Fully formed within the endless creative confines of Ableton Live, Four Tet's ninth full-length offering, New Energy, follows on from 2015's Morning / Evening and features contributions from Tom Baker & Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith.
Mixing together elements of trip-hop, modern electronics and ambient music with signature flair and a great ear for a melody, New Energy neatly pulls together the lighter ends of Beautiful Rewind's house movements and Morning / Evening's melancholic lush atmospherics. This knack for pairing sound is perfectly exemplified on the track 'Scientists', where cut-up vocals and gentle melodies are skillfully and satisfyingly layered on top of one another. Waves of sparkling notes from a zither that are recurrent throughout the LP really bubble up to the forefront on 'Thousand & Seventeen', culminating in crescendo of notes sitting on a signature paired-down electronic melody.
The ambient episodes also ring strong across the release, from the lofty stirrings of 'Tremper' and the haunted dialogue of 'Gentle Soul' to the more beat-driven electronics in 'SW9 9SL' and 'LA Trance'.
All in all, New Energy dips into each area of Four Tet's production skills and showcases his aptitude for blending different styles together in a way where the resulting sound is recognisably his own. It's a great place to start with Fout Tet, and with two of Hebden's classic nuggets 'SW9 9SL' and 'Planet', this makes for an all-out end-to-end burner.
