While preparing for a massive tour, Four Tet has been dropping remixes, collaborations and original tracks of his own at a pace that suggests the producer is way too busy to leave his studio for even a sandwich, let alone substitute host a three-hour-long radio broadcast. Yet when Benji B needed someone to cover his BBC Radio 1 show, Kieran Hebden didn't just fill in: he went in, dropping tons of new and otherwise unreleased tracks by Joy Orbison, Pearson Sound, Madlib, Champion, Lil Silva and Future Islands' Samuel T. Herring, among others.
Hebden's BBC Radio 1 takeover also features exclusive cuts from Mickey Pearce, Pangaea, Mainline and Black Warrior in addition to several previously unheard Four Tet cuts. He balances the new material with tracks by Photek, Lemon D, Dizzee Rascal, Flava D, Miss Fire and others throughout.
Early in the set, the Text Records label lead shared "Rings In The Coffee," a previously unreleased track from Trouble Knows Me, the collaborative project of Future Islands' Sam Herring and Madlib, Pitchfork reports. You can find that tune a few minutes in; listen to the full set here.
Shortly after dropping "Rings In the Coffee," the substitute host was joined in the studio by Pearson Sound for a half-hour long guest mix. Later in the show, Champion stopped by the studio to share his own guest mix, featuring tons of his own exclusive IDs. The pair included their previously shared collaboration, "Flip Side," in the set.
Following Pearson Sound's appearance, Joy Orbison dropped by for an hour-long back-to-back set with Hebden, Thump reports. Stream that below.
While the producer and DJ's recent discography boasts numerous remixes -- including a club version of "Seesaw," his collaboration with Jamie XX and Romy, an hour-long rendition of Oneohtrix Point Never's "Sticky Drama," CHVRCHES' "Leave a Trace" and Shura's "Touch" -- the radio show serves as a reminder of Hebden's role as tastemaker. Throughout the mix he vocally announces each exclusive cut as he drops it, so the broadcast is less of a Four Tet set to get lost to on the dance floor and more of a well-curated playlist of tracks and artists the producer finds influential.
