Listen: Four Tet's "Parallel 6"

For all that 2020 unleashed upon us, if there is one thing you can't complain about, it's Kieran Hebden, who constantly made and put out new music as if to compensate for a three-year gap. It all started with the 16 track album, Sixteen Oceans, which was then followed by his collaboration with Burial and Thom Yorke, before finally closing out the year with two fresh instrumental efforts Parallel and 871 that were simultaneously released on Christmas day. Parallel 6 in particular is a veritable stunner, with the electronic music mastermind concocting a twinkly atmosphere out of hymnal chants and a frenetic percussion base — that sounds like a feverish blend of tabla and jal tarang (or chiming bells?) — all the while delicately shifting patterns and subtly changing the direction and rhythm with a deft, gossamer touch that's at once enthralling and unpredictable. Interestingly, it incorporates no bassline at all. Have it a listen below -