Kieran Hebden has dedicated himself to a career that over several decades has birthed remix work for the likes of Bicep and The xx, appearances with labels such as Domino, and ten full length studio albums. His 10th album, Sixteen Oceans, which recently arrived on Hebden’s own Text Records finds him stick to a similar form-factor as that on 2017’s New Energy, lush percussion, simplified drum programming, flute and string melodies and a complete disregard for anything that might be
mistaken as a craving for commercial success. Despite a 16-long tracklist, the record finishes up at just 54 minutes, with Hi Hello, 1993 Band Practice, Bubbles At Overlook and ISTM coming in below or slightly above the one minute mark. The ‘radio friendly’ side of the project pushes the previously released single Teenage Birdsong, and the Ellie Goulding featured Baby, which has already passed 3,000,000 plays on Spotify. School, 4T Recordings and Something In The Sadness are also worth your time, though outside of these half-dozen full tracks, the remainder is experimental loops and drum-less melodies that don’t really need you to go back a second time.
Where to start:
‘Baby’ – Broken rhythms and playful vocal chops
‘Teenage Birdsong’ – Uplifting melodies and fiery basslines
‘4T Recordings’ – The sonic equivalent of an early morning sunrise
Previous from Four Tet:
New Energy LP (2017, Text Records)
Beautiful Rewind LP (2013, Text Records)
If you like this then check out:
Boards Of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest LP (2013, Warp Records)
DJ Koze – Knock Knock LP (2018, Pampa Records)
Four Tet – Sixteen Oceans is out now on Text Records.