Lauren Martin
Kieran Hebden, under the moniker of Four Tet, has moulded a creative persona that for over a decade, has continued to surprise his loyal audiences and re-define expectations of imaginative and intelligent electronica.
Arriving soon after recent collaborative forays with artists such as Burial and Joy Orbison, There Is Love In You proves an evolution of style from his delicate, down-tempo works to a more club-orientated feel demonstrative of these experiments. The looping synths are of greater weight, and the near-indecipherable vocals carry a presence rather than wistfully drowning amongst the atmospheric percussion and strings. In this sense, it appears that the characteristic fragility of Four Tet’s previous works is not substituted, but enhanced; there is a notable feel of a reaching out into other burgeoning styles of UK music such as funky house and dubstep, shown through the multitude of samples which mould into one glorious offering.
Instead of feeling like a series of extended tracks — a style that so many leftfield electronic artists adhere to — Hebden explores styles in a solid, album structure. Love Cry has a swaggering bass suited for dance floors that harks to these urban influences, and in Sing, a distinct house swing evolves into shredded vocals and intricately woven sample loops. The natural orchestral elements of the strings fuse with the beat-driven crunches of the broken synth lines, creating a harmonious melting pot of styles with an authoritative strength that truly proves Four Tet’s worth.
