Electronic artist Floating Points is bringing his very own sound system with him to festivals this summer.
First teased in 2024, the sound system – which he calls the Sunflower – takes inspiration from other sound systems he loves, but especially that of Leeds venue, Cosmic Slop. It is also influenced by the work of SBS Slammer, a high-end sound system company based in NYC.
Floating Points, whose real name is Sam Shepherd, has also collaborated with designer fig. G (Carlos Figueroa) to bring the Sunflower to life. He has shared sporadic updates on the set up throughout the year via social media, and now, in an interview with Apple Music’s Tim Sweeney for the Beats In Space show, he’s confirmed he’ll be bringing the sound system out to shows this summer.
“Whenever I DJ, I have to psych myself up a little bit,” Shepherd says. “Discovering new music is the easiest way to get that feeling of, ‘I can’t wait to play this loud on a system.’ That’s one reason I wanted to build this. I’ve spent so much time in all these different clubs. Eventually, I was like, ‘I need to build a sound of my own that has the power that I want. I need to build the room I want to play in.’”
Talking of Cosmic Slop, he adds, “The system there is run by this guy Tom Smith, who I call Cosmic Tom. He got deep with it and did all the carpentry himself – with some help from old-school New York guys who built, you know, Paradise Garage, those mythological systems. Tom’s system is the best in the UK, hands-down. The midrange is beautiful. The feeling you get in that space is fantastic.”
For his festival set up – which is far more challenging than within a venue – Shepherd is building walls with haystacks and rock panels to tackle sound leakage: “I want people to go in there and be like, ‘Wow, music sounds beautiful in here, and I’m having a 10 percent better time than if it wasn’t as good,’” he states.
You can check out some of his most recent updates on the Sunflower in the videos below:
Floating Points’ upcoming festival dates are yet to be announced, but you can sign up to his mailing list via his official website.
