Promises

Amazing album.. one of the best of 2021.

This does sound like what I imagine when I think of the words "floating points"

Chill and pleasant, but not something i see myself listening to repeatedly. Low three.

Perhaps the best minimalism albums of the 21st Century? This album features British electronic musician and DJ, Floating Points, legendary experimental saxophonist and jazz musician, Pharaoh Sanders, and the London Symphony Orchestra, a rather unusual combination of musicians but they've made a seamless and cohesive album with Promises.

The central point of the album is Pharaoh Sanders' soothing sax playing with Floating Points and the LSO backing him up. The album centres around a motif (played by Floating Points) which is present from start to finish on the album and provides a base for Sanders to work with. The Orchestra is here to provide swells and crescendos to add depth to the saxophone. I wasn't familiar with Floating Points prior to the release of this album, so I'm surprised he managed to do such a big collaboration.

Musically this is a combination of modern classical and jazz, but with some electronic elements hidden in the mix. This sounds a little chaotic in paper, but it all comes together immaculately, I didn't even really notice the electronic elements until a second listen where I paid a bit more attention. Mr. Points does a bulk of the work on here, such as composition and some percussion and string instruments, as well as the electronic stuff obviously, but it's a great showcase of his musical talent.

Overall this is a wonderful album, very peaceful but with a lot of depth that I'm sure I'll discover on repeat listens. This will most likely become a staple of my late nights.

Should it be in the main list: You could make a strong case for it. Personally I'd add it, I don't remember their being any minimalism albums in the books.

Brilliant motiff so slow if feels arythmic like a repeating delightful surprise. Beautiful journey

Listened to this twice. Enjoyed the soaring orchestral moments and the crazy vocals, but that one loop did get a bit repetitive.

An absolutely gorgeous synthesis of electronic, ambient, jazz, and classical. I was blown away by this album when it first came out and I still am today.

Damn, this is cool as shit.

A beautiful collaborative project that will help you simultaneously relax and transcend (in my experience, it's hard to do both at the same time). The entire album is an exploration of the possible permutations of a simple yet sustainable and repeating arpeggio. Sanders' tenor sax brings sandpaper, sex, and voice to the compositions; the symphony's strings bring uncontainable joy in the much-talked-about sixth movement. The music goes total outer-space in the seventh movement, which is such a nice and unlooked-for touch, and though there is some breakdown, the music doesn't lose itself to chaos.

Yes this is a brilliant album, loved it when it came out. Modern day masterpiece

While ambient falls just a bit outside of music I listen to regularly, this is obviously an amazing collaboration between Floating Points (Sam Shepherd), Pharoah Sanders, and the London Symphony Orchestra. The combination of jazz, electronics, and classical music is brilliant and well-executed. Pharoah Sanders’s performance is more subdued than his earlier, more energetic work, but the soulful, subtle sax is in service of the total sound.

I get why it was so widely lauded and appeared on so many end-of-year lists in 2021. The recurring theme is meditative, hypnotic, and calming.

And yet, the repetitive nature of the main motif is also its biggest drawback, making the album lose momentum after movement six.