From Daft Punk’s ‘Tron: Legacy’ to Classical Ibiza, the worlds of orchestral and electronic music have become increasingly common bedfellows. And yet there have been few — if any — genuinely essential records to come out of the crossover.

Floating Points’ ‘Mere Mortals’, recorded with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, isn’t quite that — but it does have a number of dazzling moments where the classical / electronic hybrid makes total sense.‘Movement 3 – Rage of the Gods’ uses furious electronic percussion and edgy orchestral drones to land a blow between Plastikman’s ‘Spastik’ and Stravinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring’; the end of ‘Movement 6 – Pandora’s Theme’ sees a gnarled synth arpeggio ease itself out from under the soaring strings and fluttering woodwind; and ‘Movement 8 – Falling to Earth’ has the most wonderfully heart-racing kettledrum / synth crackle build. 

Stripped of its dance accompaniment, ‘Mere Mortals’ can feel slightly underwhelming at times, like a side salad to the ballet’s full-on banquet. But there are a number of very beautiful songs here — notably the tickling ambience of ‘Movement 10 – Her Gift’ — and at its considerable heights the album shows orchestral and electronic music as genuinely sympathetic partners, playing off each other’s strengths rather than blindly aping their contrasting cadences and textures.