Review: Madlib & Four Tet Join Forces In Minimalist, Lo-Fi Single ‘Dirtknock’ As Upcoming Collaborative LP Approaches

Madlib x Four Tet | Dirtknock | Madlib Invazion

Release Date: 22 January, 2021

As one of the most iconic, critically acclaimed and beloved hip-hop producers in the music realm spanning his career; we were very excited to hear that Otis Jackson Jr, otherwise known as the prolific Madlib, has come together with leading electronic artist Kieren Hebden aka Four Tet in a new collaborative upcoming album entitled ‘Sound Ancestors’. Written by MadLib and arranged by Four Tet, the pair have released their latest single ‘Dirtknock’ in light of the album’s upcoming release on January 29th.

I was listening to some of his new beats and studio sessions when I had the idea that it would be great to hear some of these ideas made into a Madlib solo album … arranged into tracks that could all flow together in an album designed to be listened to start to finish … we decided to work on this together with him sending me tracks, loops, ideas and experiments that I would arrange, edit, manipulate and combine. I was sent hundreds of pieces of music over a couple of years.

Kieren Hebden / Four Tet

A strong, pounding beat opens ‘Dirtknock’ as silken female vocals glide effortlessly over the push and pull of stuttering textures. The lo-fi, minimalist approach is intriguingly hypnotic, with the repetition and simplicity of the beat creating a mesmerising soundscape as fluttering electronics draw us in.

Feature Image: Madlib via Bandcamp / Twitter