Arts & Culture
TEST SPIN: Floating Points — Elaenia
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By MAX VAN ZILE
Elaenia is the full-length debut of English DJ Sam Shepherd, known as Floating Points, who had released a few minor projects in the dance scene and who has reportedly spent five years crafting this album. The finished product was worth the effort. In its complexity, ambition and technological pulse, Elaenia sounds like music of the future. It is difficult to pin down a genre — although most transparently associated with electronic music, it undoubtedly includes elements of free jazz and the compositional rigor of modern classical. Its best moments, like the soaring strings-and synths climax on “Silhouettes (I, II, and III)” and the hypnotic echo of “Argente,” are absolutely beautiful.