Four Tet – Parallel 4
- NICK DUTFIELD
- Jan 6, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 12, 2021
See that straggly tinsel remnant stuck in the corner, pick it up and put it on. In Spain, the Three Kings rule and they only did their gifting yesterday, so this blog still has its decorations up. That those wise men still get the job and the popular vote is no thanks to their marketing team. Benozzi Gozilli´s Journey of the Magi fresco in Florence was great in its day (1459), but it´s hardly doing it for the kids. Granted there´s TS Eliot´s Journey poem too, but neither of them of them are exactly battling it out with Coke ads, Bad Santa or all those Father Christmas songs. Whether he´s kissing mummies or just coming to town, our stout bearded globaliser has music tied up. Plus there´s his ho ho ho catchphrase and one of those famous sidekicks that completely seals your mega-stardom status (Rudolph is basically David Furnish with antlers).
Donning the red and white cloak temporarily we have Four Tet. He dropped two albums down Spotify´s chimney on the 24th December .One of these, Sixteen Oceans, is a compilation of out takes and therefore is of no interest here, although it does have a track called 1993 Band Practice, which I thought was funny. The other album is Parallel, which is all new. The longest track is 26 minutes 46 seconds and the shortest is 48 seconds. Imagine a Christmas tree made of space pings and creaking icebergs, then decorate it with flashing chains of occasionally backwards humming, before finally adding warm bass drum baubles. As it´s by a master, Four Tet, all this works brilliantly, leaving you feeling cosily dazzled or maybe tinglingly soothed. Our track, Parallel 4, is among the upbeat ones, with electro clicks, a sub bass chassis and disembodied vocal hooks. Maybe there´s a whistle in there too, and also when the keyboard comes in you get a rush equivalent to ingesting 28 Quality Street at once.
Looking back over Four Tet´s 2020 efforts, it´s hard to ignore Her Revolution, the track he put out with Thom Yorke and Burial. Now, those three would have made great recruits for a YouTube-friendly marketing push designed to boost the Three Kings´ profile. Picture the cavalcade, with them all done up in silks, dishing out frankincense, gold, and Now That´s What I Call Nightbus fidget spinners. Santa probably snorts at fidget spinning, declaring it totes over dude, but by Wise Men standards, it´s absolutely cutting edge.
THIS WEEK
Four Tet – Parallel 4
16,971 views since 24th December Weekly Average Views – 9,138
LAST WEEK
Shanique Marie & Finn – Lifey
Weekly Average Views – 292 Blog Week Views – dunno, it was 3 weeks ago, not last week. Let´s say 500ish in those three weeks.
EXTRAS – Three Or Four Wise People
Buriel – Chems
Madlib – Hopprock
Lianne La Havas – Weird Fishes
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