Four Tet

Kieran Hebden secured a contract for his English post-rock band Fridge while still in his teens. With the money he would've used for school, he bought a computer, and, after dropping out of school, began composing music on it during his off time from Fridge. Influenced by the hypnotic avant-jazz grooves of Alice Coltrane as well as the sputter and thrum of electronic music, Hebden titled the project Four Tet, and made a near-immediate splash with his 1999 debut, Dialogue. Hebden likes to morph instruments -- what sounds like a bass guitar may be a processed harp -- and yet his albums are noteworthy for their organic, "live" music sound. His music's often been characterized by the dreamy, introspective, pastoral tone over bubbling breakbeats, which the press dubbed "folktronica." Breaking out of this limiting tag, his latest, Everything Ecstatic, exhibits a greater Krautrock influence and a bustling, aggressive energy. But never one to stand still, Hebden just finished a pair of live improv shows followed by two albums (to be released next year) with jazz drummer Steve Reid (Miles Davis, Rippingtons).