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Four Tet, Taking the Sparse Up a Notch

The music of Four Tet picks at the intersection of analog and digital, personal and electronic. Four Tet -- the talented Brit Kieran Hebden -- shapes sparse, intimate sounds into substantial songs.

Those songs have often started with quiet, repetitive rhythms that evolve into layered soundscapes or even -- rarely -- a full-blown song with lyrics. But somewhere in the mix, the undercurrent of minimalism could always be detected.

More recently, Hebden has been fostering a more aggressive sound, with peppy drum tracks underpinning a blend of raucous live playing and ethereal electronics.

The results can be heard on Everything Ecstatic, released in May of 2005; it follows his well-received Rounds of 2003.

Copyright 2005 XPN

David Dye is a longtime Philadelphia radio personality whose music enthusiasm has captivated listeners of World Cafe® since 1991. World Cafe is produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania.

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