Kieran Hebden / William Tyler: 41 Longfield Street Late '80s

"Sometimes, a producer's best strategy is to get out of the way and let other people radiate. That's the lesson that Kieran Hebden, a.k.a. cerebral electronic stalwart Four Tet, seems to have taken to heart on 41 Longfield Street Late '80s, his sonically discreet but emotionally robust album with Nashville guitarist William Tyler. Hebden's recent trajectory has seen him climb ever further up electronic music's greased pole, to a level where he's headlining Coachella alongside Skrillex and Fred again..."

"Hebden hasn't succumbed to the EDM bug, but his recent solo records have suffered from a certain torpor, sounding almost formulaically Four Tet. The contrast with the restless innovator of Hebden's youth, moving from the elegant post-rock of Fridge to the dazzling, folk-influenced in just a few years, is conspicuous. That his work with Tyler should sound so unlike any other Four Tet records in recent memory is a welcome surprise."

41 Longfield Street Late '80s is a sonically discreet, emotionally robust collaboration between Kieran Hebden (Four Tet) and Nashville guitarist William Tyler. The album emphasizes Tyler's intricate guitar work while Hebden adopts a restrained production approach. Hebden's career has moved toward larger festival billings, yet recent solo work showed a torpor contrasted by earlier restless innovation. The record takes its name from a South-West London house where Hebden absorbed American country and folk from his father's collection. Both musicians are serial collaborators, and their partnership reflects enduring friendship, parallel teenage experiences, and familial musical influences.

Read at Pitchfork