Floating Points returns to Cosmic Slop to save the beloved Leeds party and charity
It’s 4pm on a Sunday. It’s spitting outside, and the remnants of last night’s hangover are still clinging on for dear life, somehow surviving through two separate naps. But neither the gloomy weather nor my admittedly self-induced weariness can stop me from making my way down to Leeds’ newest venue, Project House. The white warehouse is situated just out of town and has hosted countless weddings, gigs and record fairs since its opening back in July, but today, it lends a stage to none other than Floating Points, also known as Samuel Shepherd.
Though Shepherd is originally from Manchester, the electronic experimentalist and ambient producer has forged a close relationship with the MAP Charity in Leeds over the last few years. The organisation works to provide training and qualification opportunities to kids without access to mainstream education, and one of the ways it sustains itself is through a regular party called Cosmic Slop.
To Leeds residents, Cosmic Slop has become an institution. If you stop anyone in Hyde Park or Headrow House and ask them for their opinion on the best night out in the area, there’s a high likelihood that they’ll respond with those two words (otherwise meaningless, unless you’re a Funkadelic fan). It’s easy to see why the party has garnered so much word-of-mouth praise. The night, hosted at Hope House, a 200-capacity venue just west of the city centre, boasts lineups that O2 Academies would be more than proud to book.
With a cult reputation, a top-notch soundsystem, and a cause to match, the party has drawn in some of the biggest names in the business. From Caribou to Four Tet, DJs from far and wide have pencilled Leeds into their tour dates, undeterred—or perhaps endeared—by the small size of the venue and the community focus. One of their most faithful bookings is Floating Points. So it makes sense that, with the party and charity now under threat, Shepherd returned to the city to shine a light on the importance of the charity.
Like many local businesses and venues, MAP Charity’s activities have now been jeopardised by city centre development. Global Investment fund Cheyne Capital plans to build hundreds of flats next to Hope House, which provides a home to both the charity and Cosmic Slop. This venture could impact the charity’s activities as well as the party that funds and markets them.
In a statement accompanying the charity’s petition, they explained, “The bottom line is, if the planning permission goes through in its current state, the potential for noise complaints from new residents could cut off MAP Charity’s main fundraising source, as well as a direct threat to 10 jobs in the events team. This could end MAP Charity.” In an effort to save their home and their very existence, the charity is amassing signatures in their thousands to show the importance of the organisation.
And what better way to promote the cause than by calling on one of their most loyal and lauded partners, Floating Points? On Friday, Project House and Cosmic Slop announced that Shepherd would be playing a show in the city in an effort to save the charity from closure, the first of a series of events to raise awareness about the issues facing the charity. The price of entry? Your name on a petition to support MAP. The event? A showcase of Shepherd’s new, self-built, self-described sunflower soundsystem, two days from the announcement.
Rather than putting the free party on in the venue they’re hoping to save, Floating Points and Cosmic Slop knew that a bigger beast was required to cater for the flocks of audiences who would turn out for the cause. As we rocked up to Project House on a drizzly Sunday afternoon, just an hour into the event, this became all the more clear. The smoking area of the venue was already full of those willing to brave the rain while the sounds of music and chatter bled outside.
A one-in, one-out system had been implemented in anticipation of numbers, but we turned up just early enough to dodge the raffle tickets on the way in. After donating to MAP and perusing the Cosmic Slop merchandise stand, it was time to see if Shepherd’s soundsystem-building skills match up to his production prowess.
The inside of Project House looked a little different from usual. Black curtains had been draped around the venue area in an effort to turn the 4pm. light into an underground club and enhance the sound within. After dipping through those curtains, we were met with the sight of two huge stacks of speakers sitting on either side of the DJ booth. Shepherd was manning the decks between them like a proud father.
The hungover, Sunday scaries immediately dissipated as Shepherd and Cosmic Tom, the cofounder of MAP, took the crowd on an endlessly unpredictable sonic journey. We were expecting something ambient, something suitably cosy for a Sunday that could still show off the depth of his creation, but we couldn’t have been more wrong. Between them, the pair served up afro-pop remixes, never-ending drum beats, hard jungle, and everything in between, never allowing the audience to settle into any one genre.
It was a set that showed off the capabilities of Floating Points’ soundsystem at every opportunity, leaving even the most technologically challenged in awe of just how good it sounded. As we traipsed out of the venue a couple of hours later, queues were collecting at the entry, hoping to catch a glimpse of the mammoth soundsystem and to offer their support to MAP and Cosmic Slop. It seemed like everyone was out to shrug off the Sunday blues and headaches with a healthy dose of dance, but more than that, everyone was out to declare their love for Cosmic and the community it harbours.
“We cannot thank Floating Points enough for their continued support of MAP Charity and Cosmic Slop and everything they have done to help this campaign and petition,” MAP shared in a statement to Far Out. They also shared the impact of the event in a social media post, acknowleding that it had allowed the campaign to pass 4000 signatures.
It was a day that could have been about Floating Points, about his upcoming album or the truly impressive soundsystem that he has built. And while this certainly inspired awe in the crowds of audiences who ventured to Armley throughout the day, it wasn’t the main takeaway. Rather, it was a celebration of the importance of organisations like MAP and Cosmic Slop, a demonstration of how important they are to local communities, and a bid to ensure that they can continue that work.
