Today, otherworldly producer and composer Floating Points—aka Sam Shephard—has shared his new single, “Birth4000,” out now on Ninja Tune.
Differing from Shephard’s other recent pursuits—like his Mercury Prize nominated jazz album Promises—the new track’s “crunchy” and “gnarled,” energy stands in stark, rave-fueled contrast to his dreamy releases of years past, making waves on the world’s most prominent dancefloors.
This past summer, the previously unreleased “Birth4000” became a cult-favorite track among dance music’s elite, having been played out by Four Tet at his Finsbury Park headline show, in addition to featuring in Floating Points and Caribou‘s back-to-back set at Arcadia’s famous spider stage during Glastonbury.
“Birth4000” earned even more support from dance music visionaries like Peggy Gou, Ben UFO, Call Super, and Palms Trax, appearing in their festival sets throughout the summer.
The release follows Shephard’s monumental Promises performance at the Hollywood Bowl last month alongside Four Tet, Caribou, Kara-Lis Coverdale, Hinako Omori, and conductor Miguel Atwood-Ferguson.
This “all-star team” joined Shephard as he brought Pitchfork’s highest-rated album of 2021 to life with a full orchestra. The original recording featured the London Symphony Orchestra as well as the legendary saxophonist, Pharoah Sanders, who tragically passed away in September of 2022.
Throughout 2023, Shepherd has been focused on composing his first ballet “for symphony orchestra and electronics.” The work, titled Mere Mortals, will debut in January 2024, performed by the San Francisco Ballet.
Have a listen to Floating Points’ new high-speed track “Birth4000” below.
Featured image from Floating Points. Credit: Dan Medhurst.
