Much has changed for Kieran Hebden since his humble
beginning as one third of experimental avant-rock outfit
Fridge, a band he formed
with fellow college friends Sam Jeffers and Adem Ilhan
ten years ago. While his first solo excursions as Four
Tet, including the seminal Thirtysixtwentyfive
EP and Dialogue album for Output Recordings,
were only the expression of a side project, the main
focus remaining on Fridge,
Hebden’s second solo album, Pause,
released in 2000, propelled him to a new level, and,
while a further album with Fridge
was released in 2001, the Four
Tet imprint has become almost ubiquitous, with Hebden
touring relentlessly, providing remixes for artist as
diverse as Radiohead, The Cinematic Orchestra, David
Holmes, Aphex Twin,
Badly Drawn Boy or Doves, and recording two more albums
in three years.
Teaming up with legendary jazz drummer and percussionist
Steve Reid happened by accident. Having worked with
the likes of Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Fela
Kuti, Miles Davis, James Brown, Sun Ran, Charles Tyler
and countless others, collaborating with other musicians
is part of the essence of Reid’s work, but his
solo work remains the most visible part of his career.
Hebden and Reid met a year ago in a studio and, following
a first jam session, decided to play live together for
the first time, in Paris. A second concert, in London
and a BBC session for Giles Paterson’s BBC Radio
1 followed before the pair entered the Exchange studio
in London and began documenting the fruit of their collaborative
effort. Although the original plan was to record and
edit their session into one album, the project rapidly
turned into a diptych, with the first volume released
now and the second due out later this summer.
The pitfalls of such a rapidly assembled project are
numerous, and this first album does quite manage to
avoid them all, yet, there is an undeniable connection
between Reid’s visceral drumming and Hebden’s
evocative electronics. Recorded live and presented in
its naked form, with no overdub, this first volume provides
a candid insight into the original recording session
and the genesis of this collaboration. The rhythmic
aspect of Hebden’s solo work provides a solid
backbone for his music, yet he is not in charge here.
With Reid clearly leading the way, Hebden appears to
sometimes lack the necessary thrust to totally keep
up, but he accepts the challenges that Reid inexorably
throws at him and actually manages to corner the drummer
a couple of times, and these imperfections actually
add a particular grain to the recording.
Of the three tracks presented here, the shortest, Morning
Prayer, which opens, is probably the most straightforward
and accessible. While an underlying drone makes its
ways through Reid’s increasingly prominent drumming,
Hebden dismantles an intricate assemblage of various
electronics and glitches and spreads it at Reid’s
feet. The layers of sound and noises appear to get denser
as the record progresses, as if, gaining in confidence,
the pair were increasingly daring each other. Soul
Oscillations is a more complex construction, and
suffers from slight overindulgence in its middle section,
when the pair veer into a chaotic sonic tug of war for
an instant, each trying to gain control of the piece.
It all falls back into place eventually and the improvisation
becomes once again a constant exchange of ideas and
processes. Electricity & Drum Will Change Your
Mind continues on the same challenging streak as
Reid revitalises Hebden’s now common shimmering
electronics while Kieran comes out once more of his
safety zone to pull out an impressive range of tricks.
If the journey through this album is anything to go
by, one can expect a more radical and testing second
half. This first volume firmly asserts the partnership
between Reid and Hebden, and although Reid is undeniably
the more strong-minded of the two, Hebden, pushed to
dig deep within himself, drags some admirable moments
here and comfortably rises to the challenge.
4.4/5 |
