No stranger to the pioneering fringe of experimental music, Kieran Hebden was a key member of the forefronting U.K post-rock trio Fridge back in the early 1990s before he delved into electronic music under the name of Four Tet just over a decade ago.
In the past few years have, Hebden's stayed unusually active and prolific. He not only brought Fridge out of hibernation for a reunion album and series of concerts, but also releasing collaborative albums with avant-jazz drummer Steve Reid, putting in a guest appearance on Vashti Bunyan's 2006 LP Lookaftering, as well as continuing work under both his own name and under his Adem alias. Somewhere amidst it all he found time to check in under his Four Tet guise with last years last year's Ringer EP. While it largely leaned toward bleeps-and-beeps mesmerism, the EP still hinted as Hebden's usual modus -- folktronic tapestries of electronic and organic instrumentation laced with samples, beats and loops that as equally evoke the rich sweep of pastoral expanses as the recesses of inner space or the dancefloor.
Hebden doesn't tour the U.S. that often, but on Friday he puts in a Chicago appearance, performing as Four Tet in a headlining set at Sonotheque. Also on the evening's roster is Chicago-based beatmaker and electronic musician Leo 123 (a.k.a., the other half of Eliot Lipp's Dark Party project). DJs Striz and Warp work the decks and keep the vibe going throughout the evening. Doors open at 9 PM, admission is $14, and the address is 1444 W. Chicago.
[video]: Four Tet - "A Smile Around the Face"
[video]: Four Tet - live in London, 2007
[video]: Four Tet - "Hands"
[video]: Four Tet - "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth"
