Four Tet (the pseudonym of Kieran Hebden) released his most spacious and
sophisticated album two years ago with 'There Is Love In You'. His atypical
jazzy style of composition became fully electronic. His minimalistic glitch
soundscapes never reached as far out as Aphex Twin or more recent, Gold Panda,
but it was still there. It stays in your mind whilst listening to 'Love Cry', a
nine minute beat heavy thriller of a track. Ambient became Four Tet's thing,
with the emphasis on soundscapes and atmosphere. It wasn't as hectic as his
previous studio albums, 'Rounds' and 'Pause'. His acoustic guitar melodies were
no more. His electronic age was just beginning to reach its heights.
One year prior to this, Four Tet collaborated with Burial on the enigmatic 'study'
music single 'Moth / Wolf Club'. Burial's heavy beats and dreamy samples
matched Four Tet's sampler and progressions like peas in a pod. This partnership
continued post-There Is Love In You; in what was has been an excellent two
years for Four Tet. First was the 'Ego / Mirror' single, again with Burial with
none other than Thom Yorke on vocals. Then came 'Nova' earlier on in 2012. Nova
being my most favoured collab because with its energy, fast paced beats and
brilliant repetitive progression.
It wasn't just the collaborations that kept Four Tet going, oh no. He
released a massive four singles, all of which have been compiled along with two
new tracks to create this compilation album Pink. That's right readers, this is
not the latest studio album by Four Tet, and it’s not a follow up to There Is
love In You. It's simply a compilation of singles. I don't need to tell you how
impressive these singles already are because I'm sure you've listened too many
of them before, but as a compilation album, how do they stand up? Do the new
tracks warrant a place among these stellar singles?
'Locked' features a brilliant drum loop and an excellent guitar riff/sample.
It's another one of Four Tet's huge build-ups, and I love every second of it.
The variety of instruments, the shocking bas wobbles and the cute high pitched
samples all come together nicely in one sweet finale before the bass synth
closes the track off. One of the new tracks 'Lion' is nine minutes long. It
champions a very heavy and 90's-esque jungle beat. It reminds me of a New Order
/ Happy Mondays kind of track with deeper bass and glitchy soundscapes. The
heavy bass synth suddenly changes that opinion and brings to light darker The
Chemical Brothers material. Great stuff with the percussion and the vocal
loops. The dark and deep sample loop is also reminiscent of Burial's earlier
work.
This compilations greatest moment comes with the rapid reverberation of 'Jupiters'.
It opens with a stunning synthesized intro, a curious clicking percussion then
all hell literally breaks loose. A bass drop, in a Four Tet track. Yes, the
ever increasingly popular bass drop has made its way to Four Tet and what an
impact it leaves on the album. The twinkling keyboard and the bass synthesizer
are absolutely nothing in this track without the heavy low bass. It has a
pulse, something which Four Tet's earlier work maybe lacked. Glitch sounds
enter as the beat makes its way through the bass with samples on both the left
and right side. Jupiters is also atmospheric and filled with clear
soundscapes. We hear a small vocal break with cut up vocals, only for the bass
and opening synth to return, capping off one of the best tracks of 2K12.
Following the fashion of compilation albums, the B-side to Jupiters makes its
immediate appearance. 'Ocoras' has a standard glitch beat ala Caribou / Gold
Panda. The synth samples and repetitive beat come to a close when the layers
present themselves out of the darkness. A simple 4/4 rhythm commences and a
swirling synthesizer enters with a banging one noted keyboard sample. The
layers increase, the samples increase and the track gradually reaches its
climax... Only to be broken down by a sudden stop of instrumentation and an
outro of the glitchy bass beat.
'128 Harps' is another A-side single Four Tet has released so far this year.
This track is more of a sample mash up than anything. The most catching and
meaningful moment is obviously the harp. It sounds like a rendition of John
Cage's 'In A Landscape'. Similarities and influence aside, it's a terrific
track with more brilliant percussion and slight forms of wob bass, breaks and
random instrumentation. The longer and more abrasive 'Pyramid' is far more reliant
on its samples. The vocal, 'I remember how you walked away' repeats throughout,
giving this track something more than the ordinary 4/4 beat. Four Tet never
fails to add a synth loop or avant-garde soundscape sample. Pyramid is his
fast paced, track to drive to on a dark night.
Even though, we've heard this music before.. it's never quite the same.
'Peace For Earth' is the Brian Eno track out of the lot. It has lovely delayed
effects on the synth, the layers and the samples. Peace For Earth has an
underlined beauty only a few tracks ever possess. Ambience is at the core, with
the knowledge of layers and other-worldly sounds coming through in a 'montage'
like ecliptic fashion. The moment of happiness in a movie, the moment you win
the lottery, the moment you escape death, debt and pain. These four minutes of
beauty do enough for me, which could be Peace For Earth over, but no. A jungle
like beat fades in which is very light, fast and twinkly. It's child-like and extremely
tedious. Think Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works 85 - 92.
Pink ends on a high with 'Pinnacles'. Four Tet returns to his jazz style of
production with this bass heavy and percussion heavy track. The beat kicks in
with some energy, with the keyboard and piano reciting simplistic chords
throughout. Five minutes of this and then the track turns a little crazy. The piano
goes on a bender, the percussion reaches an all-time high and the structure
seems to have left the building. A few more minutes of this and in comes the
heavy electrics. The glitchy synth comes in and... Fade out.
Pink is nothing more than a compilation of Four Tet singles in the past few
years. It does have two new unreleased tracks, but they're neither in the same
league or territory as Locked, Jupiter and 128 Harps. This release is
ultimately a calling card to Four Tet fans that he's not just sitting back,
he's not in the dark. He's still putting out music that you didn't know about,
so here's what you've been missing. That's Pink. A quick look at the ever
'factual' last.fm stats will see a sharp rise in listens to all of these
tracks. Five to ten times higher than when the original singles were released.
New material will come and There Is Love In You will have its follow-up
shortly. In the meantime, here's a compilation of his recent material.
~Eddie
8.5
