Head Trip and Floating Points have announced the artist lineup for the US debut of Sunflower Sound System, arriving October 10–11 at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. Taking place during the one-time-only edition of Head Trip, the weekend will bring together acclaimed DJs, producers, and sonic innovators for an experience centered around the physical impact and clarity of exceptional sound.
Designed by Floating Points, the alias of Sam Shepherd, Sunflower Sound System is a custom-built hi-fi environment more than a decade in the making. For its US debut, the system will be housed inside an acoustically treated and paneled dome, with 10 custom speaker stacks arranged in a circle around the audience.
The setup is designed to create an enveloping surround-sound experience, turning the listening environment itself into a central part of the performance. The space will also feature tapestries and original artwork commissioned from DJ and artist Josephine Chime, along with the debut of the Cosmosphere, a giant mechanical mirrorball designed to bloom above the room as the music builds.
The weekend’s programming reflects the wide-ranging musical approach behind Sunflower Sound System. Joining Floating Points will be acclaimed DJ and producer Avalon Emerson, Hessle Audio co-founder Ben UFO, and the duo Eris Drew & Octo Octa, whose energetic approach to DJing centers on the communal and transformative qualities of the dancefloor.
The lineup will also feature longtime Floating Points collaborator Four Tet, pioneering dub producer and engineer Mad Professor, and Detroit artist Theo Parrish, the founder of Sound Signature known for expansive sets drawing from house, soul, jazz, funk, disco, and the broader continuum of Black music.
Emmy-nominated music supervisor and curator Zach Cowie rounds out the lineup. Together, the artists represent the kind of range that Sunflower Sound System was designed to accommodate, moving across different eras, genres, and approaches to DJing and record culture.
Programming will run from 3:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Saturday and from 3:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Speaking about bringing Sunflower Sound System to Head Trip, Sam Shepherd says, “I’m so psyched to bring the system to Head Trip – a lot of the inspiration for the design of the system started with hifi and PA companies founded in CA over 75 years ago and it’s an honour to host some jams in the desert with the Sunflower! We have a sweet lineup of DJs to share music with yall, and we’ve even made some tweaks to the system such as brand new flying tweeter arrays and infill speakers to help with the dispersion. The system is a labour of love and it’s constantly being monitored by our engineers who will be tweaking things as we go. We’ve made a giant mechanical mirrorball ‘Cosmosphere’ which blooms when the jam is really going and tapestries from Josephine!”
The project represents another extension of Floating Points’ longstanding interest in sound, technology, and the space between different musical disciplines. As a producer, composer, DJ, and musician with a PhD in neuroscience, Shepherd has consistently moved between electronic music, live performance, orchestral composition, and multidisciplinary art.
His landmark 2021 album Promises, created with Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra, brought electronic composition, spiritual jazz, and orchestral music together, eventually leading to an acclaimed live presentation at the Hollywood Bowl.
More recently, Shepherd composed Mere Mortals, his first full-length ballet score. Commissioned by San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director Tamara Rojo, the production featured choreography by Aszure Barton and design and visuals from Hamill Industries.
Inspired by the myth of Pandora, Mere Mortals combines orchestral composition and electronics. Following its premiere in San Francisco, the work expanded to performances in Edinburgh and London, with Shepherd performing alongside orchestras including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
Sunflower Sound System takes that same restless creative approach and places it directly into the physical environment. Rather than simply providing a sound system for a performance, Shepherd has developed an immersive space built around his longstanding fascination with engineering, sound reproduction, and collective listening.
Meanwhile, Goldenvoice’s Head Trip will take over Empire Polo Club on October 10–11 with a single main stage and no overlapping performances. Saturday’s wider lineup includes Calvin Harris, FISHER + Chris Lake: Under Construction, Peggy Gou B2B Four Tet, and Seth Troxler B2B Ben Sterling.
Sunday will feature Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex, Dom Dolla B2B KETTAMA, The Blessed Madonna, and DJ Harvey.
With Sunflower Sound System providing its US debut within the weekend, Head Trip will give attendees an opportunity to experience Floating Points’ custom-built sonic environment alongside a lineup that reflects the depth and diversity of contemporary DJ culture.
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