Live at Alexandra Palace London, 8th and 9th May 2019

Four Tet’s London performances in May 2019 were about as immersive as it gets: An array of 40,000 individually controllable LEDs hung over performer and audience alike, strobing in sync with the UK producer’s colorful grooves. Even without the visual accompaniment, Live at Alexandra Palace proves just how enveloping his music can be: Across nearly two hours, Four Tet doesn’t just play back his songs; he reworks them into dynamic new forms, interweaving “Planet” and “Dreamer” into a flickering hybrid, or threading the ambient “Ba Teaches Yoga” into the graceful, downbeat “Two Thousand and Seventeen” before launching into the stratosphere, fueled by shuddering electronic drums and squealing feedback. The set is more than just a recap of fan faves; it’s a chance to trace the hidden connections that run through Four Tet’s work—the harps and synths and chiming melodies that pop up again and again, woven together like the strands of a neural network.