Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans [2xLP]

A response to an electronic music artist doing any of the following might well be, "Ah! Like Four Tet." Firstly, it'd be matching radiant melodies with shuffling, garage-inspired beats. Along with the use of field recordings, these are staples of the music that's made Kieran Hebden such a well-liked figure. Avoiding standard promotion is another—like posting a tracklist via a Post-it Note. Or, paradoxically, not sending out advance copies of your album. Then there's playing with words and symbols, giving tracks titles like "⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ," or marvelling at a song's "lyrics." Remixing pop stars? Also very Four Tet. Skrillex, Boys Noize & Ty Dolla $ign recently joined a list that includes Eric Prydz, Rihanna, Lana Del Rey, Chvrches and The xx. And these days, a dance artist's live show going to town with the lights might even be thought of as post-Four Tet. If it wasn't completely obvious by now: Hebden is a singular artist. But even with such a uniquely specific set of characteristics, can all of this continue to feel fresh? Maybe this sounds unnecessarily sceptical, like scanning for dark clouds on the horizon of a clear summer sky. But as with anything novel, the effect of it can't be indefinite. The arrival of Sixteen Oceans, the latest Four Tet album, raises the question of freshness. If you're anything like me, though, the answer for now might be: there's still plenty of juice left in the ideas Four Tet favours. Tracklist / 01. School 02. Baby feat. Ellie Goulding 03. Harpsichord 04. Teenage Birdsong 05. Romantics 06. Love Salad 07. Insect Near Piha Beach 08. Hi Hello 09. ISTM 10. Something In The Sadness 11. 1993 Band Practice 12. Green 13. Bubbles At Overlook 25th March 2019 14. 4T Recordings 15. This Is For You 16. Mama Teaches Sanskrit