Music Monday: Four Tet

Fonda Lashay — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:00:34 +0000

Four Tet is Kieran Hebden (born 1977 in Putney, London, England) a electronic musician. Hebden avoids the traditional pop song format in favor of a more abstract approach—his sound and melodies incorporate elements of hip hop, electronica, techno, jazz, and folk music with some acoustic guitar. He first released the single Thirtysixtwentyfive in 1998. Hebden’s music is notable for its rich, organic sounds and harmonious melodies. He produces all of his music with his computer and his hi-fi. Here is what he said in this interview about his album Dialogue that:

There’s nothing, no mixing desk, no effects. Only my computer and my hi-fi. That’s all I used on my album. I record stuff, or sample records, or television, or radio. I collect most sounds and then put them on the computer and start messing it all, manipulate them, mock around with them. There’s nothing on the record that is just straight play. Everything has been highly edited, constructed. I might sample a few notes and change them. For instance, there’s no bass on the record at all. Every single bass-type sound on the whole thing is actually other instruments in the track slowed down. On Untangle, besides the drums, every single sound is made out of this one harp sample. I got quite into taking one or two sounds, messing with them loads, trying to make all the sounds I need to make the whole track, with just one little second-long burst of music.

Alongside recording his own material, Hebden has also performed remixes for a number of artists including Aphex Twin, Anti-Pop Consortium, Bonobo, Beth Orton, Explosions in the Sky, Super Furry Animals, Radiohead, Matthew Dear, Sia, Nathan Fake, Bloc Party, Andrew Bird, Kings of Convenience, Battles, Madvillain, and Black Sabbath. [text via wiki]

The three albums Kieran Hebden, aka Four Tet, released in quick succession: Pause (2001), Rounds (2003) and Everything Ecstatic (2005) represent a high watermark in new forms of pioneering musical creativity. These recordings fine-tuned the techniques of electronic music: sampling, sequencing, tweaking and injected them with an almost alchemical warmth. His ethos and immersion in the process of making an evolving body of work is, according to one of his track titles: Sleep, Eat Food, Have Visions. The result is a highly emotional and thought provoking set of records. Disparate forms such as free jazz, hip hop, concrete tape research music and open string folk tunings are distilled into something that can only be described as sounding like Four Tet. [via Domino Records]

Find out Hebden’s 9 favorite albums here.

Four Tet is wonderful, I love this music. This guy has a lot on the books tour wise coming up – make sure to check if one is in your area. I can imagine that you would not be disappointed!

Four Tet: website | myspace | last.fm | discogs

Fonda LaShay » jazz

Music Monday: Four Tet