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ONE WAY Recommends [Issue
#21]
Kieran Hebden And Steve Reid By
Ken Micallef
The Exchange Sessions Vols 1 & 2
(CD
Domino)
In his sampling jockey guise as Four Tet, Kieran Hebden is one of the most fertile
and expansive minds in showbiz, using freaky sounds and warped instrumental textures
to create music that falls somewhere between the Beatles’ “Revolution
#9” and the lulling soundwash of a Yosemite waterfall at dusk. Paired up
with free drummer Steve Reid (who provided the rhythmic thunder behind Martha
and the Vandella’s “Dancing in the Street,” along with sessions
that included Miles Davis, Fela Kuti and James Brown), Hebden’s music takes
on added dimension, as if a jet crash, crushed metal, and mangled bodies were
suddenly added to his formerly blissful waterfall state. In live performance as
on these discs, the pair simply jam for extended periods, Reid on drums and Hebden
on sampler and computer. The resultant sound is initially hard to take, much less
understand, but repeated listenings reveal a previously buried form, a long logic
that is similar to a garrulous free jazz improvisation. The improvs chase illusive
ghosts, shoot down blind alleyways, only to suddenly burst out into the light
– and down that dark waterfall. This is not for everyone, but for those with
ears to hear, let them hear.
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