Go with the flow.
Cascade, the most recent LP from British electronic music producer Sam Shepherd, and his third solo release as Floating Points, is a departure away from his previous jazz and orchestra influenced body of work, Promises (2021). Moving towards something a bit “clubbier,” Cascade is a nod to Shepherd’s formative teenage years in Manchester during the ’90s and 2000s when he exposed himself to new scenes and sounds around the city — one being techno. Floating Points’ take on a usually dark, hard-hitting genre is a much simpler and slower sound than the mainstream techno that is topping charts today, using sound and space to provide the listener with a soundtrack for an introspective journey.
The first 3 tracks from Cascade are the album’s best. “Vocoder (Club Mix),” the album’s opener, is a tasty sampler of the many styles, sounds and production techniques Shepherd uses on different tracks from the album. Creating a space for the listener through the stereo field with reverb and panning, a punchy beat people can dance to, and containing the most words of any track on the album. It is a fantastic opener meant to hook the listener and keep them wanting more. The album’s second and third tracks, “Key103” and “Birth4000” are the most comparable to some of today’s popular techno tracks and most definitely translate the best to the dance floor or radio. Floating Points doubles down on his not overly complicated production techniques and uses fundamental effects to keep transitions, builds and drops engaging for the listener.
A few other track standouts from Cascade are “Ocotillo,” where Shepherd uses the stereo field to its max potential, with a bright lead ping ponging left and right between headphones and a stereo drum track slightly offset from the other in each ear. Overusing stereo and doing too much can be considered distracting during a listening experience, but Shepherd balances out his stereo panning with his simple and clean productions that benefit from using a technique like this. “Afflecks Palace” is full of sounds that could be ripped straight from an ’80s or ’90s 8-bit retro video game and possess an extremely organic drum break that stands out towards the end of the track. Much like the song prior, “Tilt Shift” uses sharp, metallic, even borderline harsh sound design that works well with what sounds like a Drum & Bass inspired drum pattern along with support from pads, drones and small synth stabs, making for an interesting listen.
With Cascade, Floating Points brings this motif of one idea flowing into another full circle. When listening, it is difficult to pinpoint where one song ends and another begins without looking at what’s currently playing. Even zooming in to a song by song basis, many of the sounds in one track follow the same pattern or rhythm throughout the six and a half minute tune, but morph into totally new sounds before sometimes switching back. It’s a great example of an artist going beyond individual songs and creating a sense of cohesiveness for a body of work.
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