London's Hebden - aka contempo artisan Four Tet - runs rings around his stellar contemporaries with an unparalleled palette of hip-hop and techno; drum loops and birdsong; gentle funk and grizzly beats; obscure folk and neo-classical sweeps: as best evinced on 2003's Rounds album, and last year's follow up, Everything Ecstatic (Domino).
It's his work with legendary drummer Steve Reid, however, which is currently rousing startled remark: their 2005 Spirit Jazz collaboration (Soul Jazz), and this year's Exchange Sessions Vol. 1 (Domino) testifies to a vital collaborative effort, and it's Reid with whom Hebden - a long-term Triptych comrade - performed in 2006.
Recorded live for Triptych by Radio Magnetic