The Echo - Los Angeles, CA Live Review: 03/20/09 *** The second unabashedly biased tale in this rambling, erratic, yet somehow ravishing saga… Welcome to the ride. It is not possible for me to properly recount the tale of Four Tet with a non-partisan tenor, as I’ve held his music in high regard long before the opportunity to see him live at the Echoplex. The following interpretation is extremely subjective. That being said, I present to you Kieran Hebden.  This London-born Sultan of the Loop Sampler is well poised to lead the mutiny against the massive influx of crap synth pop and way-too-simple electronic music that has commandeered the indie scene with a veritable bevy of shit records to muddle through. Lately, I’ve been trying to find some electronic music that requires more of the composer than a laptop and a brick of the Purest Hashish Available, but alas, it seems as though Intelligent Design is about as prevalent in this genre as it is in public science classes, HOWEVER! Four Tet is here to change all that… Taking the stage in nothing but a pair of jeans & a loose-fitting blank white tee that would occasionally slide around, showing a touch of Lanky against an otherwise Tall & Slender Frame, he gave himself no introduction. The lights didn’t dim or flicker at all as he began his set with a laptop for each hand, a mixer, and a few other processors neatly & esoterically patched together with cables of all lengths and colours. I kept waiting for It—that visual element—but It never came… the light effects, the fog machine, the mirrored ball that are so commonplace on DJ stages were absent: it was simply Kieran, his music, and over a hundred fans packed like sardines into this tiny sweatbox on the outskirts of Sunset Blvd. anxiously waiting to hear his set. A true English Gentleman at heart, I kindly asked Kieran if it would be alright if my photographer and I were welcomed onstage to take some photos, a request to which he seemed happy to oblige. Not wanting to try my luck, I asked politely if I might trouble him for an interview after the set, to which he replied inscrutably, “we’ll see.”  I figured not to push it and weigh things out until after the show. During the show, Hebden stood beneath six blue track lights shining down on him unerringly. He played his music and carefully loaded samples on either of his computers, he tastefully blending them in and out. While grooving to his own beat, scrubbing through loops and warping them right before the audience’s eyes. He helped to define the newly coined “dubstep” genre as his music featured masterful samples from a wide variety of sources, each intricately placed over a glitching drum beat that is as danceable as it is unpredictable. He gave glory to the over-the-top synth sounds that flooded the airwaves during the 80’s after MIDI became commonplace in most recording studios and always left you wondering, what will you hear next? Sax lick? Trombone section? Vocals? Once again, the intelligent design and sheer unpredictability of his strictly musical performance was well apparent and being lapped up by a bobbing audience. After the show, I pushed my way through clamoring fans and drunken autograph-seekers to attain that interview. Although a bit jet-lagged, he was genuinely nice and I was able to freely engage with him throughout the interview. Since I was sort of unprepared for the interview, I asked him why Fridge and he split up. He replied, “We never really split up and I still frequently play with them.” Leading into the second question, I asked him why he didn’t integrate visual effects into his performance. He subtly remarked, “It really isn’t my style. I want to focus on the music itself.” He continued, “I am a resident at a venue near my hometown in London. It is one of my favorite clubs to play.” Hebden described the space as being rather small and “pitch black,” yet a perfect venue for his tenacious, hometown fans. Finally, I asked him what were his favorite albums produced this year. He was taken a bit off-guard and hesitated for a moment and eventually replied, “Nothing, really.” Then, I, being the savvy little researcher, reminded him that I once read that he enjoyed Radiohead’s In Rainbows. (I’m sure you Radiohead fans out there have heard his remix of Scatterbrain on Radiohead’s Japanese release Com Lag: 2+2=5.) Evidently, I jogged his memory because he added that he liked the latest Burial album and the turntablism of James Holden as well. Oh, I almost forgot about the most important question. Drum roll please… When I asked him about any future projects worth mentioning, he did inform me that he has a full-length album currently underway featuring all new material. I was pleasantly surprised that Kieran Hebden was far from being an asshole. Although admittedly a bit cynical, I never suspected a globetrotting, cult classic icon such as himself to be so approachable. For all you fans out there, don’t expect this ‘Master of the Macbook’ to be slowing down anytime soon. Be on the look-out for his new album coming out later this year. *** http://www.fourtet.net/site/site.php