Kieran Hebden – better known as Four Tet – has reflected on his recent success with Fred Again.. and Skrillex, and revealed that he doesn’t agree with the idea that he is “finally getting the success he deserves”.
The English electronic artist made the comments in a rare interview earlier this week, in which he reflected on his early days in the industry and the mammoth concerts he has played as part of his latest collaboration.
This comes in light of the musician becoming part of the most famous dance trio in the world right now – joining forces with hit producer Fred Again.. and legendary EDM veteran, Skrillex.
Discussing the list of impressive gigs the three have played together – including a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden and the closing set at Coachella, in which they played to a 100,000-strong crowd – Four Tet revealed he doesn’t agree with the notion that he is finally getting some ‘overdue recognition’.
“That concept was coming at me after Coachella – ‘He’s finally getting the success he deserves’ – but it didn’t really feel like that,” he said to The Guardian.
“I did Coachella and the next gig was a three-and-a-half-hour set at my daughter’s 13th birthday party to 20 teenage girls, who I felt looked at me deeply unimpressed the whole time.”
He continued, saying that even despite playing these huge shows, he finds it hard to believe that he will be able to play to such vast crowds going forward.
“I was about to say I don’t know if I’ll ever do anything like Coachella again,” he added. “But me and Sonny [Moore, AKA Skrillex] are headlining Hard Summer in LA for 75,000 people.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Hebden also reflected on the increase in support for dance music in recent years, and the lack of “cynicism” the audience have towards more unconventional mixes.
“From where I’m sitting, dance music is so massive right now, on a worldwide scale,” he said, also explaining that he thinks “the pandemic, the political climate [and chasing] digital stuff all the time” helped turn the tide.
He also used Fred Again..’s hit ‘Billie (Loving Arms)’, as an example, saying: “Years ago I’d be like: this is cheesy as hell! You have a big song and the hook is: ‘Put your loving arms around me’ – and everybody’s going to start hugging? That’s like some terrible church event… But now, there’s a new audience that sees something like that with no cynicism at all.”
Following on from his slot at Hard Summer, Four Tet is set to perform at Finsbury Park tomorrow (August 12), as well as make stops at Boardmasters, Lost Village Festival and Creamfields throughout the month.
From there, he will head to Australia for numerous headline shows. Find a full list of dates and any remaining tickets here.
In other Four Tet news, earlier this year the musician premiered a new track, ‘Three Drums’. The song sprawls across eight minutes and is a dreamy, synth-laden track that features live drum tracks.
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