Four Tet February 26, 2010

NOISE POP 2010

Kieran Hebden's UK based solo electronic music project, Four Tet, was launched during a time when most people equated electronic music with the droning, repetitive booming emerging from the massive raves and European discotheques during the late 90's. Ever distancing himself from that format, Four Tet has consistently been a project that has defied categorization, employing memes from genres as diverse as folk and hip-hop. “I don’t want anyone to pin me down. I think in everything I’m doing I’m trying to move things forward and go into new areas. I’m very wary of repeating myself and it’s important to me that everything I’m doing is changing.” While this approach is likely to earn someone the somewhat dubious label "experimental", assessing Four Tet's output over the years one gets the sense that Hebden is done experimenting and is definitely on to something significant. With an album set to hit American shelves in January, we can only expect that Four Tet has once again boldly redefined himself.

Hebden's process involves minimal equipment, homemade samples, and a lot of record digging. Taking a break from playing guitar full-time in the band Fridge at the time, Hebden used Four Tet as a means to satisfy his need to delve heavily into the production process. Since then, he has opened for Radiohead on their 2003 European tour and performed and collaborated with jazz drummer Steve Reid. He has done numerous remix projects with artists ranging from Kings of Convenience to Madvillain to Bonobo to Black Sabbeth. He also DJs, works on commercial projects, and directed each of the videos for the DVD version of his most recent album Everything Ecstatic.

Official Website: http://www.noisepop.com/2010/schedule.php