Four Tet - Pause

When Kieran Hebden released Pause, his second solo LP, the Londoner's Four Tet moniker was but an indulgence away from his day job with post rockers Fridge. That all swiftly changed. The overarching organic feel to Pause breathed fresh life into the UK electronica landscape that was looking for the next turn following genre-defining work from Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin a few years earlier. Hebden's mix of wild sounds and live instrumentation is probably best demonstrated on his 2001 effort and while his next record Rounds is correctly regarded as his best, Pause gave a refreshing first introduction to one of the decade's finest musicians. (Padraic Halpin)