There have been a series of blog posts on NPR’s music
website lately dedicated to the musical culture surrounding electronic
music. Posts have ranged from how
electronic music has been promoted by major labels in the United States to
pioneers of sounds that led to electronic music. Anyone that follows music knows there are
many different styles around electronic music.
My own brother spins records as a side gig (in addition to being able to
play multiple instruments proficiently), and he has introduced me to a number of
styles, though his primary realm is in jungle and drum ‘n bass. For me, I have been more into the ambient
style of electronica—the type that embraces not only the original house beats
established in the late 1980s and expanded in the 1990s but also introduces
elements of jazz, fusion, and other musical idioms.
This leads me to the topic of this particular entry. Four Tet is the stage moniker for
multi-instrumentalist Kieran Hebden. He
has established himself in electronic music for taking different musical genres
and integrating them into electronic music, delving into a niche style that can
be challenging to sell to the public.
Hebden has worked with a wide range of artists in remixing their music
into something similar to his own releases under Four Tet. The results have been critically praised, and
his stature in music has grown through each release. His first release with Domino Records, Pause, is the focus of this post.
#164 – Four Tet, Pause (Metascore = 85)
With electronica records I have a difficult time knowing how
to articulate my review. I listened to
the James Blake record recently, and I realized I usually need a couple of
listens to sort of grasp what the artist is trying to articulate. Listening to Pause was no different for me.
The obvious difference between the Blake record and Pause is that Blake actually sings on his record, whereas Hebden
does not sing at all on his and has few vocal samples on his records. So right away I have to look for other
elements to understand the artist’s inspirations.
The immediate recurring musical theme I heard was what I
thought was an Eastern Asia-inspired multi-note motif (think the sound of a
Japanese koto played on an acoustic guitar), which plays in several variations
throughout the record. Another frequent
sound throughout the record is the sound of an office in the morning (with
computer typing, coughing, and other office-like sounds). I personally didn’t think the office sounds
really unify the record. I was more
attracted to the repeating Asian motif, which begins in “Glue of the World” and
reappears at different times.
What I do know is that, in terms of atmospherics, Hebden
does a great job of creating this chilled-out atmosphere where the music kind
of weaves in and out of consciousness while progressing through. His blending of folk music with jazz on top
of electronica beats is rather interesting…in the years I have listened to electronic
music, I don’t recall having heard acoustic elements in other music I have
heard. I also found the pacing
throughout the record to be very good; Hebden has a good mix of slow and fast
and medium throughout the record.
Calling out particular tracks for an album can be
challenging for me, particularly when I prefer to look (or listen) at the
product as a whole. A few highlights for
me, though, were “Twenty Three”, “Untangle”, “Everything is Alright”, and “No
More Mosquitoes”. I enjoyed how the
layers of music come together to create these sound collages while retaining
the overall sound of the album. That’s
not to discount the other tracks here…these just affected me more.
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