Saw this interview today, Keiran Hebden talking about becoming a superstar EDM DJ.
I first came across him in about 2001 when I heard a couple of chopped up micro-house remixes that he did for other artists, and always found him interesting. I lost track of him around the time of Sun, Drums And Soil, so I didn’t realize that he had become such a big deal on the EDM scene. I checked out some performances on YT including a couple of the mixes that he references in the article (mixing Smells Like Teen Spirit into Country Riddim by HOL!, and a Taylor Swift aca over a “Romanian minimal techno” beat), and I just can’t understand what the interest is. But I’m not a 20-something, so maybe that’s relevant.
On the face of it, I like the fact that someone with his artistic pedigree is in a position like this, but what a shame he doesn’t seem to be doing more with it. Interesting Spotify mega-playlist, though.
Thanks for this. Always liked his stuff but had no idea!
Wonder what his EDM fans make of his new collab with William Tyler. This is on heavy rotation round mine and I’m looking forward to the forthcoming album.
This is one of those guys whose output is so vast and diverse that I really question whether he even sleeps. More often than not he’s underwhelmed me but I respect the hell out of the guy for just being in love with it all. Some of his pandemic mixes were incredibly long.
That gig he did in Madison Square was proper shite, but I still like a lot of what he does. Describing Billie Ray Martin songs as cheesy is idiotically prejudiced in my opinion, especially given some of the live crap he does with these sorts. Fred Again is fucking horrendous. Saw him at Glasto. Absolute posh bollocks.
Agree about the live stuff, it seems surprisingly dull, self-indulgent and lazy - but I read the Billie Ray Martin quote differently. I thought he’s saying that he would previously have considered it “cheesy” to use that Billie Ray Martin vocal sample in such a deliberately sentimental way (i.e. as the hook in what Fred Again was clearly intending to be a big end-of-the-night anthem). I’d have agreed with him on that, but he then appears to suggest that only a cynic would make such a criticism. I’m all for listening with open ears, and I certainly take music far too seriously and could do with lightening up a bit, but to me he comes across as a ‘serious’ muso who has belatedly learned that music can be fun.
He’s a really interesting character. I’d agree with musicforhangovers on his Billie Ray comment. I think he was saying he couldn’t just sincerely enjoy a lyric about love, but now he’s more into it. I’ve seen him DJ ing quite a while ago and it wasn’t great. I find his own album music though really good (as opposed to that Taylor Swift track which is awful) and still good. I’m always interested in what he’s putting out. Dan Snaith I’ve seen dj and he was absolutely brilliant. And in general from his online mixes I think he’s a lot better live than the others in that gang.