Tune Tuesday #1 - Promises - 2026/02/10
One thing that I wanted to use this post for was to actually have more discussions on media. I have barely done that however, and so I think I want to start a bit of a recurring "segment" to ensure that that does happen. Today, I'm introducing "Tune Tuesday".
As the name suggests, I'll be sharing music that I feel are front of mind for me that week. These posts aren't inherently reviews, nor are they intended to be recommendations of my favorite music. While the songs I share for Tune Tuesday will likely end up being music that I do enjoy, I want to be able to use these posts to also share less conventional music, or have discussions on music that I may not normally listen to.
And with that, I think that's enough context to get into my first post. I'll go ahead and create a nice ol' line break, and get with the first recommendation. This one will be a shorter post just cause I'm tired; hopefully, I can do the next album more justice!
Promises (2021)
by: Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, and The London Symphony Orchestra
Runtime: 47 mins
Spotify: Link
Tracklist:
- Movement 1
- Movement 2
- Movement 3*
- Movement 4
- Movement 5*
- Movement 6*
- Movement 7
- Movement 8*
- Movement 9
* = really good
Promises is definitely a weird first pick; it hardly fits into my standard sonic palette, though to be fair, I'm sure that very few people are listening to music like this on the regular. The album is an unlikely collaboration between British electronic musician Floating Points, legendary American Jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, and the world-class London Symphony Orchestra. While this cross-genre collaboration may seem extremely out of left field, listening to Promises affirms that music hardly needs to be understood within the context of the genres.
Promises is also weird in that despite its 9 song track length, it hardly is an album. As the title of each song suggests, the album is more akin to a single classical composition. While each track varies from one another, they all flow perfectly into each other, with track ends/starts not always being entirely noticeable. Additionally, each song builds on the exact same 4 bar motif that is introduced as the very first notes in the first track. If you've ever listened to Fishmans' Long Season, this is a pretty apt comparison.
Despite having only a single motif for the entirety of its run, I hardly found Promises boring. Between movements 1 through 5, each song escalates, building tension by filling up the soundscape more and more. Eventually, it climaxes in movement 6, which really pushes all three of Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, and the London Symphony Orchestra to their best performance. These added elements oftentimes take on almost a cameo-like role, temporarily being placed in the forefront to help bring much needed melodic diversity, while still maintaining faith to the 4 bar motif that never stops chugging. Long songs really are quite impressive; musicians are really pushed to their creative limits as the "obvious" directions a song can go get used and becomes stale.
I've been a fan of Floating Points' work for some time now; their 2019 album Crush created such an isolating yet grand atmosphere that impacted me so directly, it incited a period of reinvigorated interest in space travel and philosophical discussions on 'the expanse'. That probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense, though I think I'll actually come around to talking about that another day (this period was also when I started writing longer form thoughts in public, I may repost some of those very old posts). My understanding is that Promises is first and foremost a project by Floating Points; for me, Promises has shown that Floating Points not only is a highly skilled electronic musician, but also an incredibly talented composer.
The atmosphere of this album certainly isn't for all occasions, but I think in the right environment this album can be understood as genuinely great art by audiences that may not normally share aligned music tastes. If you ever find yourself in a dazed, space-y, or post-death mood, you have to give this album a shot. Or, if you're looking for a spiritual experience, throw in a little bit of that ganja and get cozy in the living room while listening to this at a high volume.