Cascade by Floating Points (2024)
Boris Hauf
memory, sound, motion – and so much fun.
In Cascade, Sam Shepherd – known professionally as Floating Points – returns to the pulse, but not as a revivalist. He arrives like someone who never truly left, only traveled inward for a while. Released in September 2024, this third studio album marks a re-immersion into dance music after the deep meditations of Promises, his 2021 collaboration with Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra. Where Promises floats, Cascade grooves. During the isolation of the pandemic, while composing a ballet score in San Francisco, Shepherd found himself longing – not for a place, but a pulse: the energy of a dancefloor, the intimacy of communal sound. Cascade is that longing translated into rhythm and resonance. Each track moves with purpose, crafted not just for clubs but for connection. Floating Points has always been a shape-shifter, effortlessly moving between jazz, electronic, classical, and beyond. Cascade proves once again that he’s a master of reinvention. Whether you’re a longtime fan or just looking for your next sonic obsession, this album is an invitation: to move, to feel, to get lost in the music. I’ve been listening to Cascade since individual tracks were being teased and singles released starting in spring 2024, and am still struck by the intimacy of the whole album. The sounds feel close, hand-shaped. Every layer has room to breathe. This isn’t maximalist dance music. It’s refined, restrained, and all the more powerful for it. And in addition it’s CRAZY fun.
“Vocoder (Club Mix)” opens the record with confidence – a warm, tactile beat, like breath returning to lungs. The groove is immediate, but it doesn’t rush. It’s an invitation. The pace of someone who knows exactly where they’re going. Track names tether the music to place – “Key103,” referencing Sam Shepherd’s beloved Manchester radio station, pulses with minimalist restraint. “Afflecks Palace” nods to the city’s acid-house roots, fusing that history with frenetic jazz flourishes. It’s an homage, and also a reimagining. These aren’t nostalgia trips; they’re memories reworked in real time. “Fast Forward” unspools in layers, synths trip over themselves, glitching forward until a bass-and-kick pattern brings clarity, almost relief. Modular textures rub against each other, creating friction, then release. And “Del Oro” with its wandering bassline and subtle stereo shifts, shows how much emotion can live in small gestures – a reminder of how little Shepherd needs to say so much. “Birth4000,” the most direct track on the record. It pulses hard, all bass and bounce, stripped to its elements yet never empty. It’s the closest thing to a “banger,” but even here, nuance rules. “Ocotillo” stretches over eight minutes: ambient glitches and arpeggios slowly cohere into a playful house rhythm, filtered through Buchla textures. It unfolds patiently, only to end without warning. Just as you’re ready for more, it slips away. A perfect disappearing act.
The album title and artwork, created by Tokyo-based artist Akiko Nakayama, speak to this fluidity. Her dynamic, colour-soaked liquid ‘alive paintings’ accompany Floating Points on stage, creating a visual dance to mirror the sound. Her work, like his, is in constant motion: organic, intuitive, alive. I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing them at their Berlin concert in November 2024. Akiko’s visuals ripple in response to each kick, each rise and fall in the mix. The result is more than a performance – it’s a fully immersive world, built from sound and pigment, rhythm and light. Sam’s live setup (my guess: CDJs synced to his Buchla system) lets him blend the studio album’s precision and crispness spot-on levels and razor-sharp drops that shake the dancefloor with modular synth improvisations and fluid transitions, all while giving space for Akiko’s kinetic visuals.
Cascade represents Floating Points’ successful return to electronic dance music, blending his scientific, DJ and musical expertise to create an album that resonates with both the mind and the body. It stands as a testament to Shepherd’s dynamic range and his ability to merge diverse influences into a cohesive and engaging musical experience. Cascade is a carefully crafted sonic journey that blends intellect and instinct, nostalgia and futurism, science and pure, unfiltered groove. Each composition feels balanced between thought and feeling, precision and spontaneity. It’s music that rewards deep listening in solitude on headphones (do yourself a favour – listen on a pair of DT150s) and reaches its full potential in a shared space.
Multi-Instrumentalist, composer, producer and performer Boris Hauf composes for large and small ensembles, performance artists, film, radio, soloists, video and installation art. He has more than 50 releases on vinyl, CD, tape and online. Boris owns and runs the politically and ecologically committed independent record label shameless and lives in Berlin, Germany. https://hauf.klingt.org
