Four Tet

Four Tet – aka Kieran Hebden – is probably the DJ I’ve seen live the most times. He’s a fairly ubiquitous figure, seemingly DJing at every single festival, both in the UK and Europe. As a producer, Four Tet is one of the leading artists in UK electronic music, having pushed the boundaries of intelligent dance music with his early forays into folk and jazz-laced electronica. But it’s his take on house, garage and bass music that really changed up the game, ever since his There Is Love in You album dropped in 2010. Hedben has an otherworldly talent for incorporating accessible melody into an otherwise authentic dance song, and his downtempo productions are often layered with pretty sound effects and samples.
His DJ sets are impossible to predict since he is such a versatile selector and moulds each set to his surroundings, but they are always thoroughly enjoyable. I’ve seen techno heavy sets, such as at Plastic People in London where he dropped his Burial collaboration ‘Moth’, as well as jungle and house sets at certain festivals like Field Day. I personally think Four Tet is at his best when he pulls from all shades of his palette during one set, such as at Worldwide in France where he effortlessly mixed his own heady productions with latin jazz, soul and contemporary techno music. Lovely.

Kieran Hebden has managed an increasingly rare feat in the current musical climate; over the past fifteen years, he’s put out seven records under the Four Tet moniker and, somehow, is yet to blot his critical copybook. If you need some way of putting his success into context, consider this; his music was probably the single biggest influence on the last Radiohead record, The King of Limbs. Radiohead, in turn, are one of the most influential bands in history, so if they’re taking their own cues from you, you know you have to be doing something right. His live sets, too, are fast becoming the stuff of legend; standing behind a table so laden with electronic equipment that it’s hard to know whether he’s performing or having a hi-tech jumble sale, he delivers sets so diverse that you have to wonder how he manages to make any of his own music when he clearly spends so much time seeking out niche sounds. As with his records, he blends a little bit of everything - house, electronica, hip hop, even touches of jazz - to stirring effect; his Brixton Academy all-nighters, with £5 tickets and world-class lineups, tell you everything you need to know about Hebden - for him, music is about sharing discoveries.

Kieran Hebden, otherwise known as Four Tet has been a staple addition to the electronica circuit over a career that has now spanned fifteen years. He has a huge amount of critical acclaim and every release seems to gain him further praise and attention from the fans and publications alike. Hebden has always conducted his career in a relatively down-key manner, shunning promotional appearances in favour of heading out on the road to test drive new material.

This means that his fanbase has grown larger mainly through personal recommendation, and from the approving sounds of the crowd they are not disappointed this evening. His production skills paired with his ability to remix means that his collective work marries together effortlessly and keeps the audience moving along to the downtempo beats. It is without a doubt difficult to find someone as tuned in to the UK indie/electro scene and one who makes it move in the way in which Four Tet does.

Some pretty good music all round!
Weirdly Four Tet's set had the least energy to it, but still threw some shapes.

As always for this kind of thing, the crowd was a bit shit, full of posers trying to look cool.
So few of us actually really tried to dance, but my friends and I found a couple of pockets of ravers now and again.

Thanks to all those who matched our energy, we hope to see you jumping round a dance floor again some time soon.

Posers can F off back to Clapham...

A fantastic show in sub club from the man himself. Four hours of perfectly paced genre-hopping magic, dipping into Four Tet's own back catalogue and drawing on his clearly diverse and wonderful listening habits.
If you ever get the chance to see this man DJ, grab it with both hands.

Great music as always and the light show through the crowd made for an amazing atmosphere. Maybe 10000 lights computer sequenced... Really worked in the venue. Well blended set of mostly new stuff, starting with the standout track from the last album, Planet, which set the tone.

Full-on audio visual experience. The surround sound banks paired up with thousands of lights hanging down from the roof was stunning. It felt like being in a Yayoi Kusama infinity room the size of Alexandra Palace with top notch tunes blaring all around.

Amazing artist. Rhythm and jazzy influenced sounds that make you move ur feet no matter what. This time accompanied by top artists of techno new scene. A great moment to reiterate whenever the chance.