Four Tet turns to his label, Text Records, for his latest release. The sound of 0181 is surprisingly focused for tracks that were created in a period that spans 1997-2001. The prolific Kieran Hebden has turned towards his archives to provide us with a snapshot of the genesis period of his most prodigious project. It's all compiled in the form of a mixtape, so please forgive the short samples provided here. In fact he's already given away the whole thing for free, so we can assume that you've had a chance to hear it already. There's plenty to dive into here, from gamelan inflected loops to jazzy percussion workouts and more. It's clear that from the start Hebden was well aware of the territory he wanted to explore with Four Tet.

• music label: Text Records 2013

reviewed by Michu Meszaros 03/2013