We catch up with Four Tet for a chat

Kieran Hebden tells us about his latest project and the artists who inspire him.

Kieran Hebden, aka Four Tet, has been one of the electronic music world's unsung heroes for approaching a decade. Having started his music career as guitarist for his post-rock band Fridge, Kieran begun working solo on electronic music in 1998 with his breathtaking first release 'Thirtysixtwentyfive' coming out on Output Recordings. His early solo work came at a time when Kieran was 'obsessed with free jazz, and the whole spiritual jazz thing of the late 60s and early 70s', and his first album 'Dialogue' released on Output in 1999 was a real reflection of these influences, splicing contemporary sounds with the 'evil dark jazz' that he loved so much.

The strength of his first album earned him a deal with one of the UK's finest independent labels, Domino Records. With the release of his second album, 'Pause', in 2001, Kieran moved on from the jazz sound, instead choosing to explore more electronic and folk sounds, which led to him being credited by the press with creating a new 'folktronica' genre. Having been influenced by the free-thinking techniques of the likes of Timbaland, Kieran stepped out of the constraints of working simply with drums, bass, guitar and piano sounds, and thought 'imagine if you got Kraut-rock and British folk music and fused them together,' and that became a blueprint for the second album. This style and sound won him a legion of fans, with all corners of the press singing Kieran's praises, and even earned him a spot supporting Radiohead on tour.

2003's 'Rounds' was his most ambitious work to date, sticking with a similar sound to 'Pause', but looking to perfect the style and achieve it in a whole new way, sometimes only using one second long burst of music, and manipulating that sample to create all the different sounds he needed to go in to building a whole track. The results were extraordinary, and the album became a modern classic.

As Kieran's catalogue built, so did the breadth of his work, with a massively demanding DJ schedule, a live project set up with the legendary free-jazz drummer Steve Reid, a fourth artist album, 'Everything is Ecstatic' and a plethora of remixes for artists from across the musical spectrum. His remix work has been so extensive over the last few years, that he and Domino put together a double album collection of the finest remixes both of his work by other producers, such as Jay Dee and Sa Ra Creative Partners, and his interpretations of the likes of Madvillian, Radiohead, Bloc Party, Beth Orton, Aphex Twin and Bonobo. With Kieran riding the crest of this sublime album's wave, and him joining us playing alongside Timo Maas at 99% at The End in September '06, we caught up with him for a Q&A...

Endclub.com: Hi Kieran, been up to anything exciting recently?

Kieran Hebden: I just had a compilation album of remixes I've done over the years come out on Domino records. I've also been busy touring and working on new music in the studio.

You'll be playing an all night set in the lounge at 99% on October 28th. What can people that have not heard you before expect?

When I play 99% the music I play is much more for the dancefloor then people might be used to hearing from me. I will be playing all night and it will be an eclectic mix of Detroit techno, electro, disco, minimal and anything else that I can make work in there.

Which artists would you say have had the biggest influence on your career as a musician?

It's the true innovators that inspire me most... the ones that come up with something new. Hendrix, Coltrane, Timbaland...

Are there any plans for Fridge to work together again in the future?

We just finished working on a new album actually. The first in 5 years. Will not be out till next year though.

Did you ever considered forming another band, aside from your work with Steve Reid?

I've always got loads of ideas for bands and various projects in my head but just don't have the time to do everything. But you never know what will happen... I never imagined that the project with Steve Reid would become such a big thing.

You are renowned for the breadth and depth of your musical tastes. What artists have been doing it for you this year?

Audion, Carl Craig, J Dilla, Hot Chip, Battles, Burial, Skream, Just Blaze, Gary Davis

Your new Remixes album on Domino has just been released. Which track did you most enjoy working on, and which remix are you most proud of?

I enjoyed all of them for various reasons... I think that's why I picked these as my favourite. I'm really proud to have done the Madvillain ones.

If you could remix any track in history what would it be?

Hmmmm...That's too hard!

Fair point...do you take more satisfaction from remixing, or from working on original tracks?

On my original tracks.

Finally, do you have anything special up your sleeve for your set on Oct 28th?

I often like to use my sets at the End to try out new mixes and stuff I've been working on so hopefully I'll have some special things to play. I've been buying lots of great new records recently so I'm feeling ready for quite a special night in general.

Thanks Kieran!

Published: 2/09/2006

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