⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ - ooo ̟̞̝̜̙̘̗̖҉̵̴̨̧̢̡̼̻̺̹̳̲̱̰̯̮̭̬̫̪̩̦̥̤̣̠҈͈͇͉͍͎͓͔͕͖͙͚͜͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢͢ͅ oʅ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡​(​ ؞ৢ؞ؙؖ⁽⁾˜ัิีึื์๎้็๋๊⦁0 ̟̞̝̜̙̘̗̖҉̵̴̨̧̢̡̼̻̺̹̳̲̱̰̯̮̭̬̫̪̩̦̥̤̣̠҈͈͇͉͍͎͓͔͕͖͙͚͜͢͢͢͢͢ ఠీੂ೧ູ࿃ूੂ

May 29, 2020 - Self-released

Dear ⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ, why do you think you are the only one who knows what a computer dreams about?

It’s gotten really difficult to subvert culture these days. We know how to subvert too well. We’ve convinced ourselves that the act of subversion is acting with intention of generating attention. We subvert to become visible to the coolness of the mainstream. Attention in an attention economy is an act of capital. 

Take a gander on Google and you too can see the sheer volume of classes you can take to learn how to be an electronic musician. The electronic musical environment is attractive because its waters are flowing cool and submerged beneath a layer of ice that’s five feet thick. The musicians underneath glide past you, holding their visions up to the ice for you to see as they pass by. You look respectfully, but you have no ice pick. Unless you took one of those classes. Then you might have a cocktail pick. 

So what happens when one of the enigmas beneath the ice finds a quiet corner of the internet to occupy? Why would someone with such capital choose to put the sacred work somewhere unexpected? What does it even mean to have work that is sacred?

There is no one else out there quite like Kieren Hebden. He is one of the few musicians I can think of who makes music for music’s sake. One who commands sound with a true empathy for it. He approaches musical exploration with unyielding curiosity and an addiction to the moment of discovery. There’s no Four Tet formula. When we were all in college, high and losing our minds to dubstep, Four Tet presented an alternative—an academic approach. We outgrew dubstep, but we’ll never outgrow Hebden. He moves too fast. 

He has a secret project on the internet that’s almost impossible to find. A hole in the ice miles away from where we are looking. A hole in which some of his best work resides. The project’s name and all of the releases are listed in what looks like Wingdings font at a glance, but upon closer inspection the glyphs are actually their own unique combination of symbols which we assume to be a language the computer can present but not translate for our understanding. The track names and EP title can’t be pronounced out loud by anyone I know. Lucky for me, if someone on the internet hadn’t already found it, I wouldn’t have been able to find it myself. I’m sure the linguists would find the construction of the name and the spread of this project fascinating.

On a more political day for me, I might get into the concept of Hebden being an artist who already has a loud voice and is looking for a place to speak without the weight of his reputation. How this poor-little-rich-boy context is different from a nobody artist who has a quiet voice and who hides their work in an unsearchable space. How that means something completely different. How one is a story of “in the know” marketing, of creating the exclusivity of an underground dance club inside the freedom of the internet, and how the other is a story of art for art’s sake and nothing else, actual subversion of capital. 

But it’s not a political day, and I am an artist’s artist with boundless respect for Kieren Hebden. Also, if my voice were louder, I would have a Wingdings project too. We makers are here making things as a way to communicate after all. An act of attention. 

Thanks to technology, below is the new release from ⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ for you to see and listen to on your own without the headache of finding it. It’s loaded with Hebden’s signature blossoming atmospheres painted from dark to light out of an endlessly deep instrumentality. His academic rigor into researching the world of sound is our reward. These songs are not simply secret alternative throwaways that didn’t quite make it to the final cut of Four Tet’s album like a limited release collector’s edition. They exist on their own, standing alone, with the same sensitivity and life as the rest of Hebden’s work. The holes in the ice are easier to see now that you know how to look for them. Though you’ll notice Hebden is swimming too deep for your ice pick to reach him. Enjoy the show and stay present. It’s still well worth your attention. ☔