Floating Points and Head Trip have confirmed the artist lineup for the American debut of Sunflower Sound System, the custom hi-fi listening environment Sam Shepherd has spent more than a decade developing, running all weekend during the one-time-only event this October 10-11 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA.
The system itself takes shape inside an acoustically treated, paneled dome, with 10 custom speaker stacks arranged in a circle around the crowd to build a fully enveloping, surround-sound experience. Josephine Chime has been commissioned to create tapestries and original artwork for the space, and the installation will debut the “Cosmosphere,” a giant mechanical mirrorball engineered to bloom open above the room as each set builds.
Joining Floating Points across the weekend: Avalon Emerson, whose sets move fluidly across eras and genres; Hessle Audio co-founder Ben UFO; the duo Eris Drew & Octo Octa, known for a joyful, physical approach to DJing; longtime Floating Points collaborator Four Tet; dub pioneer Mad Professor; Detroit’s Theo Parrish, the Sound Signature founder known for sprawling sets spanning house, soul, jazz, funk, and disco; and Emmy-nominated curator Zach Cowie. Programming runs 3PM to 12:30AM on Saturday and 3PM to 11:30PM on Sunday.
“A lot of the inspiration for the design of the system started with hi-fi and PA companies founded in California over 75 years ago,” Shepherd said of bringing Sunflower to the desert. “We’ve even made some tweaks to the system, like brand new flying tweeter arrays and infill speakers to help with the dispersion — it’s a labour of love, and it’s constantly being monitored by our engineers.”
Sunflower Sound System is the latest expression of a career that’s consistently pushed Floating Points past the edges of any single musical lane. A producer, composer, DJ, and neuroscience PhD, Shepherd has moved between dancefloors, concert halls, and multidisciplinary arts spaces for close to two decades. His 2021 album ‘Promises,’ made with Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra, earned a Mercury Prize nomination and a sold-out Hollywood Bowl show, while his ballet score ‘Mere Mortals’ — commissioned by San Francisco Ballet and inspired by the myth of Pandora — has since toured to Edinburgh and London. Sunflower carries that same restless instinct into physical space, turning his fascination with sound and collective listening into an environment people can step inside.
Head Trip itself runs on a single main stage with zero overlapping performances. Saturday’s wider bill includes Calvin Harris, FISHER + Chris Lake’s Under Construction, Peggy Gou B2B Four Tet, and Seth Troxler B2B Ben Sterling. Sunday brings Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex, Dom Dolla B2B KETTAMA, The Blessed Madonna, and DJ Harvey.
Tickets and more information available at HeadTripIndio.com.
