Four Tet - Definition and Overview

Four Tet is the name used by Kieran Hebden for his electronic music-oriented solo efforts to differentiate from his work with post-rock band Fridge.

Four Tet is highly respected in many parts of Europe (most notably in Hebden's native Britain) as an original and talented experimental artist, but remains relatively unknown in the United States. Hebden's solo work typically utilises samples lifted from various sources including hip-hop, electronica, techno, jazz, and folk mixed with his own guitar playing. Four Tet shares some stylistic similarities with other musicians such as Prefuse 73 who use computer editing techniques that give the music a staccatto, cut-up feel, but Hebden's solo work is notable for its rich, organic sounds and harmonious melodies.

Hebden began releasing material as Four Tet in 1998 with the 30+ minute single Thirtysixtwentyfive. Later that year he released another single, the jazz-influenced Misnomer. 1999's Dialogue was Four Tet's first full-length album release and fused hip-hop drum lines with dissonant jazz samples.

In 2001 Four Tet's second album Pause was released and found Hebden using more folk and electronic samples, moved some critics to dub Four Tet's new style as 'folktronica'. The acoustic guitar track "Everything is Alright" was featured on a Nike commercial in 2001-2002.

Rounds was released in May, 2003 and is Hebden's most ambitious album to date, incorporating diverse samples such as the mandolin on "Spirit Fingers", and even a rubber duck on the track "Slow Jam".

Rounds had three singles released from it in 2003: "She Moves She", "As Serious as Your Life" and "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth". This last single was released as an EP featuring remixes by Icarus and Isambard Khroustalov along with additional Four Tet tracks "I've Got Viking in Me" and "All the Chimes"'.

Most recently, Four Tet opened for Radiohead at the beginning of 2003 on their European tour.

Discography

• Dialogue (May 05, 1999)
  • Total Running Time: 58 m 38 s

1. Space of Two Weeks (5:50)
2. Chiron (5:23)
3. Alambradas (1:55)
4. 3.3 Degrees from the Pole (6:00)
5. Misnomer (3:20)
6. Liquefaction (4:58)
7. She Scanned (3:12)
8. Calamine (7:38)
9. Butterfly Effect (6:21)
10. Aying (CD only) (4:56)
11. Fume (CD only) (9:52)
12. Charm (CD only) (5:03)

• Pause (May 28, 2001)
  • Total Running Time: 42 m 55 s

1. Glue of the World (5:01)
2. Twenty Three (3:33)
3. Harmony One (1:41)
4. Parks (6:02)
5. Leila Came Round and we Watched a Video (1:39)
6. Untangle (4:36)
7. Everything is Alright (2:31)
8. No More Mosquitoes (3:38)
9. Tangle (3:44)
10. You Could Ruin my Day (7:02)
11. Hilarious Movie of the 90's (3:28)

• Paws EP (December 07, 2001)
  • Total Running Time: 20 m 52 s

1. Glue of the Other World (7:34)
2. Hilarious Movie of the 90's (Koushik's Funny Flick) (2:39)
3. Hilarious Movie of the 90's (Manitoba Remix) (5:37)
4. No More Mosquitoes (Boom Bip Remix) (5:02)

• Rounds (May 06, 2003)
  • Total Running Time: 45 m 22 s

1. Hands (5:40)
2. She Moves She (4:38)
3. First Thing (1:12)
4. My Angels Rocks Back and Forth (5:06)
5. Spirit Fingers (3:21)
6. Unspoken (9:29)
7. Chia (0:31)
8. As Serious as Your Life (4:36)
9. And They All Looked Broken Hearted (5:06)
10. Slow Jam (5:16)

• Live in Copenhagen (April 10, 2004)
  • Total Running Time: 73 m 47 s

1. She Moves She (10:39)
2. Everything is Alright (5:20)
3. Spirit Fingers (7:37)
4. Glue of the World (8:41)
5. My Angel Rocks Back and Forth (9:26)
6. As Serious as Your Life (15:42)
7. Medley - Harmony One intro > Hands > No More Mosquitoes (Jam) > Calamine (Radio edit Jam) > Tangle outro (16:22)

• My Angel Rocks Back and Forth EP (CD/DVD) (May 03, 2004)
  • CD Total Running Time: 23 m 23 s

1. My Angel Rocks Back and Forth (Album version) (5:11)
2. My Angel Rocks Back and Forth (Four Teas on English Time - Icarus Remix) (7:20)
3. First Thing/Chia (The Space Between 3 and 7 - Isambard Khroustalov Remix) (5:21)
4. I've Got Viking in Me (2:16)
5. All The Chimes (3:16)

• • DVD Total Running Time: 18 m 14 s

1. My Angel Rocks Back and Forth (Video) (5:07)
2. She Moves She (Video) (4:41)
3. As Serious as Your Life (Video) (4:48)
4. No More Mosquitoes (Video) (3:38)

External links

• FourTet.net (Four Tet official site) (http://www.fourtet.net)
• Fridge's official site (http://www.brainwashed.com/fridge/index.html)