ENRG Presents Four Tet & Daniel Avery at Invisible Wind Factory
Johnny James, Managing Editor
Four Tet has spent nearly twenty years joining the seams of indie rock and dance music. After playing a variety of instruments in post-rock outfit Fridge, in the late 90’s Kieran Hebden (Four Tet) turned his hand to producing. His 2003 breakout record Rounds saw the 25-year-old polymath stitch together disparate sonic threads from all around the world, resulting in a rich tapestry of organic and inorganic sounds. A champion of the notion that it’s great ideas (not great equipment) that make great records, Hebden made Rounds in the bedroom of his flat in London. Despite the economy of its production, Rounds was incredibly sophisticated, capturing the attention of artists as acclaimed as J Dilla.
Equally lauded was 2009’s There is Love in You, in which Hebden refined his ability to combine sounds from all over and make them his own. Written over the course of a residency at London club Plastic People, Hebden would test this new music out on clubbers and watch how they responded. The result was a record that was as apt for dancing as it was for thinking. The same can be said of his latest offering, New Energy, in which the prolific producer looks over his rich discography and ties it up in a bow. From the sprawling jazz-soaked electronica of his earliest albums to his more danceable later records, the best of each of his nine albums is brought together here in what is arguably the highlight of Hebden’s career. We can’t wait to hear these tracks at Liverpool’s Invisible Wind Factory.
Making a great pairing for Four Tet in Liverpool is Daniel Avery, whose debut album Drone Logic is an acid house/techno/electro powerhouse. Avery’s latest offering, Song For Alpha, is like Drone Logic’s gaze-averting cousin who’s really into Warp Records circa their Artificial Intelligence series. Less straightforward than Avery’s previous work, it’s still bodily enough to dance to – there’s just an added layer of intellect. Melancholy and hopeful in equal measure, the whole album is placed in a church-like sonic space which imbues it with a sense of grandeur. This is dance floor music to get lost in. If you fancy doing that yourself, then you’d better be quick, as tickets are going fast!
