Though his work was more glitch and IDM-leaning prior (with acclaimed albums like Pause and Rounds) his collaborations with famed jazz musician Steve Reid and DJ residency at London’s now-closed The End in the late 2000s caused him to “think about rhythm and set dynamics differently.” He describes in a Tiga podcast interview that these two events taught him about restraint and taking your time. According to him, sometimes he falls flat on his face and looks like a complete fool, but when done right, he can allow the most explosive moments in a set to have even more impact.

In honor of this approach I’ve rounded up Four Tet’s Most Fringe DJ Picks, and boy, we should start with the most explosive…

HOL! – COUNTRY RIDDIM (2022)

Though he’s been long respected in electronic circles, 2023 feels different – since his now-famed team-up with Fred again.. & Skrillex (which recently closed out Coachella’s Weekend 2), Four Tet’s knack as a risk-taking DJ has been forcefully charged into the EDM consciousness. Their b2bs have been loose, unscripted – there might be a couple of bafflingly bad transitions, but how could anyone care when the three DJs on stage are laughing with each other at the ridiculousness of it all?

The first b2bs together might’ve flipped a switch in Four Tet’s brain. Although edits of Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story’ are fringe even for EDM, he had his first truly viral moment when he shocked the world with his insistence on dropping HOL!’s ‘Country Riddim’ not once, not twice, but thrice on the normally-techno and house-leaning Lot Radio, live streamed, and archived for the world to see and viral-y meme on. 

Even to a long-time fan like me, him dropping ‘Country Riddim’ is quite ridiculous. To a newcomer, the sight of the oldest and most-“respected” member of the trio dropping the most face-tearing, abrasive track of the set while laughing his ass off still translates to one of the funniest electronic moments of 2023.

Tsuruda – Migi (2021)

Four Tet has always been one to flirt with dubstep and bass music, given by his love of tunes like The Bug’s ‘Skeng’ or Skream’s ‘2-D.’ But since he first went b2b with Skrillex in 2015, it seems that they’ve been sharing American bass music together ever since. 

He added ‘Migi’ to his Spotify playlist at the end of 2021, which I thought was a bit unusual, even for him. That track released on Alix Perez’s 1985 Music label is the perfect representation of Tsuruda at his best – hip-hop swagger with pulsating, futuristic bass. I was able to personally witness Four Tet drop ‘Migi’ at San Diego’s CRSSD festival – on a stage sound system tuned specifically for tech house and techno. It sounded insane.

Although his infamous-Country Riddim drop is done with a lot of humor behind it, his love for modern bass is quite apparent with this tune, alongside other set favorites like Saka’s ‘Shaolin,’ Posij’s ‘YGT YGT YGT’ and Hydraulix & SUAHN’s ‘Brain Damage.’

Young Thug – Best Friend (2015)

Many of my friends who caught Four Tet’s B2B with Floating Points at San Francisco’s Portola Festival in 2022 came back with one conclusion, the Young Thug drop was one of the craziest moments of the weekend. Amongst a set where UK favorites by Burial, salute and Pearson Sound were dropping to a receiving American audience, Four Tet has always described the “switch” to a half-time tempo as one of his favorite moments in a set.

Previously describing the Atlanta rapper’s track as a “harp classic”, he’s been playing this one out even during his ‘headier’ DJ sets of 2016. Other rap favorites he’s dropped include Lil Uzi Vert’s ‘Futsal Shuffle 2020,’ 645AR’s ‘Yoga’ and Blac Youngsta’s ‘Booty.’

Millie B – M to the B (2020)

16-year old grime star Millie B’s diss track to Sophie Aspin went viral on TikTok a couple years ago – but listening to the track on its own merits, it’s UK bassline at its most short, digestible form. Four Tet was once again B2B with Floating Points at Manchester’s Warehouse Project, sharing the main room with acts like Overmono (Live), TSHA, I. JORDAN, DJ Seinfeld and piri & tommy.

Four Tet’s love of UK bassline (especially the pop-kind) is quite tangible, as shown for some of his collaborations with Champion and his proponent for dropping T2’s ‘Heartbroken’ (he did a SICK transition into Digital Mystikz’s ‘Anti-War Dub’ in his Lost Village 2018 set). 

Ariana Grande – No Tears Left to Cry (2018)

Four Tet’s Lost Village sets are a great indicator of what he’ll do in a two hour solo DJ set. In his 2018 set, he starts with his official remix for Rihanna, plays an unreleased Burial collaboration (a rarity would be an understatement), then proceeds to custom remixes of Pearl Jam, Fela Kuti, Destiny’s Child and Nelly Furtado.

The real stunner of the set is his mashup of Ariana Grande’s ‘No Tears Left to Cry,’ overlaid with Detroit techno legend Robert Hood’s ‘Analog (Ghost).’ He’s played this mashup at a few sets like Pitch Festival, The Warehouse Project and I was able to hear it when he played an 8 hour set at Hollywood’s Palladium. The techno track’s polyrhythmic pulse and live-moment run complementary to Ariana’s insane vocal performance.

He’s no stranger to singalong moments in sets with left-of-center backbones – it’s become his calling card, with his festival-smashing edits of Nelly Furtado and 3LW becoming officially released under ‘KH’ (as ‘Only Human’ and ‘Looking At Your Pager’ respectively). His skeletal edits of Vanessa Carlton’s ‘A Thousand Miles,’ Selena Gomez’s ‘Hands to Myself’ and Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story’ remain unreleased, but crowd-favorites. 

G Jones & Eprom – On My Mind (RamonPang flip) (2022)

This is my article, so I have to include this. It’s crazy that Four Tet’s played it. I made this track in like two hours on my Airpods in a San Francisco Airbnb. I had shelved it and forgot about it until the beginning of 2023, when I was compiling some bootleg remixes and edits for a Bandcamp Friday (Pang Pack of Flips). I was surprised to see that Four Tet bought the ‘On My Mind’ remix on Bandcamp… I had forgotten that he follows me and a couple of other people on Tabula Rasa Records there. A couple weeks later, I had like 20 people texting me from New York that Four Tet had been dropping it in his b2bs with Fred again and Skrillex. That was pretty cool.

Written by Ramon Pang

The post Beyond Country Riddim: Four Tet’s Most Fringe DJ Picks appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

This month, my guest is a true bootleg master, someone who dares to lurk in the depths of the web, looking for forgotten gems and who is not afraid to drop an Ariana Grande and Aphex Twin mash-up in the middle of a set. I’m talking about Ramon Pang of course. I’m pretty sure he needs no introduction, but just in case,  he’s a left-field dance producer based in LA, self-proclaimed “lover and documentarian of all things trap music and 90s intelligent dance music” and, I’d like to add, the most hardcore Four Tet fan you’ll ever meet. He co-heads Tabula Rasa Records, a record company and a community that you need to know if you’re into “braindance” or IDM if you want to call it (preorder their new compilation here). You can also catch him sharing tons of interesting stuff on his Twitter, pretty much any day of the week. I was definitely expecting a more obscure selection from Ramon but these dancefloor-oriented picks left me utterly satisfied. Fun fact: there was a one-in-a-million chance and it still happened, originally we both included Falldren’s bootleg in our selection.

Flosstradamus – Total Recall (Falldren Flipped) 

The original is so nostalgic for me. I was in a Siscord voice chat with Falldren a year ago and offhandedly said that someone needs to flip ‘Total Recall’ into hardwave and it would be a mainstage hit. He whipped this up in 2-3 hours and published it without thinking too hard about it. But, six months later, I was there live when RL Grime dropped it at Porter Robinson’s Second Sky Fest and when Skeler dropped it as his LA debut at Brownies & Lemonade. That’s every bootlegger’s dream. It’s so deserved – it’s a tidal wave of a track.
– RP

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SBU – Deep Love

To match the majestic vibes of ‘Total Recall’ I needed to bring up a banger of the same magnitude. Staying in wave territories, the choice was easy. Freshly released just a month ago, SBU’s brutal flip of Calvin Harris and Disciple’s ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ has caused quite a turmoil within the scene. In particular, I heard it literally destroyed Pantheon‘s dancefloor back in December. In case you’re a nerd like me, the pre-drop vocals are from a breakout monologue included in the movie ‘Closer’.
– A

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Skrillex, Fred again.. & Flowdan – Rumble (Kinoteki Footwork Jungle Edit)

The crew at Tabula Rasa Records are very good at blurring the line between cheekiness and sincerity. When the Rumble bootleg craze was going on, Kinoteki came out the gate with this beautiful Lone/Machinedrum-inspired melodic flip. I don’t know how serious they were when making this, but it doesn’t really matter – the way it rollercoasters is hypnotizing. I play it live a lot.
– RP

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deadmau5 – strobe (dossyx edit w/ charlie)

Talking about bootleg crazes, Strobe is another masterpiece that received its massive dose of remixes, both official and unofficial. While I despise pretty much every version I run into so far, I have to say dossyx and Charlie have nailed the task. The mood couldn’t be more different than the original, but in the end the bouncy and crispy groove match very well the iconic melody. Kawaii bounce is probably the most fitting term to label this edit, will camoufly agree?
– A

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O’Flynn – Cardi Tool 

I’ve loved O’Flynn’s blissful breaks and percussion-driven house on Ninja Tune before, and had no idea he had a Cardi B remix. Good internet friend from the Four Tet fan discord (I own the server, obviously) shared this one day and it was an instant save. In my sets, it’s such a cheat code: 1) super blendable 2) super effective in my deeper underground sets, and 3) a real driver in my more mainstream-leaning ones.
– RP

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAXfXvNgHd0]

SoSick (KH version)

This one has been sitting on my PC for so long that I completely forgot how it got here.  All I remember is that at a certain point (2018 or 2019 probably) Four Tet went wild on SoundCloud dropping a ton of unreleased material altogether. Why? I’ve no idea. I could do some research on my own, but since I have a living Four Tet-encyclopedia as the guest of this episode I thought it was more fun to ask him directly. Would you mind tweeting more info about this edit Ramon? Anyway, this is the perfect bootleg for those situations when the audience wants to sing along to some well know lyrics but you want to dance along to some classy groove.
– A

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8mt9H6gWGM]

Overmono – So U Kno (Villager Mix)

Villager turned Overmono’s biggest anthem into a bass-fueled monster. Like the ‘Cardi Tool’ one, it’s been effective in every set I’ve played it in. I think it really fits my modus operandi – I love tracks that take the best parts of traditional club-ready house/techno, then fuse it with energetic, traditional ‘EDM’ sounds in a restrained way. I think that translates into my music always.
– RP

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Chris Lake & Green Velvet – Deceiver (Gaszia Edit)

It’s not that I DJ very often, but I swear that even I was getting tired of playing ‘Deceiver’. The original is a killer tune, nothing bad to say, but after rinsing it dozens of times I was desperately looking for an alternative version. I then turned to SoundCloud where I surprisingly found this edit by the one and only Gaszia. Way better than Chris Lake’s VIP.
– A

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1192229569″ params=”color=#ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

TWRK – Living Room (Tielsie Remix)

Bit of a fringe pick here… this flip is almost 10 years old but it’s still one of my all-time favorites. On one hand, it sounds like a product of its time (2014), especially the clean 808 and the stereotypical trap/footwork drums. Listen to the original and then compare it to this flip’s take on its main melody… the way it’s chopped is so skillful and virtuosic.
– RP 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOfEB1kWyho]

Kanye West vs. Lucio Battisti – Love Lockdown (Nastro Rosa Edit)

This is one of my most secret guilty pleasures. I’m warning you, explaining it in words it won’t make any sense: it’s a mash-up between Kanye’s quintessential ‘Love Lockdown’ vocals and the instrumental of ‘Nastro Rosa’, a song by Lucio Battisti, one of the most beloved Italian singer-songwriter and composer of the 1970s. Genious idea, perfect realization, immaculate vibes.

Kanye West vs. Lucio Battisti – Love Lockdown (Nastro Rosa Edit) by Dee Jay Park

The post Bootleg Business – Vol. 3 (feat. Ramon Pang) appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

Although the track has been one of the most highly anticipated IDs outside of ‘Rumble’ it still hits as somewhat of a surprise. Built around Lil Baby’s vocals from ‘Baby’ the producers showcase their mastery looping, tweaking, and bending the vocals to their will. The vocal anchor gives it an instant infectiousness that commands replays and will be stuck in your head for days. The way the backing is built around it is perfection. Constantly progressing it pulls back and pulses forward with impeccable timing, stripping back to add groove and swagger, then adding bumping bass and layering hypnotic synths to keep you entranced.

What makes ‘Baby again..’ so exceptional is just how versatile it is. This will go off at a patio party at 2:00pm, slap at the beach or a BBQ, destroy main stage at festivals and arenas, rip after hours, give you energy for your morning run, soundtrack a late-night drive, improve your focus while working, and make you shake your ass. I’m not sure that there’s a situation where ‘Baby again..’ doesn’t slap, and if there is, I don’t want to experience it.

Listen to ‘Baby again..’ below and don’t blame me if you can’t listen to anything else for the foreseeable future.

The post Fred Again.., Skrillex & Four Tet Flip Lil Baby On Infectious Single ‘Baby again..’ appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

Following the house and garage influence of his last solo piece, Skrillex is back with a vibey bop primed for the summer titled ‘Butterflies.’ Teaming up with another veteran, Four Tet, as well as rising star Starrah, the trio of artists have concocted a three-minute jam that is sure to have you listening on repeat while dancing uncontrollably in your living room. The ideas aren’t revolutionary, but the execution is top tier. The attention to detail is the highlight of ‘Butterflies,’ with layers of bass, percussion and vocals all coming together to form a flawless house piece. With a mesmerizing break just past the two minute mark that displays the true mastery of all involved, ‘Butterflies’ is a strong contender for playlist favourites.

While on air with Annie Mac to premiere the track on Monday, Skrillex stated that he is sitting on a ton of material that he is proud of for the first time in years. Reading between the lines, it sounds like we might finally be getting a consistent stream of music from the legend in the near future. Until then, blast ‘Butterflies’ on repeat below.

The post Skrillex, Four Tet & Starrah Team Up In Infectious ‘Butterflies’ appeared first on FUXWITHIT.

You might not hear Four Tet’s signature sound in this album, but that was his intention. He told The New York Times, “I wasn’t looking at it being like I want to stamp my sound onto his in any way. It was more, I want to take the things I like the most and make them as good as I possibly can.” The tenured artist actually arranged, edited, and mastered the album, bringing life to all of the files Madlib sent him over the years.

Each track incorporates elements of hip-hop and electronic music while also paying tribute to the genres that pioneered today’s music scene. Madlib shares his own spin on classic rock, jazz, soul, and more as he spotlights different cultural influences like Latin and African music.

We easily get lost in wanting the newest and next best thing. But in an era of instant gratification, this album provides a way to remember our roots. Before you listen, get ready for a history lesson. Sound Ancestors will take you on a journey through time and space as it brings you to places you’ve never explored.

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Boasting 25 000 square ft. across three rooms, one of which is equipped with ‘bodysonic’ technology (sections of the floors attached to bass transducers  – essentially extra subwoofers built into the floor), the space quickly gained a reputation for throwing forward thinking events with up and coming artists, many of which were (and still are) at the forefront of their genre. In November of 2001 the club began operating as a label of the same name, releasing monthly compilation albums, each of which was assembled by a different DJ. The series’, entitled fabric and FabricLive respectively, are well known for unearthing new trends as well as showcasing some of the biggest names currently contributing to the progress of various dance music genres. The two series, which trade off releases each month, differ by the genres they associate with. The fabric series focuses on more established styles under the umbrella of dance music such as techno & house, while the FabricLive series showcases movements such as dubstep, grime, breaks, drum and bass, and various other sounds that make up the ‘underground’ side of dance music. The success of both compilation series’ also prompted the label to start a regular mix series, further strengthening their ability to bring new sounds to the masses with more freedom than official releases can offer.

Below are a few of my personal favourites.

In 2007, two up and coming UK producers named Caspa and Rusko teamed up for FabricLive.37. Bringing even more attention to the quickly expanding blend of UK-garage, two-step and dub music, this album introduced a lot of listeners outside of the UK to dubstep. Furthermore, this release was surely instrumental in vaulting both Caspa and Rusko to international success and making both of their names synonymous with the genre. With pulsing basslines and hard-hitting shuffle beats, this mix is a great representation of the original intention of dubstep; Reggae-inspired, percussion heavy music with enough bass weight to change your life.

FabricLive.40 features Dutch drum & bass trio Noisia. The trio are basically gods of the drum and bass world, and also host a weekly podcast where they feature a wide variety of interesting and lesser-known bass music (not limited to drum and bass). With incredibly crisp and powerful productions on top of pounding, aggressive rhythms, this edition of FabricLive pushes forward with intensity from start to finish and is surely worth a listen, especially for curious-types who may not have much experience with drum & bass.

Though not all of the releases are recorded live-off-the-floor from Fabric nightclub as some might assume, both the fabric and FabricLive series’ continue to indiscriminately showcase new sounds and movements in the world of dance music. In focusing on releasing mixes that present music in the same way an attendee would experience it in a nightclub (‘licensed rave tapes,’ as Fabric founder Keith Reilly puts it), the series stays relevant and gives a ‘live’ experience to those that are not able to attend events in person. By handing over complete creative control to the artists they feature, the label is easily able to keep up with trends and new sounds. These releases (which are going into their 15th year) have not only become a go-to series for fans worldwide, but have also helped to solidify the name Fabric as being synonymous with progressive and innovative dance music.

I would strongly encourage everyone to take a look at this list of fabric and FabricLive releases, as this post can hardly hope to scratch the surface. Whatever your dance music tastes are, these series’ include something for everyone, and are also a great tool to experiment with new genres, or to get to know an artist. The editions featured in this post are largely dependant on my own tastes and are really just a small window into the wide variety of material that this prolific club and label offer.

That being said, here are a few more recommendations;

Foamo Fabriclive Mix, July 2012 (bass, house)

Jimmy Edgar FabricLive.79 (techno)

Skream Fabric Promo Mix June 2015 (techno)

Four Tet FabricLive.59 (future house)

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