Four Tet announced on Instagram that he will be releasing a new studio album alongside legendary hip hop producer Madlib called Sound Ancestors. This project will be out next month, although a set release has not been announced as of press time. The album’s first single “Road of the Lonely Ones” is out now and premiered on Mary Anne Hobbs’ BBC Radio 6 show.

“Road of the Lonely Ones” features Madlib’s signature sampling style, with a number of vocal, guitar and drum loops blended together in a mellow instrumental hip hop track. Although the drums definitely retain Madlib’s raw touch, the vocal samples and ethereal guitar chords sound a bit more polished, showcasing Four Tets’ influence.

This project is the result of years worth of material, where Madlib sent Four Tet hundreds of beats and music ideas which were then edited into these songs. This style wasn’t made to accommodate vocalists, but was rather intended to be a cohesive project from start to finish.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Four Tet (@fourtetkieran)

“I put this concept to him when we were hanging out eating some nice food one day and we decided to work on this together with him sending me tracks, loops, ideas and experiments that I would arrange, edit, manipulate and combine,” Four Tet explained on Instagram. “I was sent hundreds of pieces of music over a couple of years stretch and during that time I put together this album with all the parts that fitted with my vision.”

Madlib and Freddie Gibbs’ Bandana came out last year, but had an exclusive Record Store Day drop and an instrumental release earlier this year. Four Tet released an EP titled in wingdings and a new album called Sixteen Oceans earlier this year. He also collaborated on “Her Revolution” and “His Rope” alongside Burial and Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke.

Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna