Azuli returns with a CD from one of the most cutting edge producers out there and you don't know who he is and does he live up to the hype?

Chilled CD of the Month (Oct 2004) (yes a bit late but oh well)

Azuli presents Late Night Tales featuring Four Tet (Azuli)

The mighty forward thinking label called Azuli is back with another volume in the ever growing series called Late Night Tales. It is more about music to chill out after a club or really at anytime during the day. Previous artists who have done one, include Fila Brazila, Howie B and others. Azuli now has got one of the least talked about, most cutting edge producers out there to put together a compilation. Four Tet aka Kieran Hebden has been around for some time and he has created some of the most mind blowing pieces of music in recent memory and now he gets to showcase his skills on a compilation. Four Tet has really only one set formula, create music that no one else makes then push it towards a collective goal. Finally he makes use of a lot of old tunes and reworks them, including Four Tet’s rework of a Jimi Hendrix song. Get ready to have your mind altered, Four Tet has arrived.

Tracklist
1.Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Haunted Feelings
2.Koushik – Battle Rhymes for Battle Times
3.Hal Blaine – Wiggy (Edit)
4.Manfred Mann’s Chapter 3 – One Way Glass
5.Terry Riley – Music For The Gift (Part 2)
6.Max Roach (M’Boom) – January V
7.Tortoise – Why We Fight
8.Gravediggaz – 2 Cups of Blood
9.Joe Henderson – Earth
10.Linda Perhacs – Parallelograms
11. Four Tet – Castles in the Sand
12.Def Jam Gibson + Malagasy – Valiha
13.Madvillian – Strange Ways (Koushik’s Remix)
14.Smoke – Griffo (Edit)
15.Fairport Convention – Tale in Hard Time
16.J Saunders – Tinkle
17.Icarus – Benevolent Incubator
18.Manitoba – 219 Beverely
19.David Shigley – Don’ts

We start off with a haunting song with some weird bells driven by a flute solo and some wind sound effects that give it the creepy as heck feeling. Then we are led into a 1970’s era song with a filter vocal, reminds me of those funny 1970 soundtrack movies. This is certainly chilled out and completely fucked up but that’s the way real chillout should be. “Wiggy” is an edit of a jazz tune and really just a leyway into track 4. Manfred Mann’s Chapter 3 continues that raw jazz sound from the 1970’s, I love it and it certainly keeps the mix relaxed. If you are a purist that does not have an open mind, by track 4, you will be wanting to turn this off. So go listen to your Coldharbour sessions and let the open minded people enjoy this. I’m hooked now because it shows an incredible open mind and you see that he has a goal in mind.

Music for the gift opens track 5, remember there is no mixing in here and I doubt the music would be as powerful if that happened. This is a simplistic jazz tune, with some weird samples and weird horns but it fits. “January V” goes into some gentle bell driven leftfield music and you see that Four Tet is taking the mind to places that most CD won’t dare touch. Track 7 is Why We Fight which is a pure drum driven song, using real drums, which is getting rarer these days and some amazing bell sequences and to describe them won’t do it justice but you definitely have to check this out. Just as you get settled here, Four Tet throws a monkey wrench into the gears and sends them flying in another direction. As I said, the first seven songs were leftfield based, jazz numbers and now you hit Gravediggaz. For those who are keeping score at home, you know exactly who Gravediggaz are and what genre they are but if you don’t, they are hardcore hip hop. Ok, you can pick yourself up off the floor, I’m dead serious here and no please don’t run away, it does fit the mix. The track is only about a minute and a half but it is powerful and it certainly gives you some variety. I view the song was designed to keep the attention or break the momentum.

Now we leave the nasty hip hop sounds of Gravediggaz and head to the longest song on the mix, called “Earth” which at over 13 minutes is quite a big one. Now please don’t go running away here, it is pure genius and it fits so well. The track is just drums and then eventually heads into that weird leftfield 70’s influence, which is just tripped. A trumpet just drives it and the song is completely weird but it does hold your attention for 13 minutes, which is rare of any track bar the mighty Xpander. Song ten heads into almost folk type direction, the title is weird and so is the song but it fits the late night sessions well. Castles made of Sand is Four Tet’s homage to the late and great rockstar, we know as Jimi Hendrix and I think it is about time that someone honored the great left handed guitar player’s contribution to music. Four tet bases a guitar sample around some bells and taps and it instantly gives it the 1970’s feel. Well done

We are heading into the homestretch as they say in horse racing terms. Ok, I love Valiha because it contains that nice chillout influence that I love so much. The drums and guitars work so well in tandem and that’s the basis of Four Tet’s selections, music that use either one or both of them. We then head from leftfield music to another momentum shift and you guessed it, hardcore hip hop but with a leftfield direction. I’m really shocked here by how well Four Tet manages to blend in hip hop and leftfield music, because no other album that I’ve heard over the last twenty plus years, has done it. The rap goes on, while being backed by some flutes and it has a real leftfield direction. It is short but incredibly powerful. Four Tet then changes gear with the very short leadin, as I call it called Geffo, which is about fourty seconds long.

The final five songs are up next and we go 1970’s rock, the feel is certainly that from the era and certainly one from the Fairport Convention. I believe it is from the 1970’s or late 1960’s but it adds to the late night tales chillout feel. We go into a some bells as song 16 called “Twinkle” takes shape but it is just an interlude that leads us into the 2nd longest song on the album called “Benevolent Incubator”. This is another in Four Tet’s use of drum based songs that build and then the leftfield element kicks in, it goes with taps and percussive noises for a while and then a soothing guitar joins in and starts the odyssey. After the odyssey, you are left even more chilled than the first song. We are heading into the final part of this whacked out and mind blowing CD, which just does not follow the predictable and boring usual CD tripe that labels are hitting you with. He uses Manitoba’s 219 Beverely, which is off the excellent Leaf Records. The song is a walking noise backed by a guitar and some weird effects are thrown in for good measure but the mix is trying to finish in a calmer way. We end with David Shipley’s Don’ts, this tune is a funny rounding end to a clever mix. David Shipley himself speaks on this with a drum beat backing it, talking about not making your own flamethrower, don’t pick with fights with known psychopaths and many others.

Conclusion:
Four Tet is a genius and this confirms it, he gives you a complete variety of crazed genres, all melted into one mix that works very well. As I said at the beginning, if you don’t have an open mind, then go listen to Gabriel and Dresden’s Bloom but if you like your music to be different, then go buy this. I’ve had it on repeat, since I got it and it will continue to play on my stereo for sometime to come. If you like this, check out the other Azuli – Late Night Tales because they are usually similar with the fact that the tunes are unusual and ones that you don’t expect and they are all well done, my favorite is Fila Brazila’s CD from 2000. Look out for the Flaming Lips’ Late Night Tales, it is out in Feb 2005. Get this in the meantime, perfect for after clubbing, chillout sessions.