Fridge showcased a new age in instrumental rock, or post-rock, for the UK. Faceless, no-ego musicians with a passion for only the music and releasing limited independent vinyl releases initially, Adem Ilhan, Sam Jeffers and Kieran Hebden gained favourable media coverage, choosing to stick with their independent roots. Kieran Hebden has always made music on his own, experimenting with a more electronic sound composition, and when he played initial tracks to Trevor Jackson at Output Recordings, the excitement was comparable to previewing Fridge for the first time. Output Recordings went on to kick start Kieran’ solo career as Four Tet.
1998 saw the first Four Tet release for Output Recordings, Thirtsixtwentyfive, continuing with the limited exclusive feel of the Fridge releases, came packaged with a difference. Released as a double 12″ vinyl EP, split into two parts, so only one part on each of the one-sided 12†vinyl, to allow a more flexible and creative mix for the discerning DJ. Even splitting the mammoth track into two parts didn’ afford it much radio airplay, still locked into the three minute song format, but nonetheless great interest ensued off the back of previous Fridge releases, being on Output Recordings, and the shear length of the song, referring back to the progressive rock archives of UK music history.
Four Tet’s debut album, Dialogue, released the following year, contained all new material, not containing Thirtysixtwentyfive, not unlike how Fridge started out, taking a page from New Order initially not including single’ on their albums. This no doubt encouraged fans to buy the single’, but the release of Dialogue cemented Four Tet as an artist to pay attention to, eschewing the lines between rock, hip hop and jazz, in my opinion creating a modern classic, the ruff with the smooth, the soft with the loud… Misnomer, lifted and re-edited from the album, expanded on the jazz/rock crossover, enveloping hip hop drum breaks over dissonant jazz samples. The Glasshead 12â€, another non-album track, further explored his own brand of beat science, creating an almost krautrock monster, it sold so well, the EP was also released on CD, both containing a re-edited version of “Calamine” from the album. This was to be the last release for Output Recordings.
Lo Recordings and Leaf release the next two EP’ for Four Tet, on a more collaborative tip. Rivers Become Oceans was primarily a Four Tet release, using samples taken from the Rothko album A Negative For Francis, using a similar beat template to Glasshead, but the ambience and b-side contained a more pastoral approach. The Four Tet Vs Pole EP explored a more glitched dub experimentation, with both artists borrowing from each other, with an obvious inspiration from both directions.
No More Mosquitoes explored the “folktronica†genre, marking a departure from his previous sound, and the debut for Domino Records, employing a more pop ethic to Four Tet’s song structures. Where the live instrumentation of previous releases was usually confined to drums, bass and guitar, the initial Domino Records releases explored more folk oriented instrumentation.
This live instrumentation intertwined with folk melodies and sound textures were fully realised for Four Tet’s second album Pause in 2001. Using acoustic guitar, mandolin, harp, flute and woodwind, gives an overall mellowness to the album, even though the tempo’ sometimes venture into house territory, one could easily imagine a day of relaxation. Paws is a companion piece to the album, an EP that invites like minded musical abstractors to interpret tracks from the album, further venturing into the cutup production styles of some of his contemporaries. Manitoba and Boom-Bip contribute memorable mixes, while Koushik, who Kieran has championed, manages to add a layer of darker soul and funk.
I’m On Fire, again an exclusive track in two parts, this time on limited 7″ vinyl, acts as both a stop gap until the next album, and a hint of future sound developments for Four Tet, and being a lovely 7″ vinyl release, makes it all the more attractive.
The vocal as an instrument seemed to become more prominent in the next stage of Four Tet’s career, and undeniably the best example of this is As Serious As Your Life from 2003. Combining hard hip hop oriented beats, raw basslines, and well known mid-90′ hip hop samples in the mix, it was the Jay Dee vocal that took this to a new level. Although some may argue Jay Dee was an obvious choice, his vocal is right on the mark, always being able to bring something fresh to the sound, his voice sitting perfectly atop a tough production.
The third album, Rounds, from the same year, seemed to collect all of Four tet’s changes in style, being varied, but retaining a beauty evoked by intricate tinkling of live instruments fed through machines, producing shards of icy electronica as a thread through the whole album. A more refined album than previous efforts, Rounds has a greater focus, but with that comes a loss in the improvisational aspect to his music, the more highly edited aspects of song structure give it a rigidity, on the up side this rigidity firmly placed the album and 12†vinyl lifted from the album on the more discerning dancefloors around the globe.
The She Moves She EP reinforced Four Tet’s presence in the club scene, but Kieran never seems to sit still, inviting more abstract musical experimenters to remix tracks from the album for the My Angel Rocks Back And Forth EP. Icarus add spliced Chinese vocal samples and frenetic drum’n’bass beats to create a menacing interpretation, while Isambard Khroustallov takes this abstraction even further into a more atonal world. Kieran Hebden seems to strive at staying fluid, trying to further develop his sound, never becoming stagnant, moving forward with every release.
2005 saw the release of A Joy, in too many formats to count, a taster for the forthcoming album later the same year, an all brightly coloured and optimistic production style. It marked an important stage in Kierans career, having working extensively with legendary jazz drummer Steve Reid, releasing collaborative efforts The Exchange Session Volume One and Volume Two, and appearing on Steve Reid’ album Spirit Walk. With two memorable shows in Paris and London prior to these releases, it became obvious Kieran became heavy influence and inspired by Steve Reid, becoming his main focus for a few years.
This inspiration obtained from working with Steve Reid re-energised the Four Tet template, releasing his fourth album as Four Tet, Everything Ecstatic in the same year. A brighter, more frenetic approach makes this album memorable, the way the drums move in a freeform manner, clattering and looping in a full on assault to the senses. Kieran makes mention that this is the stage his drums in particular became more focused, yet more freeform, and the higher tempo was definitely an influence from Steve Reid’ style of drumming. Having dabbled in video as a means of music enhancement in the past, Smile Around Your Face is perhaps the pinnacle of this vision, keeping clear of visual abstraction, and embracing the short story idea to visualise predominantly instrumental music. The Smile Around Your Face video featured renowned UK actor Mark Heap, often Chris Morris collaborator and genuinely quirky character actor, in a charming story of a day in the life of a father struggling with his change in circumstances.
Sun Drums And Soil initially released as a limited 3†CD single, and later on 12″ vinyl, marked another genius remix by Sa-Ra Creative Partners, taking the fragile sound colliding with spiritual drums into future-soul territory, this must have been the point where savvy American labels finally started to take the work of Kieran Hebden seriously, for he would go on to work closely with Stones Throw, producing one of the most desirable remix projects ever, Madvillian (MF Doom and Madlib) together with his good friend Koushik.
Ringer is an EP that makes the greatest break for change in Four Tet’s output, managing to convey everything Kieran has ever been involved with, back from the Fridge days, combined with his many influences from times past, dabbling with krautrock frameworks, and creating something that only Four Tet could, bringing freshness to every sound, even if that sound is straight out of 70′ German rock experimentation.
The motorik sound of krautrock has been carried forward to know, a two year silence (well, remember he’ also produced many remixes) before the release of Love Cry in 2009. Always being ahead of the pack, or having his finger on the pulse, Four Tet again hints at a change in direction. Playing at Plastic People alongside new and exciting talent has further developed his sound, this time heading into more dubstep/dub techno territory. The media buzz of his collaboration 12†vinyl release Moth/Wolf Cub with Burial has had a lasting effect, asking numerous dubstep producers to remix tracks for both the Love Cry and Sing 12†releases. You may expect that dubstep influence to seep through to his latest album, There Is Love In You, but it lingers more in dub techno soundscapes, but retaining the Four Tet ambience, the underlying dense soundscapes that immediate hint to the producer. The fifth album for Four Tet may not be an immediately likeable listening experience, as with all of his releases; it’s the repeated listens that gradually unravel the marvelous sounds hidden in the mix.
Kieran Hebden’ lesser known alias, Joshua Falken, only release one 7″ vinyl record and a remix, but as with the very first 7″ as 4T, carriers a funk-rock undertone that could have been developed further. These two records stand the test of time, and sound just as fresh today.
As a footnote in the career of Kieran Hebden to date, he has been a highly sought after remixer and producer. Too many to list here, but on further investigation you’ll find he’ remixed the likes of Madvillain, Andrew Bird, Bloc Party, Super Furry Animals, Beth Orton, Badly Drawn Boy, The Notwist, Boom-Bip, Battles, Kings Of Convenience, Bonobo, Thom Yorke, Radiohead, Aphex Twin, Antipop Consortium, Matthew Dear, Sia, Nathan Fake, Black Sabbath, The Cinematic Orchestra, Steve Reich, and Jef Gilson. A handy Remixes double CD compilation has been released for the uninitiated, and DJ Kicks released a mix by Kieran Hebden, showcasing many of his influences, creating an eclectic mix from someone obviously passionate about music. Coverage of all of his remixes would take me weeks to put together, but I’m confident once you’ve sampled the many varied pleasures Four Tet can relay to your ears, you’ll soon be searching out further experiments of his sound any way you can.
Wayne Stronell
