Music Insights
VIDEO VIEWS BY JC: Four Tet – Baby
Four Tet loves to push the boundaries of sensory experience.
The music video for new single Baby is a light speed tour of the heavens and everything under, set to a percussive track popping with vocal samples courtesy of Ellie Goulding that slide under each other like tectonic plates, dropping away to reveal the minimalist ambient soundscape beneath. The mesmerizing visuals are supplied by drone racer and FPV (First Person View) DOP Andrés Aguilera Morillas under Joanna Nordahl’s direction – a returning role for the filmmaker. As we crash-land onto a beach, the cam backs up to reveal the flyers: two feathered Youtubers eager to encourage a like/comment/subscribe on their ariel acrobatics. It’s a cute surprise – you might recognize these two birds as the central focus of 2019’s music video forTeenage Birdsong, an emotive dive into the chaotic exuberance of feminine youth.
The Grammy nominated electronic music composer is more likely to drop a single than an entire album. Offering up tracks as stand alone concept pieces, Four Tet long languishes in the beauty of a single note. Since previous album New Energy in 2017, the artist has been experimenting with the concept of performance. Teaming up with designer Squidsoup to take the live music experience to new levels, the two challenge the concept of a light show. Using what are essentially thousands of string lights (no not like a millennial’s dorm room, think more under-the-sea meets constellation art piece) the resulting display plays out something like a pointilized 3D hologram. Dangling above and through the DJ booth and dropping down onto the dance floor, jelly fish tails of light construct an interactive installation of pulsing pixels, achieving new levels of audience immersion. The designer / musician duo are heading out back out on tour promoting Four Tet’s upcoming Sixteen Oceans LP, watch for that to drop next week.