THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

One sided black label Four Tet Remix of The Cure’s – Alone, exclusive on 12” vinyl for RSD.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: One of my favourite recording artists and producers, is yer man Four Tet. I've only seen him play once, but it was SUPERB and i've kept a good eye on his live shows since then, so am obviously incredibly excited that this one from last year is getting the full LP treatment. Glitchy, downbeat beauty mixed with KH's classic propulsive momentum.

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl Tracklisting:
Side 1: School Green Romantics (24:43)
Side 2: 4T Two Thousand (11:15)
Side 3: Baby Plastic Salad (24:53)
Side 4: Angel Feedback Mango (18:59)
Side 5: Lush FM Trance Fingers (22:21)
Side 6: Three Birdsong (15:16)

CD Tracklisting:
CD1:
1. School Green Romantics 24:43
2. 4T Two Thousand 11:15
3. Baby Plastic Salad Angel 31:22
CD2:
1. Feedback Mango 12:01
2. Lush FM Trance Fingers 22:21
3. Three Birdsong 15:16

The flag bearer for dancefloor-orientated electronic music has come up with something rather special for, what I think, is his twelfth proper studio album to date. Reaching, through his ever-forward-glancing soundscapes, to even deeper levels of intimacy, intricity, abstraction & intrigue. Four Tet continues to usher in the Now; way before you even knew it existed.

Utilizing a beguiling and enchanting array of patches, synths, DSP units and the latest computer technology to yield a decidedly humanoid (read: cybernetic) approach to modern commentary and body movement through sound; our trusty technician has once again proven why he's the go-to tastemaker across the dance music global village, whatever particular camp you chose to shake your boots in.

Housed in a fractal-psychedelic sleeve which upon first inspection reveals very little, as the first utterances begin to emanate off the record it's clear Hebden is painting a multidimensional canvas of our current world. Musically and visually it resonates with current moods and emotions, especially as technology continues influence and interact with our daily lives.

After a crystalline and atmospheric opening track, "Baby" rushes through our senses at 5G; a track so quintessentially Four Tet yet unfathomably beautiful you'll curse the producer for not gifting it to us sooner. "Teenage Birdsong", a previously released single relishes in its languid, BOC-esque downbeat electronica while "Romantics" closes off the opening side with a warped but elegant moment of transcendence.

"Love Salad" smothers us delicate rhythmic glitches and morphed pianos, "Insect Near Piha Beach" deploys the mangled electro-acoustic palettes that garnered much of Hebden's early works while "ISTM"'s gentile flurries and ASDR-enveloped stimulation propels us off into dreamlike fantasy worlds unknown to our consciousness.

Side C is a somewhat nocturnal and tranquil affair, with obvious stargazing references contrasted with the whispering fairylike lullabies beamed down from the heavens.

After treating us to such a glorious three sides, Four Tet then leaves jaws floor bound by gifting to us an entire side of locked grooves straight from the stems of the album!!! - Honestly, this is some real treasure folks, ready to mined by Ableton heads, mixed and juggled by 3-deck wizards and used as DJ tools across other tracks; it's an unfathomably classy and fortunate touch that closes off one of the producer's most essential albums to date. 10 / fu**ing 10. Essential.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: All of the whimsy and unmistakable glee that comes from Four Tet's music is here on ‘Sixteen Oceans’. We get the blipping off-kilter synth stabs and dusty nu-rave percussion of ‘Rounds’ or ‘Ringer’, brought together with a smattering of vocal samples (Ellie Goulding on “Baby” is a particular highlight) and the organic, swung congas of the more recent output. “Teenage Birdsong” was an excellent choice for a single, as not only is it the most Four-Tetty cut on the album, but leaves it as a nice surprise for those fans of 2015's 'Morning / Evening' when “Insect Near Piha Beach” emerges as an unsung pick of the crop. As if that wasn't enough, side D of the vinyl pressing has a number of beautiful locked loops, these vignettes beautiful mini-songs in their own right. Never one short of surprises, Hebden once again blows it out of the water.

TRACK LISTING

LP Tracklisting:
A1 School
A2 Baby
A3 Harpsichord
A4 Teenage Birdsong
A5 Romantics
B1 Love Salad
B2 Insect Near Piha Beach
B3 Hi Hello
B4 ISTM
B5 Something In The Sadness
C1 1993 Band Practice
C2 Green
C3 Bubbles At Overlook 25th March 2019
C4 4T Recordings,
C5 This Is For You
C6 Mama Teaches Sanskrit

CD Stocklisting:
01 School
02 Baby
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

Brand new album from electronic titan Kieran Hebden who continues his futuristic creation of sound across eight elegant and fantastic tracks. Utilizing a now well versed palette which seems to effortlessly merge organic instrumentation and hybridized vocals into digitally processed pastoral soundscapes. All the usual Hebdenian traits are audible on album opener "Loved" - from his well loved live drum breaks to the slightly melancholic piano lines. Quickly ushering in a more liminal experience, "Gliding Through Everything" is a crystalline waterfall that reimagines H2O as a 4D particle cascading through your fingertips. "Storm Crystals" quickly soothes with twangy mallets, downbeat groove and healing tones; the moment you quietly settle into your seat, expectations met and suitably zoned in for the rest of the LP. Hebden concludes side A with the accelerated pace of "Daydream Repeat"; which doesn't drift too far from themes explored throughout the side but ups the bpm and buoyancy.

Side B slows us back down, ready for the second half of the trip; emotive guitar lines picked from the ether as angelic vox are gently smudged and diced before our ears - a sonic trademark the producer has previously used on tracks such as "Love Cry" and "Baby". "31 Bloom" bounces out of the mainframe at another slightly increased tempo, glitched arpeggios and highly sequenced piano fragments beautifully coalesced into a moment of transcendental ascension. Penultimate track, "So Blue" allows us a moment of reflection, stark elements imparting such strong emotions - there's few producers who can squeeze so much human feeling out of their machines. Finally, "Three Drums" concludes in suitable form - a slowly spiraling semi-orchestral fury into a white hot, retina-scorching sun'; almost hallucinatory in its saturation yet carried along at a languid pace; allowing the listener to unwind into a paradisical dream state of Hebden's own creation.

Have to say he's done it again. It's nicely succinct and sequenced to perfection, with the four tracks on each side perfectly 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There's almost a direct correlation between the opening bars of “Loved” on the new Four Tet album, 'Three' and the start of one of my favourite albums of all time, his mindblowing 2001 outing, 'Pause'. It's this sort of self-referential treatment that makes all of Kieran Hebden's albums a treat to behold, the more you listen the more you get out of the experience, and that's never been more true than with 'Three'. There are wisps of melody in “Gliding Through Everything” that bring me right back to “My Angel Rocks Back And Forth” just like “31 Bloom” harks back to his more beat-driven dancefloor work and the wandering crepuscular wooze of “Storm Crystals” brings me right back to the lysergic drift of 'Morning / Evening'. There is a lot to be gained from hearing Four Tet in full bloom, and I don't think that's ever been more true than here.

TRACK LISTING

01 Loved 4:03
02 Gliding Through Everything 4:08
03 Storm Crystals 6:40
04 Daydream Repeat 6:09
05 Skater 4:16
06 31 Bloom 5:52
07 So Blue 5:30
08 Three Drums 8:16

“Melodies Record Club”, a string of DJ and artist curated mini compilations in loud 12” format. The first instalment was put together by Four Tet, selecting two big peak-time Jazz tracks he used to spin regularly at Plastic People.

On one side, we’ve got all time jazz greats Jackie McLean and Michael Carvin’s De I Comahlee Ah, taken from their seminal album Antiquity recorded in Denmark back in 1975. A year and a half ago, we visited Steeplechase, the original label in the outskirts of Copenhagen. They informed us that at the time, the track was cut short as it didn’t fit on the full LP. They were kind enough to provide us with the tape of the full original recording, allowing us to release for the first time the full extended version capturing twelve and a half minutes of studio magic. Speaking with Michael back in November, he told us that every song on that album was recorded without any overdubs. They had taken their shoes off and organised the studio in such a way that they could move from instrument to instrument during the take (!!)

On the flip, we have Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath – MRA. Back in 70s London, the Brotherhood had brought together musicians who had sought refuge from South Africa’s apartheid regime and the best of a new generation of British jazz musicians. Music journalist Richard Williams, who had originally reviewed the band in the 1970s tell us: “They made music that appealed in equal measure to the head, the heart and the feet, taking the jazz legacy of Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus and adding to it the fantastic dance rhythms and gorgeous harmonies of the townships and untethered collective improvisations of the new free music”.

Four Tet’s instalment is out early May in 12” format and digitally (stream & download), first press comes with a folded A2 insert with words from and about the artists. Graphic design by Studio ChoqueLeGoff, illustration and animation by Nevil Bernard and for the audiophiles out there, remastered and cut at half speed by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios!

The second instalment curated by Ben UFO is scheduled shortly, which will be followed over time by a string of releases including selections from Hunee, Mafalda, Floating Points, Anya & Julia from Javybz, Daphni, Josey Rebelle, Charlie Bones, Gilles Peterson… and more, stay tuned!

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Time to get your Jazz on, Four Tet Selects these absolute gems for the first instalment and it doesn't disappoint! Bring on the rest I say... more jazz, more jazz!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Jackie McLean & Michael Carvin – De I Comahlee Ah (extended)
B1. Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood Of Breath - MRA

A 4 song EP of remixes of songs from A Grape Dope's "Backyard Bangers" album. Featured remixers are Laetitia Sadier (of Stereolab), Four Tet, Jeff Parker (of Tortoise), and Roberto Carlos Lange (also known as Helado Negro).

Laetitia Sadier adds an air of whimsy, holding your hand as she guides you through the enchanted woodland of “Rat’s It Up”.

Jeff Parker's wobbly-refix reminds me of classic Derrick Carter! Shuffled and twisted to within an inch of toppling over; it's overlapping arpeggios, hushed robo-vox and multitude of intertwining melodies an overwhelming excursion into peak tech-house territory that'd make Suat squirm!

Side B begins with a more relaxed, jazz-indebted affair, Roberto Carlos' remix of "You Don't Have To" a traditionally informed, though rhythmically challenging number comprised of dry drums, piano, bass and some echo-drenched SFX.

Completing the record, Four Tet swirls the stems of "Rainbo Locals" into the stratosphere for a dizzying and highly elevating twist which seems destined to turn craniums inside out when unleashed on a mass of people.

Nice set of remixes to compliment a very nice album indeed. 10 outta 10.

TRACK LISTING

1. Rats It’s Up (Laetitia Sadier Remix)
2. Rats It's Up (Jeff Parker Remix)
3. You Don't Have To (Roberto Carlos Lange Remix)
4. Rainbo Locals (Four Tet Remix)

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Well, that went quick dint it! Another lesson in using our pre-order service (although you had to be quick on the draw this time)... we're all starting to get the feeling here at HQ that old Keiren H could be planning a major project...

TRACK LISTING

A1. Anna Painting
B1. Lahaina Noon
B2. Breath

Finally one of the most requested, eagerly anticipated and generally exciting LPs of the year has finally landed. That's right, ambient maverick, electronic legend, jungle revivalist and abstract jazzer Four Tet is back with his first full length (longer than two conceptual suites) LP of brand new material in four years. Leaving the archival "0181" to one side, Kieran's last two LP outings were the extended and mind expanding ethno-lectronica of "Morning / Evening" and the dislocated, narcotic and blunted jungle of "Beautiful Rewind". Much to the delight of the KH traditionalists out there (cough...Barry) there's nary a spinback in sight on the blissful "New Energy", the producer opting instead to stroll calmly through the ambient pads, twinkling sequences and sublime textures which kept us company from "Everything Ecstatic" through to "There Is Love In You". Float away on the chilled waters of "Alap", nod along to the harp-led downbeat of "Two Thousand And Seventeen" and smile along to the soft focus stylings and pastoral glitch of "LA Trance". The B-side brings the "Ringer" style hypno-rhythm and "Love In You" beauty of "Lush", before darting off into the skitterish BOC beat space of the jazz flecked "Scientists". Boasting subtle breakbeats, cinematic swells and pulsating electronics, not to mention a bewitching kalimba refrain, "You Are Loved" sees out the first disc in sublime fashion.
Onto the second platter and "SW9 9SL" (a nod to Four Tet's Brixton Academy all nighters) is a streamlined club banger decorated by shuffling percussion, rumbling bass and a massive, hands aloft breakdown. "10 Midi" offers a moment of calm after that dancefloor burner and leads nicely into the harpy downbeat of "Memories". Referencing the mantra like vocals of "Morning/ Evening" and "There Is Love...", "Daughter" is a gossamer blend of reversed vocals, cascading melodies and soothing bass - the perfect companion to the astral, ethno-techno of "Planet". Pulsating space sounds, scattered vocals and trilling kora dip in and out of the spectral arps, riding a sturdy 4/4 thump into the furthest reaches of our galaxy. All that remains is to buy yourself a copy, sit comfortably by the speakers and rest easy in the knowledge Four Tet's done it again.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Combing the brilliant off-kilter jazztronic excursions of early years with the more downbeat, dancefloor-orientated kinetic outings of late (not that late) has worked a treat. Properly beautiful.

TRACK LISTING

01 Alap
02 Two Thousand And Seventeen
03 LA Trance
04 Tremper
05 Lush
06 Scientists
07 Falls 2
08 You Are Loved
09 SW9 9SL
10 10 Midi
11 Memories
12 Daughter
13 Gentle Soul
14 Planet

The one and only Kieran Hebden returns under his Four Tet moniker with his first long player proper since 2013's "Beautiful Rewind", and it's predictably brilliant. Abandoning such trivial conventions as track titles and track lengths, KH dives straight into the deep end of the conceptual waters with a pair of 20 minute compositions, known simply as "Morning Side" and "Evening Side". The former continues Kieran's recent flirtation with the dancefloor, although replaces the junglist leanings of "Beautiful Rewind" with a textured, organic house beat. Achingly beautiful synthlines weave around the beat, transporting us back to 2008's "Ringer", before a heartbreaking sample of hindi vocals and strings overcomes our senses and raises our spirits. As the track evolves, Four Tet gently expands our horizons with a building shimmer of synth melodies, drones and fx until we finally collapse into the lush electronics the side finishes with. The "Evening Side" continues where we left off, although the transcendent mood of the A-side is replaced by a low key calm as blinking electronics play us a lullaby in the moonlight. As we drift into dreams, the cascading keys tumble around us like shooting stars, inviting another hindi vocal along for the ride. As a whole, "Morning / Evening" almost works as a retrospective, collating the genius of distinct periods of the Four Tet ouvre into one coherent whole.

TRACK LISTING

1. Morning Side (20:24)
2. Evening Side (19:53)

Diana are an enigmatic foursome from Toronto. Consisting of Joseph Shabason, Kieran Adams, and singer Carmen Elle, with Paul Mathew recently joining the live line up. Shabason and Adams met while studying jazz at music college, and there are soft-jazz touches on 'Perpetual Surrender', which pulls in references such as new age dreaminess, Sade-like mellowness and wistful acoustic soul-pop - there's even time for a yacht rock sax solo.

Kieran Hebden obviously takes the 4/4 route, with some of his layered, percussive, fidgety house-not-house rhythms possibly created from the parts of original version. His remix slowly builds until he adds Elle's sweet vocal for the full effect. Subtle and dreamy, this is a delightful piece of dance-pop a million miles away from autotuned fodder that clogs up the top 40 these days.