Just as soon as you’ve got Kieran Hebden pegged down as doing one thing, he rapidly changes tack and approaches his music from a different angle again. After the folky infusions of Rounds, heady jazz on Everything Ecstatic et al, he’s recently been taking time to collaborate with old school mate Burial, record a mix for fabric’s CD series and start producing some proper dancefloor shufflers (check out ‘Pyramid’ for a good example). New track ‘Ocaras’, which Gilles Peterson debuted on his BBC 6Music show this weekend, marks another Four Tet foray into hazy house – you can listen to a radio rip above. It’s still full of Hebden hallmarks – spiralling struck arpeggios, a generally pastoral feel – but he’s dropped the live-sounding, jazzy percussion in favour of a crunchy electronic house beat. It’s set for release through Hebden’s label Text sometime in the near-ish future. (Via FACT)
UPDATE: You can now also hear the B-side to ‘Ocaras’. Entitled ‘Jupiter’, it’s a little less dancefloor driven than its A-side counterpart but still represents a continued forward step in Hebden’s club ambitions, riding as it does off a softly swung garage beat. Listen below.
