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Kieran Hebden a.k.a. Four Tet is one super talented dude. I guess I was kinda late discovering him, only really picking up on his stuff after I heard Joy Orbison’s wicked remix of his beautiful tune ‘Love Cry’. He has just released an incredible new album, There is Love in You, which I highly recommend getting hold of. He deftly incorporates elements of hip hop, techno, jazz, house, electronica and live instrumentation to create amazing music.

This mix for Radio 1’s essential mix show on the 23rd of January is a genre bending electronic delight, proving he is just as talented as selector as he is as producer. Perfect for late nights, dark rooms and serious conversations. Can also vouch for it as the perfect accompaniment to a tight deadline.

Four Tet – Radio 1 Essential Mix

1. Four Tet – Angel Echoes – Domino
2. Floating Points – Vacuum – Eglo
3. Robert Owens – Bring Down The Walls – Trax
4. STL – Jungle Sometimes – Something Records
5. Oni Ayhun – OAR003 B – Oni Ayhun records
6. Weather Report – Non-Stop Home – CBS
7. DJ Sprinkles – Grand Central pt1 (MCDE bassline dub) – Mule Musiq
8. Four Tet – Sing – Domino
9. Benge – 1981 Yamaha CS70M – Expanding Records
10. Joy Orbison – So Derobe – AUS music
11. Melchior Productions – Different Places – Perlon
12. Dem 2 – Luv’s Hard – New York Soundclash records
13. Seelenluft – Manila (Manitoba remix) – Klein
14. William Onyearbor – When the going is smooth and good – Wilfilms
15. Pryda – Muranyi – Balaton
16. Moodymann – Det.Riot – KDJ
17. Zomby – Digital Fauna – Brainmath
18. Joyce – Aldela De Ogum – Odeon
19. Joe Goddard – Apple Bobbing (Four Tet remix) – Greco Roman
20. Cassy – Soul Saviour – Perlon
21. One Little Plane – Lotus Flower (Avus she’s singing mix) – Text
22. Hardhouse Banton – Reign – Spoilt Rotten Enterrtainment
23. Four Tet – Sing (Floating Points remix) – Domino
24. Troy Pierce – Oxytocin – M_nus
25. Laurie Spiegel – Patchwork – Philo
26. Eluvium – The Motion Makes Me Last (Four Tet remix) – Temporary Residence

Get it here bro [right click, save as].

There is no doubt that dBridge & Instra:mental are at the top of their respective games right now. Through their Autonomic Podcast, DJ sets, NonPlus+ label and soon to be Autonomic label they have been writing, playing and supporting some of the most beautiful music being made anywhere right now. It was no surprise that they were asked to step up and produce the next installment of the legendary FabricLive mix series, FabricLive 50. If this promo mix is anything to go by, the actual mix is going to be something truly incredible.

I seriously can not recommend this mix highly enough.

dBridge & Instra:mental – FabricLive 50 Promo Mix

1. 0:00:00 Instra:mental — Forbidden – Applepips
2. 0:03:10 Instra:mental — Vicodin – Naked Lunch
3. 0:04:30 Skream — Minimalistix – Nonplus+
4. 0:06:45 Vaccine — Cascade Failure – Nonplus+
5. 0:08:08 Skream — Unknown
6. 0:10:28 Consequence — Snakes and Skulls – Nonplus+
7. 0:11:37 Instra:mental — Voyeur – Disfigured Dubz
8. 0:13:30 Skream — Siminimal – Dub [Riya accapella tease]
9. 0:15:55 ASC — The Depths — Autonomic
10. 0:19:33 They Live — What we promise — Exit
11. 0:20:43 ASC — Reality Check
12. 0:25:12 dBridge — Lost Shadow — Exit
13. 0:27:26 dBridge — Rendevous — Exit
14. 0:29:41 Oak — Chizra – Unknown
15. 0:31:11 Asc & Consequence — Fade away seasons – Nonplus+
16. 0:33:05 Consequence — A man and a woman — Exit
17. 0:35:57 Vaccine — Nurse — Dub
18. 0:36:27 Instra:mental, Skream & dBridge — Arcacia — Autonomic
19. 0:37:59 Synkro — Letting go — Autonomic
20. 0:40:14 Abstract Elements — Apocalypse — Dub
21. 0:42:19 Genotype — Sunday — Dub
22. 0:44:55 ASC — Focus Inwards – Nonplus+
23. 0:46:40 Instra:mental — Unknown – Unreleased Dub
24. 0:48:20 Instra:mental — No Future [ASC Mix] — Dub
25. 0:50:20 Abstract Elements — Basic Substance — Dub
26. 0:55:52 Instra:mental — Watching you – Nonplus+
27. 0:58:07 Instra:mental — Photograph — Darkestral

Get it in to your grubby little hands right here [right click, save as]

Bonus good news for us NZ folk: They are about to bring their Autonomic sound to town for a series of gigs up and down the country, including the awesome Splore festival. Be sure to get along and check it out.

2009 has been an interesting year for me musically. It has seen my tastes broaden considerably after a few years where my musical diet consisted almost solely of drum & bass and hip hop. This year I have really enjoyed exploring house, dubstep, dancehall, the odd bit of rock, pop, and a bit of who-knows-what-to-call-it. I also love the way that at the same time a whole lot of these artificial genre barriers are disappearing, with producers and DJs surprising people on a regular basis. I have discovered (and rediscovered) some amazing artists that perhaps I would have missed out on had I remained so musically myopic.

Having said all that though, drum & bass is still the music that I feel more connection with than any other. I have loved the way that the sound has continued to evolve, particularly the melodic, musical & minimal stuff that artists like Instra:Mental, Alix Perez, Lynx, Bop, dBridge, Consequence, ASC, Spectrasoul, Commix, Blu Mar Ten, and more have been absolutely killing in 2009. For my December 2009 mix of the month I was trying to find something that really represented this sound.

This mix from Blu Mar Ten released back in September has been slowly bubbling away on my playlist ever since. It is totally incredible. This is definitely in my top 10 mixes of the year, of any genre. One thing I really love about it is that it is predominantly music from artists that I had heard very little from before (you can read more about the new talent featured on the mix over on the BMT site). As well as showcasing some of the aforementioned minimal, melodic sounds they also work in a range of other stuff, and it is all beautifully put together. This is one mix that is well worth checking out.

Blu Mar Ten: Drum & Bass Mix: Sep 2009

1. D Bridge – Love’s Ugly Child
2. Kharm – Wolf Jacket
3. Circa – Ida
4. Blu Mar Ten – Above Words
5. Logistics – Murderation
6. Stray – Talking About Nothing
7. Sinistarr & Kiat – Black Diamonds
8. Tidal – So Sexy
9. Crisis – Twilight Bongos
10. Stray – Saturday
11. High Speed Dubbing – AMC
12. Blu Mar Ten – Overwhelm
13. Mr Sizef – Seven Tones of Romantic
14. Kharm – Meridian
15. Mr Sizef – Our Most Sincere Feeling
16. Sunchase – Varka
17. Blu Mar Ten – Grey Area
18. Blu Mar Ten – She Moves Through (ASC remix)
19. So;Flow – Long Way Over
20. Vaccine – Radiate (170 edit)
21. Blu Mar Ten – Last Dance

Get your hands on it right here [right click, save as].

If you dig this then be sure to check out the Blu Mar Ten blog, one of the best musicians blogs I have ever read.