Four Tet – Smile Around The Face – EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOAD
12” Single released April 11th 2005 on Domino
‘Smile Around The Face’ represents the ecstatic return of Kieran Hebden, AKA Four Tet. Following the worldwide success of his groundbreaking album, Rounds, Hebden has re-engaged with the dancing in his head, and made a monumental rhythm-based explosion of sound and joy.
‘Smile Around The Face’ starts with a Roland drum machine pattern reminiscent of ‘Shadrach’ from The Beastie Boys’ undersung masterpiece, Paul’s Boutique, and then takes off for someplace special… Its mixture of speeded-up vocal samples – creating an almost ravey vibe – meld beautifully with the bounce of the polyrhythms. Hebden’s mastery of the home studio and his ear for melody and pop within forward-looking electronic music is unmatched.
Flip the record over and you enter into Hebden’s world of Fire Music – ‘Sun Drums and Soil’ starts as a free drumming solo before dropping down into a lonesome swelling organ line, adrift atop a sea of funk breaks sure to set clubs alight in the coming months.
These two samplers of what’s to come with new LP Everything Ecstatic are by far the most hypnotic groove-based body musics we’ve heard from Four Tet. The rhythms are tight and always essential, the boldness of the production frightening, and the smiles around our faces beaming…