Floating Points

Putting some organic funk back into dubstep and techno as if he were the child of Luke Vibert and Flying Lotus, London’s Sam Shepherd is better known to dancefloors and tasteful U.K. radio programs as Floating Points. Shepherd launched the project in 2008 by releasing some white-label 12”s plus a bootleg remix of avant jazz legend Sun Ra’s “I’ll Wait for You.” Gilles Peterson picked up on both and featured the two tracks on his Worldwide radio program. Even though he spent his days finishing his Ph.D. in neuroscience, Shepherd still found time in 2009 to partner with Rinse FM’s leftfield DJ Alexander Nut and form the Eglo label. Floating Points’ “For You” single came out on the label that same year, as did Vacuum, an EP named after his parent’s Hoover, which Shepherd had sampled for the A-side. A guest mix on Mary Anne Hobbs’ radio program also aired in 2009, and Floating Points would make an appearance on the BBC DJ’s Wild Angels compilation. Shepherd kicked off 2010 by playing London’s Fabric nightclub alongside Four Tet and James Holden.