Floating is a Philadelphia-based shoegaze-y indie rock band, writing personal music conjured from melancholic daydreams in waking life.
I caught up with the band to talk about their early musical experiences, how they got together and the making of their new record “La Di Da”.
CMM-What was the first music that really made an impact on you all as kids and what artist or band did you enjoy the most?
Floating-Our influences are wide-ranging but these were some of the most impactful to us ~ on the school bus:
Mary (vocals, guitar) – Led Zeppelin & Velvet Underground
Reana (bass) – Velvet Underground & Neil Young
Charles (lead guitar) – Tommy Emmanuel & Led Zeppelin
Jesse (drums) – Van Halen & Rush
Johnny (keys/synth) – Pink Floyd & Genesis
CMM-How did the band get together and start crafting your own recordings and developing your sound?
Floating-We all met and became friends playing in the local music scene in the neighborhood Manayunk in Philadelphia. Starting with stripped down song ideas, we built up our unique sound by playing live together over time. Layer by layer we landed on our “bluegaze” sound of our debut album, La Di Da.
CMM-The group recently released an album called “La Di Da. What was the recording process like and were there any particular pieces of gear you all used to get the sound you were looking for?
Floating-We recorded La Di Da with our producer Richie DeVon at Retro City Studios in Germantown, Philadelphia. We came up with most of our sounds and ideas by playing live shows together, but a lot of the layers on the album derive from in-studio ideas. As this was our first time in a proper studio together, we’re looking forward to working on our next album now that we have an idea of how endless the possibilities can be.
As far as gear goes, Retro City had a ton of cool toys to play with, which made our time in the studio a blast. We get our shoegazey sound with many layers of pedals and synths, and are continually building on our collections (wallets permitting).
CMM-If the band could do a score for any film director, who would it be and what would the film be about?
Floating-It would be an absolute honor to score any film – but I think our sound would fit well with a Charlie Kaufman-esque film. I think of him because much of “La Di Da” would fit into a movie like “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” – a cozy hybrid of coming-of-age indie romance and total horror show.
CMM-Anything coming up?
Floating-We’re focusing more time on writing new music to begin recording our next album throughout 2026 into 2027. In the meantime we’re playing a ton of shows in coming months (Check our website for our upcoming shows, www.floatingband.com).
