Floating Points played Knockdown Center (Early Show)

Floating Points played two sets at Knockdown Center. Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore opened the early show.

When going to see an electronic artist, it's important to distinguish if you're going to a live show or a DJ set. While either can be great, seeing a live performance of someone putting together tracks in real time vs hitting play and adjusting BPMs and throwing in some crossfades is a huge difference. A great example is a live set from Floating Points. Taking over Knockdown Center on Friday night for an early show and a late night set allowed the electronic wonder to flex his stuff and showcase his enhanced live experience. 

Prior to Samuel Shepherd taking the stage, the duo of Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore set forth in matching sparkly outfits to deliver an entrancing ambient set that was only plagued by a crowd who couldn't keep their mouths shut. Pairing Lattimore's refined harp with Barwick's glowing electronics and balmy vocals, the two slowly blossomed their ethereal sound into a marvelous soundscape of flowing rhythms and endless ambiance. Debuting new music from an upcoming album, the two were in total lockstep as they matched their unique sounds and gave us something totally spellbinding, enveloping the massive room in booming sounds of bleary-eyed vibes that matched their haunting moments with those of unwavering bliss. Their hypnotic set put the night on an ambient spin and I briefly wondered if that meant that Floating Points would use the first of his two shows for the evening to dip more into his own spaced-out tracks or if this was simple just a quick jettison to the cosmos before being pulled back into classic rave music. As the two ended their soothing set, the energy slowly resumed to a heightened sense before the lights dropped once more as Shepherd took to his decks.

Keeping the harp center stage and kicking things off with a more subdued tune, "Sea-Watch," I was quickly convinced this would indeed be a slow burner of a set from Floating Points, but that thought soon dissipated as he dropped in on some rocking techno beats that he used to warp around the angelic sounds coming at us. Watching him build these rhythms in conjunction with a live harp was sensational and as the lights and screens began to kick in as well, the night was off into a realm of pure magic. Occupying stage right were visual artists Akiko Nakayama and Hamill Industries who were creating live pieces of work that replicated some of Floating Points recent album and singles covers and once it became clear that this being done in tandem with the music, the crowd entered a new state of enlightenment. Slowly people all around realized the magic happening in front of us and Floating Points capitalized on that by delivering huge moments through tracks like "Birth4000" and "Vocoder." Giving us classic techno and flashes of house as well as some big beat moments had the entire building shaking and the natural flows of the sounds meant that each time the harp came back into play, we knew another epic drop would somehow morph its way into the mix as well. The ever-changing artwork that came on the screens was almost as energizing as the music itself and watching the combo was an absolute thrill ride that has the crowd going hard and raging to the beat with pure euphoria running through dance floor. Reinventing your live performance as an electronic artist can be challenging since you're generally confined to a single space without the freedom of having a massive stage presence so it's no wonder many have relied on such elaborate stage productions. Floating Points does have the chops to create monumental moments through his music, but the artistry of this show was unlike any other and it's really something special that won't be forgotten soon.