Writing a song or making money while staying true to your creative principles is no small feat.
That makes Kieran Hebden a rarity, especially as a producer who has been at the forefront of electronic music for two decades.
He has worked with Radiohead, Madlib, Burial and Aphex Twin. His influences range from roysop to caribou, floating points to biceps to electronic music and more.
And to his disdain, he helped spawn an entire subgenre.
But Hebden , better known as English producer Four Tate, now has a legacy far greater than the Folktronica he helped found.
He's managed to build an impressive catalog of critical acclaim, remixes and collaborations that have fans enthralled by anything bearing his name. He is on the highest billboard of the biggest clubs in the world.
But he's far from what you'd expect from a superstar producer/DJ.
As far as we know him, he's an incredibly decent person in every way. And these characteristics are firmly anchored in the structure of his music.
"His music effortlessly captures the qualities that best define the human experience: playful, genuine, interesting, relatable, warm-hearted," says musician, Double J host and Four Tate fan Tim Shale.
“His sounds have a pseudo-childish ingenuity and almost spiritual resonance, masterfully blending the heartbeat of house and four-man techno with organic, ethereal forms to precise yet agile rhythms. A long continuum of jazz and British bass and garage.
“His ambient music is calm and somehow soft and invites complex thoughts. His dance music is emotionally and physically profound.
"Above all, his music feels human, in the most honest and solemn way possible."
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This homage to humanity in all its colorful hues, moods and quiet, cherished moments finds its first full expression on Four Tate's third album, Rounds .
Hands is a prime example of Hebden blurring the lines between the human and the spiritual, the emotional and the intellectual as heartbeats, drums, cymbals, bells and Morse code pulses radiate and then fade.
The design of 'O Moves She' feels classy and utilitarian, but is a little playful by nature. There are crunching drums, shimmering chimes and plucked koto strings. Then we sound like Hebden cats stomping on their keyboards and playing a random electronic burp.
One wonders, was it coincidence or intentional? Whatever it is, it shows Hebden's playfulness and his intention to resist Round 's hasty judgments as too cute, too funny, or too serious.
It also demonstrates his philosophy as an artist who enjoys emphatically pushing the perceived boundaries that separate music by genre, culture or ethnicity, era or tradition.
"I had the opportunity to discover Four Tet in my teens when I was dying to expand my musical horizons," says Sheil.
I first heard about "Glasshead" in 1999 in 3RRR or the music magazine ( Sadness is in the Sky ).
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"As soon as I tracked him down and heard all his fame, I realized I had found something I couldn't explain.
“I spent my high school years in hormonal grunge and alternative music, but once I started filming, I really wanted to do more.
“On Four Tet I found a gateway to dance music, jazz, krautrock, electro, folk, etc. Even with that one song, my music went out into the world and I was never the same.
"When the tours finally came along a few years later, I was absolutely blown away."
Like a written document, Rounds reflects an artist rich in his own creative bubble, born of life and personal experience, insensitive to trends, critical opinion or commercial imperatives.
'Unspeakable' is a meditative, heavy-rhythm piece with a wandering piano loop and bright tambourine that Hebden dreamed up while traveling from Paris to London by train.
His sister's presence in the studio influenced the frenetic energy of "First Thing" and "Spirit Fingers", and the album was shaped by Hebden's meeting and falling in love with his then-wife, the emotions palpable on "My The". Angels sway back and forth.
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"I'm really a bit of the wet romantic type and I think this record reflects that side of me," Hebden told Fenella Carnebon on Triple J's SoundLab in 2003.
"It's one of the most personal records I've ever made. Because I made the record at home, in my own apartment. I saw Dawson's Creek or something on TV and then I worked on some music. And it was like, "Oh this song just grabs me. Must have that whole 'teenager in love' vibe.
"I love this kind of uplifting track and a positive, romantic vibe at the end of the day. If you can listen to music and maybe you're feeling down or something, the right record at the right time makes you feel like everything's going to be okay, it's okay in the world, it's thought-provoking, it's not gonna happen
It is Hebden's sense of calm and curiosity, combined with his love of blending melody and emotion with his experimental instincts, that has earned him widespread respect as one of music's most successful producers. Vanguard.
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“I never thought I would spend the next 20 years watching this guy refine and redefine his sound, influencing a generation of electronic producers to embrace his approach to music,” says Sheil. he said
"I'm far from the only electronic producer in the world who has fallen in love with his sound and style.
"Honestly, what I admire most about him today is his honest and humble approach to music.
“His determination to keep a low profile, especially as we live in an age of EDM where dance music DJs and producers have turned mega festivals into caricatures of dance music culture. And so many others who don't.” Feel comfortable playing with music industry conventions.
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