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Four Tet

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Four Tet

Four Tet
Britain's own Four Tet (real name: Kieran Hebden) is easily one of the country's greatest exports. There's a reason he gets over 2,000,000 streams on Spotify per month. Four Tet is probably the hipster's favorite D.J., he surely has made is name known in the indie scene. His debut album, 1999's Dialogue introduced the world to his signature sound of combining acoustic instrumentation with electronic sounds- this sound turned out to be timeless from the get go. His 2003 (and third album) Rounds is one of the best albums down-tempo has to offer. I didn't jump on board (& didn't really become a real fan [even though I had heard his name {which kept popping up}]) until his 2015 release Morning/Evening, which was designed with the classic vinyl-format in mind, with an A-side and a B-side. The project was a two-sided record trying to capture the magic of each the sunrise and the moonlight. And boy, did it work. It had beautiful middle eastern vocal samples. The morning side is one of the most gorgeous pieces of music I've ever heard. He quickly followed that up with 2017's New Energy. There was also this year's [2020's] awesome release Sixteen Oceans. He has also provided DJ mixes for the holy-trinity of DJ-mix compilation labels: Late Night Tales, DJ-Kicks, and FabricLive. There's a reason Four Tet has received widespread acclaim & stuck around for so god-damn long. But first- let's take it back. His first release was the 1998 single Thirtysixtwentyfive. He gained a bigger crowd and higher recognition with a remix of the Aphex Twin track "Untitled [SAW CD1 Track 1]," proving Aphex was a fan. A passing of the torch, if you will. Bigger crowds and higher recognition came with a remix of Radiohead's "Scatterbrain," proving that Thom Yorke and company were fans. There was also a Burial collaboration. He has collaborated with everybody who's anybody. One of my other favorite DJ's, Caribou, has expressed his love for Four Tet, which explains this collaboration. He's also done a remix of another favorite DJ of mine- Jamie XX. Four Tet's signature sound of down-tempo EDM infused with organic + electronic sounds has proven not only to be a working formula but a timeless one at that. His 2010 album There Is Love In You is his vision crystallized and a good place to start for any new-comer. His compositions can be abstract yet melodic with tonally rich & often glitchy electronics... with some real ass acoustic instrumentation! You can't talk about electronic music without mention this dude. He's one of the best.
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Four Tet

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