In terms of home-grown, fast-rising influence, they don't come much more in-demand than FOUR TET'S mainman Kieran Hebden. Allegedly, he's having to turn down more remixes than Soft Mick because he just can't cope with the volume of those desperate for his services and it's only been getting worse since the release of his recent "Rounds" album, which has received across-the-board praise.
All of which ensures that Keiran's reputation doesn't so much precede as steamroller you, but - even to a relative Four Tet novice such as myself - "As Serious As Your Life" is intriguing stuff. In both its' radio edit and album version it's nervy and lean: clinically funky of breakbeat, trippy of bassline, minimal of atmosphere and psychedelic and Eastern-sounding of melodic motif, with the requisite bleeps, bloops and kooked out bits all slung expertly into the mix.
All impressive gear in itself, but "As Serious As Your Life" really picks up the garlands when you make it to the remixes and live outing stakes. Unusually for your reviewer - who largely dismisses the majority of remixes as a waste of time - "Remix 1" adds a whole new dimension to the plot, with heavier rhythms smouldering away and Hebden punching in windows to include (erk! it's Ok, really!) distinctly free-jazz influenced passages and waterfalls of Fender Rhodes melody. OK, the horns do get a little feeding-time-at-the-Elephant-house toward the close, but, boy, does the end result fuck wi' ya head. Man.
But even this is small beer when compared with the 23-minute live take of "As Serious...", in which Hebden takes steps to push the track's shape positively inside out. Its' duration alone will be enough to sort the wheat from the chaff, but it's a worthwhile trawl in general, kicking off all desolate and afterhours with lonely chimes and syncopated hi-hat bringing in the melody over dislocated ambienta before Kieran intoduces a barrage of breakbeats, counter-melodies, increases and decreases the momentum and lobs in both whirlwinds of white noise and dubby interludes that never fail to smash into your consciousness. Ambitious, over-reaching and hard to stomach in your living room (never mind caught in a post-midnight blast of strobes), it's nonetheless a brave and abrasive adventure.
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In truth, your reviewer hasn't sampled enough of Hebden's much-prized wares to understand whether all this is representative of him, although the ever-shifting sonic landscapes here suggest he's no intention of staying on static for any length of time and that he's every intention of pushing the electronica envelope indefinitely. He even has the audacity to feature Morris Dancers in the accompanying video, and frankly W&H can only bow in deference to any man who can make geezers with bells on their trahsers look cool. Hats off to you, Kieran.
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