Hebden's solo work typically utilises samples lifted from various sources including hip-hop, electronica, techno, jazz, and folk mixed with his own guitar playing. Four Tet shares some stylistic similarities with other musicians, such as Prefuse 73, who use computer editing techniques that give the music a staccato, cut-up feel. Hebden's music is notable for its rich, organic sounds and harmonious melodies as well as for eschewing the traditional pop-song format in favour of a more abstract approach.
Kieran Hebden began releasing material as Four Tet in 1998 with the 36 minute and 25 second single "Thirtysixtwentyfive" on Trevor Jackson's Output Recordings label. Later that year, he released a second single, the jazz-influenced "Misnomer". 1999's "Dialogue", again on Output, was Four Tet's first full-length album release and fused hip-hop drum lines with dissonant jazz samples. This was followed by the double A-side single "Glasshead"/"Calamine", which was to be Four Tet's last release on Output.
In late 1999, Warp Records released a tenth-anniversary compilation of remixes of Warp tracks; Hebden contributed a remix of "Cliffs", the opening track of Aphex Twin's "Selected Ambient Works, Vol. II". This relatively high profile exposure attracted a lot of new interest in Four Tet from fans of electronica and IDM, genres in which the Warp brand had a preeminent status.
In 2001, Four Tet's second album "Pause" was released on Domino and found Hebden using more folk and electronic samples, which was quickly dubbed "folktronica" by the media & press in an attempt to label the style (often also applied to artists such as Isan, Gravenhurst and some of Canabrism's later work). The acoustic guitar track "Everything Is Alright" is the theme music for the National Public Radio talk show On Point, produced at WBUR in Boston, Massachusetts; it was also featured in a US Nike commercial in 2001-2002 and in the Sony Bravia commercial in 2005.
"Rounds" was released in May 2003. It was Hebden's most ambitious album to date, incorporating diverse samples such as the mandolin on "Spirit Fingers", and even a rubber duck on the closing track "Slow Jam". Three singles were released from the album: "She Moves She", "As Serious as Your Life", and "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth". This last single was released as an EP featuring remixes by electronica duo Icarus and Isambard Khroustaliov along with additional Four Tet tracks "I've Got Viking in Me" and "All the Chimers". An accompanying DVD featured all of Four Tet's videos to date.
At the beginning of 2003, Four Tet opened for Radiohead on their European tour. A remix of the song Scatterbrain from Radiohead's latest album "Hail to the Thief" was included on their 2004 EP "COM LAG (2plus2isfive)".
A live album named "Live in Copenhagen 30th March 2004" was released in April 2004 as a limited edition, available only through the Domino Records website.
In March and April of 2005, Four Tet performed two shows of improvisational music, in collaboration with jazz drummer Steve Reid, in Paris and London. He also appears on Steve Reid Ensemble 2005 album "Spirit Walk". This collaboration was extended into a series of international tours, and the release of two albums, "The Exchange Session Vol. 1" and "The Exchange Session Vol. 2" over the course of 2005 and 2006.
His fourth studio album "Everything Ecstatic" was released on Domino on 23 May 2005. The video for the lead single, "Smile Around The Face", features actor Mark Heap. The album brought with it another shift in style, leaving behind the breezy "folktronica" of "Pause" and "Rounds" for a darker, more complex sound. On 7 November 2005, Domino has released a DVD version of "Everything Ecstatic" featuring video clips for each track of the album plus a CD with new material.
Hebden has also remixed, under the Four Tet name, tracks by a wide range of artists including Madvillain, Bloc Party, Super Furry Animals, Beth Orton, Badly Drawn Boy, The Notwist, Boom Bip, Kings of Convenience, Explosions in the Sky, Radiohead, and Doves.
Morning Side
Four Tet Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tu ho unki dulhan
Samajna na mujko sautan
Din
Meri dua hai lakh janam tak tu ho unki dulhan
Samajna mujko sautan
Binti karke jati hu
Tu ho unki dulhan
Samaj na mujko sautan
Binti karte jati
Meri dua lakh janam tak
Tu ho unki dulhan
Samaj na mujko sautan
Binti karte jati hu
Meri dua hai lakh janam tak
Tu ho unki dulhan
Samaj na mujko sautan
Binti karte jati hu
The lyrics of Four Tet's song Morning Side feature a prayer of sorts, wherein the singer is seeking blessings for her lover's long and happy life. The first line "Meri dua hai lakh janam tak" which translates to "My prayer is that you live a hundred thousand lives" sets the tone for the rest of the song. The singer then goes on to express her desire for her lover to be married to someone who would take good care of him ("Tu ho unki dulhan") but also laments that she doesn't want to be considered the "other woman" ("Samajna na mujko sautan").
The second verse, "Binti karke jati hu" which means "I am begging and leaving" continues with the same prayerful tone as the first. The singer repeats the same lines as in the first verse, with the additional line "Binti karte jati hu" which means "I will leave after begging". This can be interpreted as the singer making a sacrifice for her lover's happiness, by leaving him to marry someone else who can take better care of him. She repeats the same request for her lover to have a long life and a caring wife while also asking not to be considered a rival or a mistress.
Overall, the lyrics of Morning Side seem to be a plea for a loved one's happiness, even if it means sacrificing one's own desires for them. The singer wishes for her love to have a long and happy life with a caring wife, while also expressing her own desire to not be seen as a rival to his future wife.
Line by Line Meaning
Meri dua hai lakh janam tak
I pray that you be their bride for a hundred thousand births.
Tu ho unki dulhan
May you be their chosen bride.
Samajna na mujko sautan
Do not mistake me for a rival wife.
Din
Day.
Binti karke jati hu
I make my plea and depart.
Binti karte jati
I keep pleading as I go.
Binti karte jati hu
I keep pleading as I depart.
Writer(s): Kieran Hebden
Contributed by William N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
dapper dapper
Literally she sings:
antim aaj vidayi leke
ladli bahna jati hu
man me koi mail na rakhna
binti karke jati hu
binti karke jati hu
meri dua hai lakh janam tak
tu ho unki dulhan
samjh na mujhko sautan
mai to unki jogan
(Translated)
Finally, my farewell, my adorable sister,
Don't keep anything bad in your heart;
My final wish as I leave:
I pray that for a hundred thousand years, she remains your bride.
Think of me as your second.
I'm her anchoress.
(An anchoress is a female hermit or ascetic)
This is so sad :'(
dapper dapper
@L.R. Yes, literally she's sings:
antim aaj vidayi leke
ladli bahna jati hu
man me koi mail na rakhna
binti karke jati hu
binti karke jati hu
meri dua hai lakh janam tak
tu ho unki dulhan
samjh na mujhko sautan
mai to unki jogan
(Translated)
Finally, my farewell, my adorable sister,
Don't keep anything bad in your heart;
My final wish as I leave:
I pray that for a hundred thousand years, she remains your bride.
Think of me as your second.
I'm her anchoress.
(An anchoress is a female hermit or ascetic)
This is so sad :'(
Sean Clarke
God bless Lata Mangeshkar what a voice
Ruben Ferrara
Lata mangeshkar
Bendage
i find myself crying to this song a lot at how beautiful it is. it almost sounds like a prayer and i'm listening to something so personal, intimate, divine, and loving.
The Flowapowa42o Show
haha
jidoe
I play this a lot on my morning commute (20 minutes is the exact amount of time it takes me to bike to work in the morning) therefor I sometimes refer to this track as "morning ride"
Renata Cvoro
you go boy
Tamisya
hahaha me too
JKT International Coach Hire Walsall
Brilliant and being indian i understand the vocals of lata mangeskar who is 70 years as a musician. ...shes the goddess of female vocal in India
ituber09
+Tommyy Jimmee What is she saying? Which movie is it from?
Apurv Ray
+ituber09 The movie is "souten" 1983 .... the literal translation will be "My wish is that you remain his bride for a million years, dont think of me as his second wife, I am requesting this as I leave" PS this song is the bg music at a funeral. I know this all seems so random right.