Floating Points: Mere Mortals, Sam Shepherd’s first full-length ballet score
With Mere Mortals, Floating Points, the musical alter ego of British composer, producer and DJ Sam Shepherd, presents his first full-length ballet score. The fourteen-part album was released in all formats on 28 August 2026 on Deutsche Grammophon. The work grew out of a commission from Tamara Rojo, artistic director of San Francisco Ballet, who also staged the production.
The choreography is by Aszure Barton, with set design and visuals by Hamill Industries. Mere Mortals received its premiere in January 2024 at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco.
Mere Mortals: Floating Points sets the myth of Pandora to music
At its heart lies the ancient tale of Pandora, the first woman of Greek mythology, whose curiosity brought humankind both ruin and hope in equal measure. Shepherd translates this material into an interplay of elegiac strings, urgent brass and pulsing electronics.
Recorded with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, acoustic forces and synthetic textures merge into a single, irresistible pull. The title itself points straight to the core of the work: Mere Mortals explores the boundary between human and machine, between the transient and the constructed.
The album: fourteen movements between orchestra and electronics
The score follows the arc of the myth across fourteen movements, from Fire and Hope through the percussive uproar of Rage of the Gods to the open close of Nowhere to Land. Solo moments set fine accents along the way: the lyrical solo violin of Cordula Merks in Hope, the delicate harp of Miriam Adefris in Her Gift, before the eerie mood of Opening of the Jar lifts the lid of the proverbial vessel. The singles Falling to Earth and Her Gift were already released ahead of the album, first glimpses of a sound world that challenges listeners as much as it seduces them.
Floating Points, aka Sam Shepherd: from the club to the concert hall
Sam Shepherd is a musician of many worlds: classically trained, once a chorister at Manchester Cathedral and a pupil at the renowned Chetham’s School of Music, later celebrated as Floating Points on stages across the international club scene. His albums include Elaenia, Crush and the Mercury Prize-nominated Promises, recorded with jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra. Mere Mortals now marks his debut on the Yellow Label and the most ambitious step in his output to date.
Mere Mortals on vinyl, CD and in Dolby Atmos
For collectors, the DG Store offers a Deluxe Edition on crystal-clear vinyl (2LP), with etched details, a removable outer sleeve, and an expanded booklet featuring a handwritten score by the artist. Alongside this, Mere Mortals is available as a standard 2LP, as a CD, and digitally, including in Dolby Atmos for an immersive listening experience. At the same time, the ballet returns to the stage: following its European premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival (28 to 30 August 2026, with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra), the production runs from 9 to 12 September 2026 at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London (with the Royal Ballet Sinfonia).
Between antiquity and the future, between orchestra and synthesizer: Mere Mortals by Floating Points has been available since 28 August 2026 on Deutsche Grammophon.
➤ Order now at the DG Store and secure the Deluxe Vinyl Edition, or discover more new releases in the catalogue.
