Kieran Hebden, who goes by Four Tet professionally, was born in Putney, London to a South African born mother and a father who was a sociology professor. Young Kieran attended the Elliot School London where he formed the group Fridge with two classmates. The group finalized a recording deal when Kieran was just 15 years old and unveiled their very first record, Ceefax, on Trevor Jackson’s Output Recordings label in March of 1997.
Nevertheless, Kieran’s initial solo launch was the ’97 track called “Double Density” launched in the Output music label below the musician title 4T Recordings. Hebden started publishing his music under the moniker of “Four Tet” during ’98 with the thirty-six minute, twenty-five second track “Thirtysixtwentyfive”. During that same year, he unveiled one more track, the jazz influenced “Misnomer”. 1999’s Dialogue, once more on the Output label, Four Tet’s 1st full-length album launch arrived and merged hip-hop drum lines alongside irregular samples of jazz music. This album was accompanied by the dual A-side track “Calamine”/”Glasshead”, which was set as Four Tet’s final track on the Output label.
Four Tet’s solo work commonly utilizes samples lifted from numerous sources including rap, electronica, techno, jazz, and folk combined with their own guitar-playing. Four Tet shares some stylistic similarities with several other musicians, including Prefuse 73, using computer editing techniques giving a staccato, cutup feel to the music. His music is notable for its rich, natural sounds and harmonious melodies in addition to for eschewing the conventional pop song format towards the more abstract strategy.
Since first embarking on his solo career, Four Tet has released multiple albums, remixes and collaborations with various artists in the industry. He is highly regarded by his peers and fans alike due to the unique skillset that he brings to music.
