Artist of the Day: Four Tet

Four Tet's announcement of a new album, and one which according to him is the best he's made, has caused more than a stir last week. To try and give an explanation as to why: his two releases in the last 12 months have been critically acclaimed despite one being a selection of old, unreleased material and the other a collection of singles previously released on Soundcloud. To give another explanation: everyone likes Four Tet, and his signature blend of live percussion, guitar and electronic tomfoolery casts a wide net for anyone exploring music to fall into.

2013 is an exciting year for Four Tet in more ways than a new album, as it marks the 10 year anniversary of his most popular release Rounds. Commemorated with a special 10 year anniversary edition, fans now have access to previously released live performances which see Four Tet playfully tweak around with classic tracks. He distorts moods and keeps anyone familiar with the original recordings guessing, injecting a completely new mischievous flow into old classics. The album itself is still sounding as fresh as ever, so if the new album really is as good as he suggests then it is something worth clenching the edges of our seats for.

Four Tet is on Facebook, where everyone is convinced he's Burial.

Artist of the Day: Four Tet

Despite the fate of many of his 90's-electronic-minded contemporaries, Four Tet has managed to hold onto both (a) a consistent release schedule and (b) a lot of the quality that he so devilishly displayed at the turn of the century. Nevertheless, the release of a new LP following the ever promising "I'm going to release an LP today" post to his Facebook page will bring back a lot of the creative joy not seen since his earlier releases. 0181 is a collection of tracks plucked from the 1997-2001 vault, so as such reflects style that he's since moved away from. What the listener yet uneducated in the world of Four Tet will find is quite a lot of jazz, or at least that mindset. Time signatures are played around with liberally, and it's not unusual to hear a bit of brass thrown in to the mix. Beyond this you'll hear a strong influence of that ever contentious brand of 90's braindance: an eternal signature of the veteran producer. Everything is coloured by a deeply playful vibe, even when the album chooses to give respite in its 40 minute duration to something more low-key. It really is a fantastic listen despite not previously considered for release.

The album can be streamed and downloaded (for free) on Soundcloud.
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Artist of the Day: Four Tet

Four Tet sits at a level just below the founders and gods of contemporary electronic music: Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada and the like. So when he releases an album it’s usually the case that a fair few prick up their ears and listen. Except... Pink (the new album) isn’t really a new release at all - the tracks have been available on soundcloud and the like for months - but we still get this wave of excitement because yes, Four Tet is that good. A mere collection of recent tracks is more than enough to make us happy.

Inevitably, Pink’s a tad lost in terms of tone and direction, but it still works because it’s Four Tet. Likewise, some of the tracks aren’t as strong as we’d hope, but it still works because it’s Four Tet. Furthermore, it’s not as jazz-y as his mid-2000’s masterpiece Rounds, but (you guessed it) it still works because it’s Four Tet. He knows what he’s doing, even on an album that could well be viewed as among his weakest, and as such it’s still one of the better albums to be born of 2012’s so far rather erratic, experimental womb.

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