THE EXCHANGE SESSION VOL. 1 - KIERAN HEBDEN & STEVE REID
As Four Tet, Kieran Hebden has become one of the foremost acts in the laptop electronica set. But he is also adept in a live band setting, as evidenced by his earlier work with Fridge. Here, he collaborates with veteran free-jazz drummer Steve Reid on three tracks without any real rhythmic structures to latch onto. Although there are many instances of back-and-forth exchange, when the pace starts to quicken, Reid really takes over. Hebden does all he can to keep up, as on the last six minutes of “Soul Oscillations,†where his electronic fuzz imbibes the track with a dark, eerie feel. This is not happy music by any means, and it is definitely challenging. But the artists seem to have brought the best out of each other, and the result is much better than just hearing them go through the motions. –Billboard
