A one-man Four Tet
Four Tet
The Remixes
Domino; 2006
Grade: C
Kieran Hebden, the man behind Four Tet, got his start in music performance alongside two friends from Putney, England.
They formed Fridge in 1995 and released albums until 2001, with plans of a new disc coming out in 2007.
In the six-year downtime Hebden has not remained stagnant — he has managed to forge new paths in electronica, jazz and other aspects of music.
Under the alias Four Tet, Hebden has put together four full-length albums, numerous remixes and a recent mix album for the acclaimed DJ Kicks series.
Hebden has also collaborated with avant-garde jazz drummer Steve Reid, who studied under John Coltrane.
Hebden has one of the most visual electronic acts that he plays live on his laptop. Unfortunately, the shows are not very interesting.
The boring live show aside, Hebden’s latest album, The Remixes, is a two-disc collection of his remixes.
The first disc is a collection of Four Tet’s remixes of other artists like Radiohead, Sia and Aphex Twin.
The second disc is a collection of remixes of Four Tet tracks by some of his contemporaries such as Koushik, Boom Bip and Caribou (formerly Manitoba).
As a remixer, Hebden is really a hit or miss, but he has the capability to bring some real magic to a track, as he does so on Rothko and Pole remixes.
He can also mess things up, which is evident on his remixes of the two Madvillain tracks, where Hebden overfills the sleek hip-hop tracks with too much sound.
The second disc is interesting but nothing notable lies within.
Anyone unfamiliar with Kieran Hebden should check out his other albums before putting this album in their stereo.