Everything Ecstatic
Domino, 2005
rating: 5/5
reviewer: simon harris


How cool would it be to invent a musical genre? The Chemical Brothers gave us big beat. Saunderson, May, and Atkins brought techno into the world. Chas and Dave blessed us with the Cockney knees-up. More recently, Kieran Hebden, the most critically acclaimed musician of the decade, has fiddled with his boxes and conjured up the appallingly-named folktronica. His fantastic previous albums (Rounds and Pause) have given machine-generated music a warm, acoustic feel and reinvigorated the worldwide audience for electronica.

It would have been easy for Hebden to keep it cozy and produce an album featuring a chilled-out set of beats interwoven with sampled acoustic instruments, sit back, and wait for the applause and the sales. There's nothing worse than a stagnating musician though; thankfully Hebden has moved the goalposts and stepped out of his comfort zone. This is clear to the listener in no uncertain terms as the first track, the aptly named "A Joy," comes storming out of the blocks. There is an undercurrent of aggression courtesy of a rude bassline, ever-changing beats colliding and collapsing over the top until it screeches to a halt in a squall of feedback. The following track, "Smile Around The Face" would be a deviant hit single in a righteous world, taking its deserved place alongside the Windowlickers and Squarepushers.

The most striking feature of this album is that the sounds seem so damn complex. It's very difficult to fathom how someone could produce such an intricate, clattering sound collage without driving themselves insane. That said, this is fortunately no exercise in beatwankery. There is an emotional charge to the tracks and a beauty which is normally associated with more sedate offerings. It is nothing but a hard-edged majesty, upfront and in your face, the product of a burning soul. Hebden's recent live outings confirm this, man and machine united in their focus, a steely look of determination on the face of a man possessed, determined to drive himself and his music to new limits. Recent work with Steve Reid has also been an influence, echoes of his free jazz drumming shining through these reconstructed beats.

It almost seems pointless to single out particular tracks when each one represents a soundworld consisting of micro-melodies and shifting themes, none more so than the astonishing "Sleep, Eat Food, Have Visions". There is a breathtaking splendor to this awe-inspiring epic which is reflected throughout the album. If ever a song title cast a mirror on the author's lifestyle, this must be it. The set then closes with "You Were There With Me," windchime and glockenspiels combining to take us, and Hebden, home. Perfection in music is unattainable, superlatives in writing are tedious, yet this is an awesome, magnificent, incandescent, trailblazing record.

1. A Joy
2. Smile Around The Face
3. Fuji Check
4. Sun Drums And Soil
5. Clouding
6. And Then Patterns
7. High Fives
8. Turtle Turtle Up
9. Sleep, Eat Food, Have Visions
10. You Were There With Me

Rounds
Domino, 2003
rating: 4.5/5
reviewer: amneziak


The time has finally arrived for the return of Four Tet’s solo member, Kieran Hebden.  It’s been two long years since the release of his second album, Pause, and since then a number of accolades have been thrown his way for the creative laptop explorations he’s come to be known for.  With plenty of talent, and a soon-to-be guest spot as the opening act for Radiohead, one could justifiably draw the conclusion that Hebden has clearly impressed all the right people.  If you’ve heard any of his music, you know why he’s been getting so much respect over the last several years.  His first two albums, Dialogue and Pause, epitomize the idea that quality, original music can be made with nothing more than good software and a computer.  What sets Hebden apart from the others in the industry is that only a few are capable of keeping things as fresh as he does with the same amount of tools.  With that in mind, it’s extremely awe-inspiring to hear the production level of this album considering the type of equipment that was used.  

The scope of Four Tet records may remain the same, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Hebden keeps getting better with each release.  Four Tet’s latest effort proves that he is growing artistically, and is continuing to elaborate on the marriage of synthetic and organic sounds.  The samples used on Rounds are now more influenced by jazz than folk, and are the key components to discussing this album.  The manipulated tape loops and samples of children’s voices are just as prevalent here as they have been in the past.  Obviously, Hebden is now more concerned by conveying a certain mood, rather than seeing how many times a hundred samples can be manipulated.  This is the heart of the album, and in the end, makes for a much superior sound. 

Take the intro track, “Hands,” for example.  Hebden’s maturity level is at its height here.  It begins with the simple sound of a heartbeat that is gently taken over by the soothing sounds of a jazz ensemble.  Have no fear, though, because just behind all this is one of the hardest beats I’ve heard him use in quite some time.  I would also venture to say it’s his best track yet.  One of the elements that remain the same on Rounds is the use of the harp.  The harp has been an incessant part of Hebden’s repertoire, as it adds to the element of serenity that makes Four Tet albums so enjoyable.  “As Serious as Your Life” is a bit of a departure from the rest of the album; it’s not as sophisticated as the rest of the songs.  The last song, “Slow Jam” gives a warm nod to his other band, Fridge.  With the main focus being set on the guitar, and a gentle sample of baby’s voices, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that this song wouldn’t be out of place on their last album, Happiness.    

One could argue that this album has been made a hundred times, but the difference here is that the samples make the album.  Structurally, yes, it has been made before, but somehow Hebden continues to dig up and create some of the best samples around.  The beats and samples never appear to sound forced. It’s this seamless marriage that helps pull everything together for Rounds.

If you’ve appreciated any of Four Tet’s albums in the past, have no fear that you will be more than happy with the new album.  If Hebden is just getting started (and getting better with each album), who knows what’s in store for us in the future.  All I can say is that he remains consistent, and Rounds will more than likely be the album that moves him a little closer to mainstream fans.  Once Radiohead has pulled you in, there’s no turning back as to how far you can go.  For Hebden, the real challenge will be to show how many times he can improve on the same ideas.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to to go listen to that incredible first song again. 

1. Hands
2. She Moves She
3. First Thing
4. My Angel Rocks Back and Forth
5. Spirit Fingers
6. Unspoken
7. Chia
8. As Serious as Your Life
9. And They All Look Broken Hearted
10. Slow Jam

Pause
Domino, 2001
rating: 4/5
reviewer: almost cool


Other than the highly unfortunate incident of a bunch of gear being stolen before embarking on the first ever Fridge U.S. tour, Kieran Hebden must be having a pretty darn good year. Along with his other aforementioned group releasing their first album (the amazing Happiness) simultaneously in both the United States and the rest of the world, as well as embarking on their first tour of the states, Hebden has crafted and released Pause, his second album under the name of Four Tet, and it's another excellent batch of tracks.

As usual, the 11 tracks on this release are comprised of both organic and electronic instruments, with sampled and real played parts of the tracks. There are acoustic guitars, horns, pianos, harpsichords, and all kinds of other little elements thrown in for good measure, and sometimes the electronic flourishes are so darn subtle that they're barely there. In fact, the album lives up to the press release description of "pastoral music," and some of it is so damn nice that it wouldn't be entirely out-of-place as a bedtime lullaby.

The opening track of "Glue Of The World" starts things off in a nice fashion and lets you know exactly what you're in for with a quiet, loping beat and some pretty acoustic guitar melodies that weave around one another and snake backwards at points in the track. After jangling around for an opening minute or so, "Twenty Times" locks into a plenty funky groove and tops looped guitar bits with just the right touch of brass. Clocking in at under 2 minutes, "Everything Is Alright" again takes some nice acoustic guitar bits and mixes them with a touch of piano over more kinetic live-drumming sounds for one of the most interesting tracks on the disc.

Basically, the disc is sort of an aural opiate. Although it does have a couple slightly more upbeat points (the second half of "You Could Ruin My Day" chugs right along, but never in a sinister way while "No More Mosquitoes" lurches along with a grubby beat and the vocal line of the track title over and over again), just about the time that you think things are going to take off and get a bit rowdy, it drops off to a more subdued feel.

In fact, you could take this release and pair it up with Boards Of Canada's In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country for a back-to-back hit of sunny, frolic-in-a-sunny-field goodness. "Parks" even mixes in a sample of kids playing over a very nice beat, something the duo of BOC have done a couple times in the past. By the time that you reach the ending track of "Hilarious Movie Of The 90's," the quiet echo of the chimes and fluttering rhythm mix with some gentle keyboard clicks for a track that stacks up against anything that I've heard this year in terms of beautiful serenity. So, while the album doesn't have any super highs, it also doesn't have anything even remotely close to a low. It's another excellent release from Hebden, and even after two releases with his fingerprints on them this year, I can't wait for more.

1. Glue of the World
2. Twenty Three
3. Harmony One 
4. Parks
5. Leila Came Around and We Watched a Video
6. Untangle
7. Everything Is Alright
8. No More Mosquitoes
9. Tangle
10. You Could Ruin My Day
11. Hilarious Movie of the 90s