Floating Points wrote the music for a ballet and is…

Floating Points wrote the music for a ballet and is releasing it on Deutsche Grammophon

20.09.2026 10:24 HotInfo

The relationship between electronic music and the conservatory and classical-contemporary scene is not new, and the Floating Points album is not the first record by an electronic producer on Deutsche Grammophon, nor the first to score a ballet — Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk has headed in the same direction in recent years, for example. Rockdelux ↗

According to Rockdelux, the surprise, then, is not the step itself, but the dynamics that until now we could only sense in Sam Shepherd. Minimalism, avant-garde, orchestral quality and ambient have long been part of his projects; this time, however, minimalism turns directly into totalism and builds on sonic mass — together with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. Rockdelux ↗

Mere Mortals is Shepherd's first full-length ballet score. The ballet, choreographed by Aszure Barton, which retells the Greek myth of Pandora and Prometheus as a parable about the release of artificial intelligence, premiered in January 2024 in San Francisco; the score is only now arriving on album, co-produced by the labels Pluto and Deutsche Grammophon. Rockdelux ↗

Sam Shepherd studied neuroscience and came to music through London's club scene; he gained wider attention with the album Promises, which he recorded together with saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra.

On SuperMusic.cz, Floating Points has been listed since May of this year, and has been joined by the instrumental tracks Last Bloom, Dexion and Wires.