour. The trek includes stops at festivals like Sonar. Find the full list of his upcoming tour dates below.
Floating Points 2019 Tour Dates:
07/05 — Brussels, BE @ C12 (DJ set)
07/06 — Glasgow, UK @ Melting Pot (DJ set)
07/07 — London, UK @ Fabric (DJ set)
07/19 — Barcelona, ES @ Sonar Music Festival (DJ set)
07/21 — Amsterdam, NL @ Festimi Woodstock (DJ set)
07/27 — Apulia, IT @ Polifonic (DJ set)
08/08 — Norfolk, UK @ Houghton Festival (DJ set)
09/13 — Lisbon, PT @ Nova Batida
09/27 — Milan, IT @ I WANT TO LIKE YOU BUT I FIND IT DIFFICULT
10/18 — Amsterdam, NL @ ADE
