Rounds | ||||
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Studio album by Four Tet | ||||
Released | 5 May 2003 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 45:22 | |||
Label | Domino | |||
Producer | Kieran Hebden | |||
Four Tet chronology | ||||
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Singles from Rounds | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 89/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Alternative Press | |
Blender | |
The Guardian | |
NME | 9/10 |
Pitchfork Media | 8.2/10 |
Q | |
Rolling Stone | |
Spin | A− |
The Village Voice | A− |
Rounds is the third full-length solo album by British electronic musician Kieran Hebden, released under his alias Four Tet on 5 May 2003 by Domino Recording Company. Wanting to make a more personal record, Hebden recorded and produced the album in his North London flat over ten months using a desktop computer and a home hi-fi system. Its ten tracks feature elements of hip-hop, jazz and folk; apart from a guitar part recorded for "Slow Jam", the music is composed exclusively from between 200 and 300 samples, many processed beyond recognition.
Rounds produced two singles and one EP. Critics praised the album for its unique fusion of electronic and "organic" styles, and Metacritic lists it as the fourth best-reviewed album of 2003. Several publications included Rounds on "best albums of the decade" lists. In May 2013, on the tenth anniversary of its release, Domino reissued Rounds with a bonus disc including a 2004 live performance.
After being a member of Fridge since 1995, Kieran Hebden began releasing solo records under the name Four Tet in 1998. His first release was the "Thirtysixtwentyfive" single, followed by the albums Dialogue in 1999 and Pause in 2001. The albums were influenced by hip-hop, jazz and electronic music. Hebden felt his output had sounded too much like his influences and wanted to make a record that was more personal and harder to define. Hebden drew on influences from Pete Rock, DJ Premier,Jim O'Rourke, Timbaland, the Neptunes and Rodney Jerkins.