Four Tet: Share The Love

Kieran Hebden, the man behind Four Tet, combines elements of folk and electronica to create music that pundits have termed "folktronica." Clever, isn’t it? Hebden had the following to say about that, his latest album Rounds and more. Four Tet plays Lee’s Palace on May 27 with Manitoba and Prefuse 73.

ChartAttack: How would you describe your music?
Kieran Hebden: It’s essentially electronic music with a strong influence from a whole range of other styles, everything from hip-hop to country to psych rock to free jazz — and it’s all instrumental. It’s hard to describe, really.

How do you feel about the "folktronica" label?
That has unfortunately been something that’s gone on in the press in England. It’s kind of relevant for my last album, Pause. It doesn’t bother me intensely, but I don’t think I’d ever describe my music that way because I think it only captures a moment and my music is constantly evolving. I don’t think I’ll ever fit neatly into a certain genre.

What was the inspiration for Rounds?
Because the first album was so jazz-influenced and the second was so folk-influenced, I didn’t want people to grab onto one genre when I put this out. Rather than being "folktronica," I was hoping this album would be more "everything-tronica." I wouldn’t put out a record that was going to sound like everything else that came out this year. I just pushed myself more.

What’s the significance of the album title?
When you’re in school [in England], you learn to sing these songs called canons. Someone sings a phrase from a song like "Frère Jacques" and then the next person starts singing the song, but maybe a bar later or something. The idea is you sing in repetition but move out of phase with each other as well. It seemed like a good title for the record because repetition and phasing has always been a constant in all the music I’ve ever made.

What were your influences for this record?
I was listening to a lot of early-'90s hip-hop when I did this, Large Professor and Pete Rock and stuff like that. There’s a magic about those records that’s really simple, often just like a bass loop in a drum beat or something but it seemed to have a soulfulness that can’t really be touched. I was quite interested in trying to capture or find the magic of what those records were all about.

What are your thoughts on modern music?
There’s always good music around, I just think you have to find it. I’m not someone who sits there and says, "Music is shit." I can’t really think of a time where there hasn’t been something coming out now and then that hasn’t felt exciting to me. I think things go up and down in terms of what’s getting the attention and hype in the media, and that’s something that ebbs and flows. If I didn’t care about it, I wouldn’t be making records.

What’s your opinion on Internet piracy?
I think for an artist at my level, it’s a real help. I’m sure thousands of people have downloaded my album already before it came out, but I think it benefits me in the long-run. I can’t but be excited at the knowledge that I manage to communicate my music to so many people, so quickly, all over the world.