Electronic Artist Of 2015: Four Tet

Kieran Hebden may not be a household name to some but his pioneering musical creativity will have ricocheted around your eardrums at some point. Hebden has been using the pseudonym Four Tet since 1998, transforming his sound throughout the years. Fusing hip-hop, electronica, free jazz and open folk strings with house, he creates a sound that is uniquely Four Tet.

Hebden’s music is notable for its rich sounds and harmonious melodies as well as for eschewing the traditional pop songs in favour of a more abstract approach. Hebden’s second album, ‘Pause’, is his most popular to date, on which he takes on folk and electronic samples coining the genre Folktronica. However as with all of his records, he is now ready to move on from Folktronica as he feels he has said what needed to be said, telling The Guardian earlier this year: “I want to be able to look back when I’m an old man and have these records tell a story.”

The 37-year-old utilises sounds that are part of his culture and uses them in the most unlikely way possible. His new album, ‘Morning/Evening’, is inspired by his Indian roots. He inherited a collection of movie soundtracks and devotional vinyls from his late grandfather but it wasn’t until his grandmother passed away years later that he listened to the records. Slowly becoming obsessed, Hebden weaved the sound into his own.

Besides his unique and ever-changing sound, there are a few things that set Hebden apart from other artists.

His desire for independence made him leave his record label, so with no manager, he books and organises most tours himself. He managed to get all his songs taken off Spotify, he shies away from the limelight and his priority isn’t selling records, explaining to Groove: “Saying no to big companies isn’t necessarily bad. I just need to follow the things that feel right and true to me.”

Despite this, he is no stranger to collaborations, working with some of the most ground-breaking names in music including numerous projects with Thom Yorke and remixes for Aphex Twin, Super Furry Animals, Radiohead, Manic Street Preachers, Sia and Black Sabbath. In 2008 he joined up with composer David Arnold to write ‘Crawl, End Crawl’ for the end credits of ‘Quantum of Solace’, finding himself part of the hugely successful James Bond franchise.

One thing that’s for sure is Hebden loves playing live. In clubs, he purposely keeps tickets to his all-nighters low in order to support serious club culture rather than exploit it.

The rest of 2015 will see Four Tet embark on a US tour before he heads to Australia for Let Them Eat Cake on New Year’s Day. Held at Werribee Mansion in Victoria alongside Ben UFO, Âme and Daniel Avery among many others, ticket-holders can expect a spectacular Four Tet set to welcome 2016 in style.

Get your tickets to Let Them Eat Cake 2016 at www.letthemeatcakenyd.com.au