4 Tet, aka Kieran Hebden, has been a busy boy this yr, he is already launched a 16 monitor album, Sixteen Oceans, in addition to the 4T Recordings EP and Child single. Earlier within the yr Hebden teamed up with Thom York and Burial to collaborate on the singles Her Revolution and His Rope and he is already obtained work deliberate within the pipeline with Madlib for Sound Ancestors. As if that weren’t sufficient for one yr Kieran determined to drop not one however two new albums concurrently on Christmas Day.
The brand new 4 Tet albums are titled Parallel and 871. Each are over an hour lengthy and each are equally distinctive. Parallel is a ten monitor sonic exploration that begins with an epic 26m46s monitor, Parallel 1. The fairly magnificent audible magnificence that Kieran Hebden has created is one thing to behold. Hebden takes you thru light undulations and delicately shifting patterns, subtly altering the path and rhythm with a deft, gossamer contact.
The ambient nature of Parallel 1 makes for a straightforward hear with it is prolonged and stretched notes and it is restricted use of any vocal intrusion. The hum of the music and the gently unfolding soundtrack are at instances hypnotic. Parallel 2, in addition to Parallel 8, strikes the beat up just a few notches and is extra dance oriented while nonetheless sustaining a obscure ambient core. That is extra Bonobo territory than Brian Eno. Parallel 4 touches on comparable floor with it is deep bass beats, excessive keys and occasional backing vocal while Parallel 6 is an altogether lighter, percussively structured monitor with virtually no bass line in any respect.
The album is closed out by Parallel 10, the ultimate half of which is akin to a lightweight association of free type Jazz performed out on the piano. The combination of musical textures which have been employed throughout Parallel alone are spectacular however whenever you couple that together with his earlier work, and the opposite album that he launched on the identical day, you possibly can’t assist however be blown away.
871 is a really completely different album to Parallel. The 20 monitor album, numbered sequentially from 0000 871 0001 via to 0000 871 0020, continues to be largely instrumental and really experimental however veers extra in the direction of the usage of standard instrumentation. At instances 4 Tet’s album even sounds post-industrial in nature. Monitor one could possibly be Einstürzende Neubauten and monitor three could possibly be Donovan, the album isn’t one which you would pin down simply however it’s all the higher for it. On 871 tracks vary from 18 seconds (A sequence of chiming bells) to over 9 minutes (A post-apocalyptic soundscape stuffed with static). Some are arresting and a few are delicate and comforting (0060) however all are artistic and completely different. Elements of 871 are like listening to noises from house (0019), you would even be forgiven for considering ‘0014’ featured the Clangers while different tracks, together with 0016, are fairly orchestral (In an industrial noise kinda means!)
With 871 and Parallel Kieran Hebden has created two distinctly completely different, very particular person albums which might be each difficult and rewarding to take heed to. The sonic journey that Hebden takes you on is rarely predictable and is sort of at all times inspirational and ahead considering. Hebden isn’t an artist that’s snug in a single place for lengthy and together with his newest releases he has as soon as once more pushed issues forward together with his experimental explorations in music.
