Since Kieran Hebden started his musical career in his mid-teens in post-rock outfit Fridge and through his stints as a DJ, producer and mood music purveyor as Four Tet he's marched entirely to the beat of his own drum.
In Fridge, he and his bandmates exercised their militant streak for independence and progression by following an unwritten rule that nothing could ever be released twice. Any singles issued were entirely different from the album versions of the songs.
Four Tet's Dialogue debut was a jazz-tinged experiment. Subsequent LP Pause had a prominent folk influence, which Hebden carried over into his most popular and accessible album, Rounds. It was the success of those two records that cemented the anointing of Hebden by the press as one of the foremost purveyors of "folktronica," a label he dismisses as being unrepresentative of his music.
As if to prove that he couldn't be pinned down, he returned with his last album as Four Tet, 2005's Everything Ecstatic, which was a much more experimental affair that reconnected the artist with his jazz roots.
Characteristically, Hebden began to grow restless as Four Tet and looked for another creative outlet. Enter Steve Reid.
"I had reached a point where I was dealing with this element of frustration because a lot of music I truly love be it soul, funk, hip-hop or jazz had deep roots in African American rhythmic history and culture, and I'm this middle-class white person from England who figured there's got to be a reason why the best hip-hop beats are coming from African American people," says Hebden. "There's this rhythmic element to this African American music that I don't think is really there in my natural background or natural ability.
"And then there's Steve, who's kind of the epitome of that.
He's one of the greatest living examples."
If you're unfamiliar with Reid, he's a drumming legend who's played with the likes of Martha The Vandellas, James Brown, Fela Kuti and Sun Ra. A mutual friend introduced them, and they started their unlikely drum/electronics collaboration two years ago, playing a handful of shows before finally getting the fruits of their labour chronicled on tape in the form of two live recordings, The Exchange Sessions Vol.
I II. While they both consisted of long, free-form compositions that underscored both performers' jazz backgrounds, their new Tongues album is more approachable and finds the performers focusing their skills within a more concise pop aesthetic.
The end result is joyful, groove-based electronic music recorded with no overdubs or edits.
Still, it maintains the spirit of jazz-influenced experimentation that's guided both Reid and Hebden to varying degrees through the course of their careers. When it's suggested to Hebden that free jazz may not be the easiest genre to digest for those who aren't rabid music geeks or have experience playing music, he offers a diplomatic response.
"I think that one of the things I find so amazing is the passion in the music.
People that are making that kind of music, they're making such a huge gesture. You listen to Coltrane and you feel like he's trying to communicate with gods or aliens. You feel it's like he's trying to stay alive.
I think the intensity of that music can engage anybody. You don't have to be well-versed and trained in technical stuff."
It's definitely a relief to find that Hebden isn't an insular know-it-all who considers his music too clever for you.
If anything, he wants everyone to accompany him on his magical mystery tour.
"To me, one of the most powerful things in music is when people manage to be incredibly experimental, but totally reach people at the same time someone like Timbaland for example," says Hebden. "I suppose that's sort of why I'm out there at the moment trying to play improvised music at dance clubs.
"My buzz is when I manage to do something that's changing people's perceptions of what is possible, like playing [Derrick May techno anthem] 'Strings Of Light' with a 63-year-old jazz drummer at a folk festival last year and having the place go mad. Moments like that are what does it for me.
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