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* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-Rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Psych-Rock * Ethereal *
ARTIST..: VA
ALBUM...: LateNightTales Floating Points
GENRE...: Electronic
STYLE...: DJ Mix, Jazz, Psychedelic Soul, Ambient, Post-Bop
STYLE...: MPB Ambient, Jazz, Funk, Soul, Folk, World, Stage & Screen
YEAR....: 2019
LABEL...: Night Time Stories
COUNTRY.: United Kingdom
PLACE...: London, Greater London
REALNAME: Samuel Thomas Shepherd
BORN....: 21 May 1986, Manchester, Greater Manchester
ENCODER.: FLAC 1.3.1 -8 -V
BITRATE.: 611 kbps avg
QUALITY.: 44.1kHz / 2 channels
SOURCE..: CD
TRACKS..: 17
SIZE....: 348.92 MB
ACCURACY: Accuraterip: YES / CTDB: YES
URL..: https://www.facebook.com/floatingpoints
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_Points
https://www.floatingpoints.co.uk
https://floatingpoints.bandcamp.com/music
https://ra.co/reviews/23650
https://louderthanwar.com/late-night-tales-floating-points-album-review
https://www.metacritic.com/music/late-night-tales/floating-points
https://musiccritic.com/floating-points/late-night-tales
https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/album/floating-points/latenighttales
https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/artist/floating-points
https://www.jazzrevelations.com/post/late-night-tales-floating-points-floating-points-album-review
https://martellsmusic.home.blog/2019/06/26/review-floating-points-late-night-tales
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/146129-floating-points-late-night-tales.php
https://latenighttales.co.uk
- TRACKLIST
1 Sarah Davachi - Untitled, Live In 6:38
Portland (Excerpt) (Exclusive Track)
2 Carlos Walker - Via Láctea 3:07
3 The Rationals - Glowin' 3:25
4 William S. Fischer - Chains 4:20
5 Max Roach - Equipoise 6:16
6 Abu Talib (Bobby Wright) - Blood Of An 4:21
American
7 Sweet & Innocent - Express Your Love 2:45
8 Robert Vanderbilt And The Foundation 3:42
Of Souls - A Message Especially From
God
9 The Defaulters - Gentle Man 4:48
10 Alain Bellaïche - Sun Blues 1:54
11 Alain Bellaïche - Sea Fluorescent 6:20
12 Kara-Lis Coverdale - Moments In Love 9:13
(Excerpt)
13 Azimuth - The Tunnel 9:08
14 Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Milk (Excerpt) 1:57
15 Toshimaru Nakamura - Nimb#59 3:37
(Exclusive Track)
16 Floating Points - The Sweet Time 3:02
Suite, Part I - Opening (Exclusive
Kenny Wheeler Cover Version)
17 Lauren Laverne - Ah! Why, Because The 2:49
Dazzling Sun (Exclusive Spoken Word
Piece)
Total Playtime: 77:22
About Floating Points:
Main recording alias of Sam Shepherd, British electronic music producer. He
is also a co-founder of Eglo Records and the first artist to release on the
label. Classically trained from a young age, Shepherd also leads a 16-piece
Floating Points Ensemble. As a DJ and radio presenter, Floating Points is
known for his strong passion for jazz music.
*
Floating Points' personal collection of global soul, ambient, jazz and folk
treasures form the latest in the warmly revered Late Night Tales series.
Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points' music taste is notoriously tricky to
define, ranging from ethereal classical at one end to coruscating techno at
the other, united only in a firm belief in the transcendental power of music
to move hearts, minds and - yes - feet. Similarly, his production career has
ranged from early experiments in dance music with breakout records such as
the 'Shadows EP' and collaborating with legendary Gnawa master Mahmoud Guinia
to his expansive album 'Elaenia', which met with critical acclaim upon its
release in 2015.
This Late Night Tales excursion into the depths of the evening reflects his
broad tastes. The globally-travelled producer has collected untold treasures
on his travels from dusty stores in Brazil to market stalls near his
hometown. There's the gorgeous 'Via L-ctea', culled from Carlos Walker's
debut album, Abu Talib's (Bobby Wright) plaintive 'Blood Of An American' and
Robert Vanderbilt's gospel reworking of Manchild's 'Especially For You'. Raw
soul and feeling oozing from each song's pores.
?At the other end of the music scale are the modernists, such as Qu b coise
Kara-Lis Coverdale who weighs in with the indelible 'Moments In Love',
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith whose 'Milk' is an exercise in tranquility, while Sarah
Davachi's meditative mix-opener offers respite from a weary world.
?We have some tracks exclusive to Late Night Tales; alongside Davachi's
offerings there is also Toshimaru Nakamura's 'Nimb #59', as well as the now
traditional cover version. Shepherd delved into his childhood memory for this
one, a track taken from the first album his parents bought him, Kenny
Wheeler's 'Music For Large & Small Ensembles': Sam offers up his
interpretation of 'Opening Part 1'. Wheeler also contributes horns to Azimuth
track The Tunnel, written and performed by Norma Winstone and John Taylor
who, coincidentally, are the parents of Floating Points' drummer Leo Taylor.
Closing the album, Lauren Laverne reads the suitably nocturnal poem 'Ah! Why,
Because The Dazzling Sun' by Emily Bront .
"I tried to find music that reflects the stillness of night. And because my
musical interests lie all over the place, it's quite difficult to distil that
notion down to just a few songs. I was quite keen to have some electronic
music in there but I also really wanted to have some soul music mixed in, so
I had to try and find a pathway between all of this different music."
- Sam Shepherd (Floating Points), 2019
*
- The UK DJ and producer taps the depths of his record collection in a
gorgeous, moody mix that runs through ambient, jazz, psych pop, and vintage
soul. -
Listeners consistently underwhelmed by streaming algorithms could do worse
than to follow Sam Shepherd, better known as Floating Points. From his
globetrotting show on NTS Radio and his roving You're a Melody DJ nights to
the hidden gems he lovingly reissues on his label Melodies International,
Shepherd is an enthusiastic sharer of the delectable selections he unearths:
rare gospel, soul, jazz, droney minimalism, tropicalismo, folk, and plenty of
music that eludes easy identification.
So tapping Floating Points to curate the latest edition of Late Night Tales-a
series in which selectors show off the hidden depths of their record
collections-is a great pairing. Shepherd takes the opportunity to float
through an unhurried selection of ruminative, crepuscular music for the wee
hours. Unlike his good friend Four Tet's own eclectic contribution to the
series, Floating Points keeps the mood consistent. Few selections move faster
than a resting heartbeat, but they nevertheless feel dramatic. Despite
staring-at-a-candle zone-outs from Kara-Lis Coverdale and Sarah Davachi, the
mix isn't made for falling to sleep. Instead, each track-the spiderweb
fragility of Carlos Walker's "Via L ctea," nine minutes of zero-gravity bliss
from ECM trio Azimuth-is perfectly suited to inspire sweet reveries.
And since it's Floating Points, you can either geek out over Discogs' asking
price of some of these selections or find exquisite, arcane sonic details to
get lost in. One listen might yield the way something as simple as the ride
cymbal can sound across three consecutive selections: It's an understated
timekeeper on the dreamy psych pop of the Rationals' "Glowin'," turns urgent
amid the otherwise restrained orchestral movements of William S. Fischer's
"Chains," and becomes stately and swinging in the hands of drummer Max Roach
on "Equipoise." On another pass through the set, you might find yourself lost
in reverb: Sweet & Innocent's "Express Your Love" sounds like it's
transmitting from a distant planet. Listen close to the anti-war soul of
Bobby Wright's self-released 1974 song "Blood of an American," recently
reissued by Melodies International, and you can hear his lips smack as he
leans toward the microphone.
That Floating Points' mix trades primarily in rare grooves is a given. Beyond
the gorgeousness of each selection, something even more unusual surfaces in
the lyrics. Sweet & Innocent sing of wanting emotional vulnerability in their
men, and the Defaulters stress the importance of humility on "Gentle Man"-two
traits hard enough to find in the world, much less in pop music. Listen close
and darker sentiments arise: The Defaulters fret about having enough food to
eat. The Rationals sing, "Don't commit suicide/You got to keep on glowin'."
And Wright, who lost one of his bandmates to the fighting in Vietnam, sings
of soldiers' blood being "poured out over you," his hushed voice a harrowing
indictment of the war. Moments like these make the case that, as vital as it
is to have music to drift off to, it's equally crucial that the music has
something meaningful to say.
*
It's no surprise that Floating Points' contribution to the Late Night Tales
series feels so healing and patient. The DJ, producer, Eglo Records
co-founder and actual neuroscientist specialises in fluid, warming electronic
music that has become increasingly mind-bending since his 2009 debut J&W
Beat.
Here, he treats listeners to a lovingly-curated lesson in 1970s spirituality
and the contemporary avant-garde. Two tracks from French experimentalist
Alain Bellaiche offer a bridge between the shining, soft-rock rarities that
fill the first half of the mix and the celestial soundscapes in the second.
Kara-Lis Coverdale contributes an excerpt in which organic acoustics spin
gently off-course, which sits against the creamy vocals and plaintive brass
of Azimuth's jazz epic The Tunnel, the opening record on Floating Points and
Four Tet's much-loved final Plastic People mix. Shepherd's own stunning cover
of Kenny Wheeler brings us to the dawn, and Lauren Laverne's vigorous reading
of Emily Bront throws open the curtains.
So nourishing that it almost feels better suited to the morning's earliest
hours, this Late Night Tales edition confirms Shepherd, once again, as one of
our most generous selectors.
*
- A standout mix of mellow soul, jazz, ambient and more. -
Floating Points represents a new breed of DJ. You could call them gateway
DJs. They are famous. They headline huge clubs and appear regularly at
festivals with their bands. They play hugely popular radio shows on NTS. They
have the knowledge and money to buy rare spiritual jazz and private-press
soul records. Regardless of what you think of the music Floating Points, Four
Tet, Jamie xx and Daphni make, they undeniably share an immense amount of
rare, beautiful music with the world. They're gateway DJs in the sense that
they attract a massive amount of interest from crossover electronic music
fans, who might in turn get hip to Marcos Valle or Kenny Larkin from one of
their sets.
The bar for Sam Shepherd's LateNightTales feels higher than usual. The
remarkably sturdy mix series showcases the "selector" side of popular
electronic music artists, or gives indie bands a chance to show off their
good taste. But given his standing, Shepherd needs to go beyond this on his
first widely released DJ mix. Accomplishing this with a mellow, contemplative
set for the post-club, pre-dawn hours (per LateNightTales' ethos) presents
another challenge. Shepherd's mix outdoes his own high standards, breaking
new ground for the well-loved mix series with a seamless combination of
modern ambient, jazz, soul and prog.
There are no quantized drums on LateNightTales. When mixing, Shepherd focuses
on moods, but he doesn't abandon the technical side. A dazzling blend sees
him cutting smoothly out of The Rationals' garage rock cover of Dr. John's
"Glowin'" into strings from Mississippi-born jazz pianist William S.
Fischer's 1970 track "Chains." The chords from the latter outr jazz piece
are a pitch-perfect match for The Rationals' obscure cover, though the two
records come from vastly different worlds. Throughout Late Night Tales,
Floating Points mixes from different eras and genres as easily as he'd string
two techno tracks together.
The mix focuses on a few of Shepherd's previously revealed obsessions. Dusty
soul obscurities-such as The Defaulters' beautiful 1979 cut "Gentle Man" and
Abu Talib's "Blood Of An American"-make up most of the 77-minute mix's
midsection. He also plays two tracks off Alain Bella che's beautiful jazz
prog odyssey, Sea Fluorescent, which sets the stage nicely for Azimuth's
electronic vocal jazz head trip, "The Tunnel."
Shepherd doesn't limit himself to the historical and lesser known. Opening
the mix with an exclusive live recording from Sarah Davachi, Shepard
highlights the new wave of North American experimental synth music. He
includes a piece by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, and the downcast piano progression
of Kara-Lis Coverdale's "Moments In Love (Excerpt)" feels like the set's
emotional centerpiece.
Yes, LateNightTales' 17 tracks are unsurprisingly tasteful, including many
that are impossibly rare. But it's not an overly studied trainspotters'
paradise. Many of the obscure songs should appeal to the fanbase drawn in by
Shepherd's productions. He says this mix represents the "the kind of records
I play to set the tone when DJing all night long," but Shepherd's entry feels
very much in the classic spirit of the series. Equal parts warm soul, heady
jazz and mind-clearing ambience, this is one to put on after arriving home
from a night out, a comforting soundtrack for a dazed living room comedown.
*
I once heard Floating Points DJ in bright sunshine and was disappointed: he
played a forgettable mix of funk and disco that bore little resemblance to
his production work. His best music is masterfully paced, transitioning
effortlessly between the calm and the cacophonous, and it's better suited to
a patient listener than a raucous crowd. This sets him up perfectly for a
Late Night Tales mix: the solitary, nocturnal headphones-wearer has always
been the series' target audience, and beneath the night sky's warm blanket,
FloPo-real name Sam Shepherd-feels at ease, crafting a soothing, drifting set
that feels intimately connected with its listener.
Many of Shepherd's shrewdest selections here are beatless-take Sarah
Davachi's "Untitled, live in Portland." Sombre and almost dour, it's not the
sort of thing you'd put on to entertain guests, but in the right ears it's
deeply affecting, like just about anything Davachi does. As an opener-and
exclusive to the mix-it crawls inside your consciousness, establishes a
serious, contemplative mood, and shoos away any thoughts you had about going
out tonight, or ever again.
There's an indulgent loneliness to "Moments In Love" too, an excerpt from
Kara-Lis Coverdale's Grafts EP which Shepherd plays around 45 minutes later.
Following two wonderful, spindly guitar tracks from obscure '70s space-rocker
Alain Bella che, Coverdale's composition offers nine minutes of somnambulant
ringing that dissolve time into a meaningless goo. Like the Davachi track,
"Moments In Love" is all about examining a single note from 360 different
angles, like turning life's problems over and over in your head while lying
awake at night.
Yet the mix is by no means depressing. Among its long, ambient dirges are a
number of warming soulful selections, the hallmark of any good LNT (Bonobo's
inclusion of Darondo's "Didn't I" sticks in the memory beautifully.) A
standout here is "Glowin'" by The Rationals, a lesser known garage soul
outfit hailing from 1960s Michigan who make Grizzly Bear sound like a tribute
act. Their inclusion is surprising but smooth, and indicative of Shepherd's
love for digging deep.
Another strangely moving tune is Azimuth's "The Tunnel," which is sandwiched
between Coverdale's "Moments In Love" and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith's "Milk." Not
to be confused with Brazilian jazz-funkers Azymuth, Azimuth were a British
band from the late 1970s who combined Norma Winstone's smoky, pre-Sade voice
with pianist John Taylor and trumpeter Kenny Wheeler (whose "Sweet Time
Suite" is covered by Shepherd later on.) "The Tunnel" comprises those three
elements sparsely and brilliantly, but is carried by a Tangerine Dream-y Moog
line, a musical impression of floating out into space.
It feels a bit like it's building up to something. Much like in, say
"Kuiper," Shepherd lulls us into a blissful vulnerability, the perfect state
in which to be hit with both barrels. Instead he allows his listener to
wallow, using first Aurelia Smith and then "Nimb#59" by Japanese
improvisational wizard Toshimaru Nakamura to create a sleepy, unoppressive
ambiance. It's not quite as impactful as his own music, though it's far from
unpleasant.
Before you drift off, in comes Lauren Laverne with a reading of Emily
Bront 's "Ah! Why, Because The Dazzling Sun." The poem is an ode to the
nighttime and, like many of LNT's customary bedtime stories (previously read
by Alex Turner and Benedict Cumberbatch), it's borderline twee. Laverne
doesn't quite match the croaky drawl of Lydia Lunch, whose reading on
Badbadnotgood's LNT made her sound as though she keeps Satan as a pet, but
the poem's celebration of darkness ("O Stars and Dreams and Gentle Night / O
Night and Stars return! / And hide me from the hostile light / That does not
warm, but burn") fits snugly with the mix's after-hour vibe.
Like every single track, the poem has been chosen with care and painstaking
precision. And yes, that makes Shepherd a selector, free from the highly
technical challenges of transitioning between songs. It means we're free from
critiquing his beatmatching ability, free from analysing the speed and timing
of every knob turned, which if you ask me is closer to sport than art anyway.
Instead we can focus on-and bask in-his excellent track selection.
Many of Shepherd's choices are the product of hours spent listening to music,
a penchant for the obscure which is to be applauded, but the true art of
DJing, as Shepherd exhibits here, lies in making connections between
records-not based on genre or bpm, but because together they create the
desired mood, tell a particular story, paint a certain picture; whatever the
metaphor, it's a skill not just in playing music, but in listening to it.
Listening to music is why we're all here, at a time when such a practice is
in a state of change. If you, like many of us, can't be bothered deciding
what to listen to, you could do a lot worse than letting Shepherd choose for
you. His LNT is a soothing, calming mix for music lovers and night owls, with
a human touch that's impossible to replicate.
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