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A VHS VCR marketed by Metz

The inside of a VCR

Not all video tape recorders use a cassette to contain the magnetic recording video tape. Early models of consumer video tape recorders VTRs, and most professional broadcast analog videotape machines (e.g. 1-inch Type C) use reel to reel tape spools that require hand-threading of the tape. (This is the first portable video recorder, the 1967 Ampex quadruplex.) Reel-to-reel VTRs quickly vanished from the consumer market, but were standard in the broadcast industry as long as analog tape was.

The videocassette recorder (or VCR, also known as the video recorder), is a type of electro-mechanical device that uses removable videocassettes that contain magnetic tape for recording analog audio and analog video from broadcast television so that the images and sound can be played back at a more convenient time. This facility afforded by a VCR machine is commonly referred to as television program Timeshifting. Most domestic VCRs are equipped with a television broadcast receiver (tuner) for TV reception, and a programmable clock (timer) for unattended recording of a certain television channel at a particular time. These features began as simple mechanical counter-based single event timers, but were later replaced by multiple event digital clock timers that afforded greater flexibility to the user. In later models the multiple timer events could be programmed through a menu interface that was displayed on the playback TV screen. This allowed multiple programs to be recorded easily, and this particular feature of the video recorder quickly became a major selling point and benefit to people working unsociable hours who usually missed many television broadcasts. With the VCR being a main way to watch movies the remote control improved the VCR. The craze of the VCR, became bigger because now one had more of a control of what they wanted to watch. One could create personal libraries on what to watch^[1].

A VCR operates in a different way from a video tape recorder. VTRs originated as individual tape reels, serving as a replacement for motion picture film stock and making recording for television applications cheaper and quicker. VTRs are reel-to-reel devices that require hand-threading of the tape from a single supply reel, through the recording mechanism and onto a separate take-up reel. VCRs tend to be lower maintenance than reel-to-reel VTRs, since the tape path is usually fully enclosed to keep dust out of the mechanism, and the tape is almost never touched by the user except when malfunctions occur.^{[disputed – discuss]}

History[link]

Early machines and formats[link]

The history of the videocassette recorder follows the history of videotape recording in general. In 1952 the Vision Electronic Recording Apparatus high speed multi-track machine was built and trialed by the BBC.^[2] This machine used a thin steel tape on a 21 inch (53.5 cm) reel travelling at over 200 inches (510 cm) per second. Despite 6 years of research and improvements the machine became obsolete when Ampex introduced the Ampex VRX-1000. This model became the world's first commercially successful videotape recorder in 1956. It used the 2" Quadruplex format, using two-inch (5.1 cm) tape.^[3] Due to its US$50,000 price, the Ampex VRX-1000 could be afforded only by the television networks and the largest individual stations.^[4]

In 1963, Philips introduced their EL3400 1" helical scan recorder (aimed at the business and domestic user) and Sony marketed the 2" PV-100, their first reel-to-reel VTR intended for business, medical, airline, and educational use.^[5]

First home video recorders[link]

The Telcan, produced by the Nottingham Electronic Valve Company in 1963, was the first home video recorder. It could be bought as a unit or in kit form for £60. However, there were several drawbacks: it was expensive, not easy to put together and could only record 20 minutes output at a time in black-and-white.^[6][7][8]

The Sony model CV-2000, first marketed in 1965, was their first VTR intended for home use and was based on half inch tape.^[9] Ampex and RCA followed in 1965 with their own reel-to-reel monochrome VTRs priced under US $1,000 for the home consumer market.

The EIAJ format was a standard half-inch format used by various manufacturers. EIAJ-1 was an open reel format. EIAJ-2 used a cartridge that contained a supply reel, but not the take-up reel. As the take-up reel was part of the recorder, the tape had to be fully rewound before removing the cartridge, a slow procedure.

The development of the videocassette followed the replacement by cassette of other open reel systems in consumer items: the Stereo-Pak 4-track audio cartridge in 1962, the compact audio cassette and Instamatic film cartridge in 1963, the 8-track cartridge in 1965, and the Super 8 home movie cartridge in 1966.^{[citation needed]}

In 1967, videocassettes of movies became available for individuals to use.^[10]

Sony U-matic[link]

Sony demonstrated a videocassette prototype in October 1969, then set it aside to work out an industry standard by March 1970 with seven fellow manufacturers. The result, the Sony U-matic system, introduced in Tokyo in September 1971, was the world's first commercial videocassette format. Its cartridges, resembling larger versions of the later VHS cassettes, used 3/4-inch (1.9 cm) tape and had a maximum playing time of 60 minutes, later extended to 90 minutes. Sony also introduced two machines (the VP-1100 videocassette player and the VO-1700 videocassette recorder) to use the new tapes. U-matic, with its ease of use, quickly made other consumer videotape systems obsolete in Japan and North America, where U-matic VCRs were widely used by television newsrooms, schools and businesses. But the cost—US$1,395 for a combination TV/VCR, or $7,069 in 2007 dollars—kept it out of most homes.^[11]

Philips "VCR" format[link]

An N1500 video recorder, with wooden cabinet.

In 1970 Philips developed a home videocassette format. Confusingly, Philips named this format "VCR" (although it is also referred to as "N1500", after the first recorder's model number). The format was also supported by Grundig and Loewe. It used square cassettes and half-inch (1.3 cm) tape, mounted on co-axial reels, giving a recording time of one hour. The first model, available in the United Kingdom in 1972, was equipped with a crude timer that used rotary dials. At nearly £600 ($2087), it was expensive and the format was relatively unsuccessful in the home market. This was followed by digital timer version in 1975, the N1502. In 1977 a new (and incompatible) long-play version ("VCR-LP") or N1700, which could use the same tapes, sold quite well to schools and colleges.

Avco Cartrivision[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The Avco Cartrivision system, a combination television set and VCR from Cartridge Television Inc. that sold for US $1,350, was the first videocassette recorder to have pre-recorded tapes of popular movies available for rent. Like Philips' VCR format, the square Cartrivision cassette had the two reels of half-inch tape mounted on top of each other, but it could record up to 114 minutes. It did so using a crude form of video compression that recorded only every third video field and played it back three times. Cassettes of major movies such as The Bridge on the River Kwai and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner were ordered via catalog at a retailer, delivered by parcel mail, and then returned to the retailer after viewing. Other cassettes on sports, travel, art, and how-to topics were available for purchase. An optional monochrome camera could be bought to make home videos. Cartrivision was first sold in June 1972, mainly through Sears, Macy's, and Montgomery Ward department stores in the United States. It was abandoned thirteen months later after poor sales.

Mass-market success[link]

In 1975 the birth of VCR mass market success boomed. There were six major firms involved in the development of the VCR: RCA, JVC, AMPEX, Matsushita, Sony, and Toshiba. The major firms that were the big winners in the growth of this industry were Matsushita, JVC, and Sony. The three Japanese companies developed more technically advanced machines with more accurate electronic timers and greater tape duration that the VCR started to become a mass market consumer product. By 1979 there were three competing technical standards, with different, physically incompatible tape cassettes.

The industry boomed in the 1980s as more and more customers bought VCR's. By 1982, 10% of households in the United Kingdom owned a VCR. That figure reached 30% in 1985 and by the end of the decade well over half of British homes owned a VCR.^{[12][not in citation given]}

VHS vs. Betamax[link]

A Betamax cassette

The two major standards were Sony's Betamax (also known as Betacord or just Beta), and JVC's VHS [Video Home System], which competed for sales in what became known as the format war.

Betamax was first to market in November 1975, and was argued by many to be technically more sophisticated in recording quality,^[13] although many users did not perceive a visual difference. The first machines required an external timer, and could only record one hour. The timer was later incorporated within the machine as a standard feature.

The rival VHS format, introduced in Japan by JVC in September 1976 (and introduced in the United States in July 1977 by RCA) boasted a longer two-hour recording time with a T-120 tape, with four hours using a "long play" mode (RCA SelectaVision models, introduced in September 1977).

In 1978 the majority of consumers in the U.K. chose to rent rather than purchase this new expensive home entertainment technology. JVC introduced the HR3300 model^[14] with E-30, E-60, E-120, E-180 minute cassette tapes with up to three hours recording time, a thinner 4 hour length E240 tape soon followed.

The rental market was a contributing factor for acceptance of the VHS home system. 2 hours and 4 hours recording times were considered ideal for recording movies and sports-games. Although Sony later introduced L-500 (2 hour) and L-750 (3 hour) tapes in addition to the L-250 (1 hour) tape the consumer market had swiftly moved toward the VHS system as a preferred choice. During the 80s dual speed (long play) models of both BETA and VHS recorders were introduced allowing for much longer recording times.

Philips V2000 format video cassette recorder

Philips Video 2000[link]

A third format, Video 2000, or V2000 (also marketed as "Video Compact Cassette") was developed and introduced by Philips in 1978, and was sold only in Europe. Grundig developed and marketed their own models based on the V2000 format. Most V2000 models featured piezoelectric head positioning to dynamically adjust the tape tracking. V2000 cassettes had two sides, and like the audio cassette had to be flipped over halfway through their recording time. User switchable record protect levers were used instead of the breakable lugs found on VHS/Beta cassettes. The half-inch tape used contained two parallel quarter-inch tracks, one for each side. It had a recording time of 4 hours per side, later extended to 8 hours per side on a few models. V2000 hit the market after its two rivals in early 1979. The last models produced by Philips in 1985 were felt by many to be superior machines to anything else on the market at the time but the poor reputation gained through the limited features and poor reliability of early models, and the by now dominant market share of VHS/Betamax, ensured only limited sales before the system was scrapped shortly after.

Other early formats[link]

Some less successful consumer videocassette formats include:

• V-Cord, launched by Sanyo in 1974
• VX, launched by Panasonic in 1975
• Compact Video Cassette (CVC), developed by Funai and Technicolor and introduced in 1980.

Legal challenges[link]

In the early 1980s, the film companies in the US fought to suppress the device in the consumer market, citing concerns about copyright violations. In Congressional hearings, Motion Picture Association of America head Jack Valenti decried the "savagery and the ravages of this machine" and likened its effect on the film industry and the American public to the Boston strangler:

We are going to bleed and bleed and hemorrhage, unless this Congress at least protects one industry that is able to retrieve a surplus balance of trade and whose total future depends on its protection from the savagery and the ravages of this machine. ... I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone.

—Hearings before the Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties and the Administration of Justice of the Committee of the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, Second Session on H.R. 4783, H.R. 4794 H.R. 4808, H.R. 5250, H.R. 5488, and H.R. 5705, Serial No 97, Part I, Home Recording of Copyrighted Works, April 12, 1982. US Government Printing Office.^[15]

In the case Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the device was allowable for private use, thereby guaranteeing market acceptance. In the years following, the film companies found that selling professionally-produced video recordings of their products had become a major income source.

Product flaws[link]

The video cassette recorder is known to have glitches and common bugs. The most common problem was temperature and humidity changes, if the machine (or tape) was moved from a cold to a hotter environment condensation would occur on the internal parts, such as the rotating video head drum. Most models were later equipped with a Dew warning indicator which was intended to prohibit operation. This device however could not detect moisture on the surface of any cold tape inserted. Users often experienced the magnetic tape to be 'chewed' or 'eaten' when ejected from the machine due to this moisture. Other causes of malfunction occurred when the rubber drive belts or rubber rollers hardened with age.^[16] Faults such as these rendered the tape unusable, and if valuable footage (such as a wedding) was involved this loss could be traumatic for users. VHS tapes recorded in LP or EP/SLP mode tend to not play back very well on other machines due to record / replay head alignment tolerances, and tapes recorded on a machine made before 1995 tend to not play well on newer machines due to slight changes in helical scanning head technology design. Most machines no longer have control switches linked to mechanical parts, but rely on solenoids and motor driven mechanisms to perform changes of function.

Decline[link]

A typical VCR toward the end of its popularity. After decades of refinement in design and production, models similar to this were available for under US$50

The videocassette recorder remained a staple in North American households throughout the 1980s and 1990s, despite competing technologies such as Laserdisc and Video CD. While Laserdisc offered higher quality video and audio, the discs are heavy (weighing about one pound each), cumbersome, much more prone to damage if mishandled, and furthermore manufacturers did not market LD units with recording capabilities to consumers. The VCD format found a niche with Asian film imports, but never hit mainstream due to mono sound and storage limitations; furthermore many Hollywood studios would not release feature films on VCD in North America because the VCD format had no means of preventing unauthorized (and perfect) copies being made from CD-R discs once CD-R burners became common.

In the early 2000s, DVD became the first universally successful optical medium for playback of prerecorded video, as it gradually overtook VHS to become the most popular consumer format. DVD recorders and other digital video recorders such as TiVo have recently begun to drop in price in developed countries, which some consider to be the end for VCRs in those markets. DVD rentals in the United States first exceeded those of VHS in June 2003, and in 2005 the president of the Video Software Dealers Association predicted that 2006 would be the last year for major releases on VHS.^[17] Most consumer electronics retailers in North America (such as Best Buy) carry only a few VCRs (often VCR/DVD-recorder hybrids). Due to economies of scale and simpler construction, DVD players became cheaper than VCRs.^{[citation needed]}

Because of lack of sales, most manufacturers slowly reduced their VCR lineups to only basic consumer models (phasing out professional models and S-VHS models) or stopped production completely.^{[citation needed]} The models that were produced often lacked features considered standard in an earlier era, such as front panel controls or a built-in digital clock.

The declining market combined with a Federal Communications Commission mandate effective March 1, 2007, that all new TV tuners be ATSC tuners have encouraged major electronics makers, including Funai, JVC, and Panasonic, to end production of standalone units for the US market. To avoid this costly mandate, most new standalone VCRs in the US today can only record from external baseband sources (usually composite video), including CECBs which (by NTIA mandate) all have composite outputs, as well as those ATSC tuners (including TVs) & cable boxes that come with composite outputs.

As a result of winning the format war over HD DVD, the new high definition optical disc format Blu-ray Disc may gradually replace the DVD format. Some analysts^[who?] expect this change to take place, similar to the VHS to DVD transition. However, with many homes still having a large supply of VHS tapes and with all Blu-ray players designed to play regular DVDs and CDs by default, some manufacturers are now making VCR/Blu-ray combo players.^[18] Blu-ray has not enjoyed the adoption rates that DVD had back in the early 2000s, as streaming video over the internet to a set top box like the Roku or a game console like the Nintendo Wii may replace physical media entirely.

Remaining niche in recording[link]

Although consumers have passed over videocassettes for home video playback in favor of DVDs since the 2000s, VCRs still retained a significant share in home video recording during that decade. While the adoption of DVD players has been strong, DVD recorders for home theater use have been slow to pickup (although DVD recorder/burner drives are de facto standard equipment in personal computers since the mid-2000s).

Although technologically superior to VHS, there were several main drawbacks with recordable DVDs that slowed their adoption. When standalone DVD recorders first appeared on the Japanese consumer market in 1999, these early units were very expensive, costing between $2500 and $4000 USD. (As of early 2007, DVD recorders from notable brands are selling for US$200 or €150 and less, with even lower "street prices".) Different DVD recordable formats also caused confusion, as early units supported only DVD-RAM and DVD-R discs, but the more recent units can record to all major formats DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R DL and DVD+R DL. Some of these DVD formats are not rewritable, whereas videocassettes could be recorded over repeatedly (not withstanding physical wear). Another important drawback of DVD recording is that one single layer DVD is limited to around 120 minutes of recording if the quality is not to be significantly reduced, while VHS tapes are readily available up to 210 minutes (standard play) in NTSC areas and even 300 minutes in PAL areas. Dual layer DVDs, which increase the high quality recording mode to almost four hours, are increasingly available, but the cost of this medium was still relatively high compared to standard single-layer discs. Consequently, DVD recorders never took hold of the video recording market like VCRs had.

By the late 2000s when DVD recorders became affordable and their format incompatibilities resolved, they are now being supplanted by newer technologies. Blu-ray recorders for home video use were introduced in 2009, but Blu-ray itself may be a short-lived format. Devices for recording onto physical media may soon be replaced by other technologies such as streaming video over the Internet to a set top box like the Roku or a game console like the Nintendo Wii, while cable television providers offer personal video recorders (PVRs) such as TiVo, Mythtv, Sky+ and ReplayTV.

Special features[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Multi standard[link]

One of the problems faced with the use of video recorders was especially the exchange of recordings between PAL and NTSC countries. Multi Standard video recorders and TV sets gradually overcame these incompatibility problems.^{[citation needed]}

Stereo Sound and HiFi[link]

The U-matic machines were always made with Stereo, and Beta and VHS started out splitting the audio track on the tape, but the slow tape speed of Beta and VHS limited the sound quality. This led to the introduction of HiFi, whose left and right sound tracks were modulated as FM on the video portion of the tape. The 8 mm format always used the video portion of the tape for sound, with an FM carrier between the band space of the chrominance and luminance on the tape. 8 mm could be upgraded to Stereo, by adding an extra FM signal for Stereo difference.^{[citation needed]}

Copy protection[link]

Introduced in 1983, Macrovision is a system that reduces the quality of recordings made from commercial video tapes, DVDs and pay-per-view broadcasts by adding random peaks of luminance to the video signal during vertical blanking. These confuse the automatic level adjustment of the recording VCR which causes the brightness of the picture to constantly change, rendering the recording unwatchable.

When creating a copy-protected videocassette, the Macrovision-distorted signal is stored on the tape itself by special recording equipment. By contrast, on DVDs there is just a marker asking the player to produce such a distortion during playback. All standard DVD players include this protection and obey the marker, though unofficially many models can be modified or adjusted to disable it.

Also, the Macrovision protection system may fail to work on older VCR's made before 1986 and some high end decks built afterwards, usually due to the lack of an AGC system. Newer VHS and S-VHS machines (and DVD recorders) are susceptible to this signal; generally, machines of other tape formats are unaffected, such as all 3 Betamax variants. VCRs designated for "professional" usage typically have an adjustable AGC system, a specific "Macrovision removing" circuit, or Time Base Corrector (TBC) and can thus copy protected tapes with or without preserving the protection. Such VCRs are usually overpriced and sold exclusively to certified professionals (linear editing using the 9-Pin Protocol, TV stations etc.) via controlled distribution channels in order to prevent their being used by the general public (however, said professional VCRs can be purchased reasonably by consumers on the second-hand/used market, depending on the VCR's condition). Nowadays, most DVDs still have copyright protection, but certain DVDs do not have it, usually pornography and bootlegs. However, some DVDs, such as certain DVD sets, do not have the protection against VHS copying, possibly due to the VHS format no longer used as a major retail medium for home video.

Flying erase heads[link]

The flying erase head is a feature that may be found in some high end home VCRs as well as some broadcast grade VCRs to cleanly edit the video.

Normally, the tape is passed longitudinally through two fixed erase heads, one located just before the tape moves to the video head drum and the other right next to the audio/control head stack. Upon recording, the erase heads erases any old recording contained on the tape to prevent anything already recorded on it from interfering with what is being recorded.

However, when trying to edit footage deck to deck, portions of the old recording's video may be between the erase head and video recording heads. This results in a faint rainbow-like noise at and briefly after the point of the cut as the old video recording missed by the fixed erase head is never completely erased as the new recording is printed.

The flying erase head is so-called because an erase head is mounted on the video head drum and rotates around in the same manner as the video heads. In the record mode, the erase head is active and erases the video precisely down to the recorded video fields. The flying erase head runs over the tape and the video heads record the signal virtually instantly after the flying erase head has passed.

Since the erase head erases the old signal right before the video heads write onto the tape, there is no remnants of the old signal to cause visible distortion at and after the moment a cut is made, resulting in a clean edit. In addition, the ability of flying erase heads to erase old video off the tape right before recording new video on it allows the ability to perform insert editing, where new footage can be placed within an existing recording with clean cuts at the beginning and end of the edit.

Variants[link]

In addition to the standard home VCR, a number of variants have been produced over the years. These include combined "all-in-one" devices such as the televideo (a TV and VCR in one unit) and DVD/VCR units and even TV/VCR/DVD all-in-one units.

Dual-deck VCRs (marketed as "double-decker") have also been sold, albeit with less success.

Most camcorders produced up to the 2000s also feature an integrated VCR. Generally, they include neither a timer nor a TV tuner. Most of these use smaller format videocassettes, such as 8 mm, VHS-C, or MiniDV, although some early models supported full-size VHS and Betamax. In the 21st century, digital recording became the norm while videocassette tapes dwindled away gradually, tapeless camcorders use other storage media such as internal flash memory, hard drive, and SD card.^[19]

See also[link]

• Telerecording
• TV/VCR combo
• VCR/DVD combo
• Kinescope
• Write protection
• Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc.
• Dew warning
• Blu-ray Disc

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Video recorders

• Total Rewind: the Virtual Museum of Vintage VCRs
• VHS, 30, dies of loneliness - Variety.com

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2007)

Kieran Hebden
Hebden performs at the Grog Shop in Cleveland, Ohio
Background information
Also known as	Four Tet
Origin	United Kingdom
Genres	Electronic Folktronica IDM Jazz Post-dubstep Post-rock
Instruments	Piano, drums, guitar, harpsichord, horn, synthesizer
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Output Recordings Domino Records
Associated acts	Fridge, Steve Reid, Burial, Thom Yorke
Website	http://www.fourtet.net/

Kieran Hebden (born 1978, Putney, London) is a post-rock and electronic musician. Hebden first came to prominence as a member of the band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist under the moniker of Four Tet.

Hebden's music typically eschews the traditional pop song format in favour of a more abstract approach—his sound and melodies incorporate elements of hip hop, electronica, techno, jazz, and folk music with live instrumentation.

Alongside recording his own material, Hebden has also performed remixes for a number of artists including Aphex Twin, Anti-Pop Consortium, Bonobo, Beth Orton, Born Ruffians, Explosions in the Sky, Super Furry Animals, Radiohead, Manic Street Preachers, Matthew Dear, Sia, Nathan Fake, Bloc Party, Andrew Bird, Kings of Convenience, Battles, Juana Molina, Madvillain, The xx, Foals, and Black Sabbath, as well as producing two albums by psychedelic improvisational group Sunburned Hand of the Man. Hebden's recent output includes a number of improvisational works with the late jazz drummer Steve Reid and collaborations with both Burial and Thom Yorke.

History[link]

Kieran Hebden was born in London to a South African-born Indian mother and a sociology lecturer father.^[1] He attended Elliott School in Putney,^[1] where he formed the band Fridge with classmates Adem Ilhan and Sam Jeffers. The band signed a recording contract when Hebden was 15,^[1] and released their first album in March 1997.

Hebden began releasing material as Four Tet in 1998 with the 36 minute, 25 second single Thirtysixtwentyfive on Trevor Jackson's Output Recordings label. Later that year, he released a second single, the jazz-influenced "Misnomer". 1999's Dialogue, again on Output, was Four Tet's first full-length album release and fused hip hop drum lines with dissonant jazz samples. This was followed by the double A-side single "Glasshead"/"Calamine", which was to be Four Tet's last release on Output.

In late 1999, Warp Records released Warp 10 + 3: Remixes, a tenth-anniversary compilation of remixes of Warp tracks; Hebden contributed a remix of the opening track of Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Volume II. This relatively high-profile exposure attracted new interest in Four Tet from fans of electronica and intelligent dance music, genres in which the Warp brand has a preeminent status.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001, Four Tet's second album Pause was released on Domino Records and found Hebden using more folk and electronic samples, which was quickly dubbed "folktronica" by the media and press^{[citation needed]} in an attempt to label the style (often also applied to artists such as Isan and Gravenhurst). Rounds was released in May 2003. Three singles were released from the album: "She Moves She", "As Serious as Your Life", and "My Angel Rocks Back and Forth". This last single was released as an EP featuring remixes by electronica duo Icarus and Isambard Khroustaliov along with additional Four Tet tracks "I've Got Viking in Me" and "All the Chimers". An accompanying DVD featured all of Four Tet's videos to date. In addition, the closing track "Slow Jam" was featured in a U.S. Nike commercial in 2001 and 2002; Hebden edited the track on the back of the bus with his laptop while on a tour with Fridge.^{[citation needed]}

At the beginning of 2003, Four Tet opened for Radiohead on their European tour. A remix of the song "Scatterbrain" from Radiohead's sixth studio album Hail to the Thief was released in November 2003 as a B-side to the single "2 + 2 = 5" and later included on their 2004 EP COM LAG (2plus2isfive). Furthermore, Hebden was among the people thanked by Radiohead in the booklet accompanying their 2007 In Rainbows "discbox" release.

A live album named Live in Copenhagen 30th March 2004 was released in April 2004 as a limited edition, available exclusively from the Domino Records website.

In March and April 2005, Four Tet performed two shows of improvisational music, in collaboration with jazz drummer Steve Reid, in Paris and London. He also appears on Steve Reid Ensemble 2005 album Spirit Walk. This collaboration was extended into a series of international tours, and the release of two albums, The Exchange Session Vol. 1 and The Exchange Session Vol. 2 over the course of 2005 and 2006.

His fourth studio album Everything Ecstatic was released on Domino on 23 May 2005. The video for the lead single, "Smile Around the Face", features actor Mark Heap. On 7 November 2005, Domino released a DVD version of Everything Ecstatic featuring video clips for each track of the album plus a CD with new material, titled Everything Ecstatic Part 2, which was later made available as an individual EP.

Hebden has also remixed, under the Four Tet name, tracks by a wide range of artists including Tegan And Sara, Madvillain, Andrew Bird, Bloc Party, Super Furry Animals, Beth Orton, Badly Drawn Boy, CYNE, The Notwist, Boom Bip, Battles, Kings of Convenience, Lars Horntveth, Bonobo, Rothko, The xx, Thom Yorke and Radiohead. On 25 September 2006, Domino Records released Remixes, a two-disc compilation of Four Tet remixes. The first disc contains twelve Four Tet remixes selected by Hebden, with the second disc comprising every official remix to date (both by Hebden himself and by other artists) of Four Tet tracks, many of which had previously been available on vinyl only.^[2] A new EP, Ringer, was released on 21 April 2008.

In 2008, Hebden collaborated with composer David Arnold to write "Crawl, End Crawl", the song used for the end credits of the film Quantum of Solace.^[3]

In 2009, Hebden worked on a secret collaboration with Burial. The two track 12" was released with a plain black cover with no liner notes or details contained on the vinyl, other than the artists' names and the track titles: "Moth" and "Wolf Cub".

In November 2009, details of the fifth full-length Four Tet album were released. Heavily influenced by a stint DJing at the Plastic People club in Shoreditch^[4] and entitled There Is Love in You, it was released on 25 January 2010.^[5] The album was preceded by a limited edition release of the 12" single "Love Cry".

In 2011, Hebden released a split 12" with Burial and Thom Yorke, entitled "Ego/Mirror". He has been chosen by Caribou to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that they co-curate in December 2011 in Minehead, England.^[6]

Selected discography[link]

Albums (as Four Tet)[link]

• Dialogue (Output Recordings, May 1999)
• Pause (Domino Records, 28 May 2001)
• Rounds (Domino Records, 5 May 2003) - UK #60^[7]
• Everything Ecstatic (Domino Records, 23 May 2005) - UK #59^[7]
• Remixes (Domino Records, 25 September 2006)
• Ringer (Domino Records, 21 April 2008)
• There Is Love in You (Domino Records, 25 January 2010) - #35 UK, #157 US

Mix albums[link]

• Late Night Tales: Four Tet (Azuli Records, 4 October 2004) (DJ mix album compiled by Hebden)
• DJ-Kicks: Four Tet (Studio !K7, 26 June 2006) (mix album in the DJ-Kicks series)
• FabricLive.59 (Fabric Records, September 2011) (mix album in the Fabric discography series)

Albums (as Kieran Hebden)[link]

• The Exchange Session Vol. 1 (with Steve Reid; Domino Records, 27 February 2006)
• The Exchange Session Vol. 2 (with Steve Reid; Domino Records, 22 May 2006)
• Tongues (with Steve Reid; Domino Records, 19 March 2007)
• NYC (with Steve Reid; Domino Records, 4 November 2008)

References[link]

• Guardian interview
• TheMilkFactory interview
• Sound On Sound interview
• Four Tet chooses his nine most influential records

External links[link]

• Official website
• Fourtet on SoundCloud
• Review of 'Sing' on the Daily Music Guide
• Kieran Hebden Red Bull Music Academy video lecture session
• Kieran Hebden on Myspace
• Kieran Hebden at Allmusic
• Kieran Hebden discography at MusicBrainz
• Four Tet on Andrew Meza's BTS Radio
• Four Tet Essential Mix
• Kieran Hebden interview @ MUTEK

Matthew Dear
Dear performing at Roskilde Festival, 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Matthew Dear
Also known as	False, Audion, Jabberjaw
Origin	Texas, U.S. Detroit, Michigan
Genres	Glitch Microhouse Electropop Tech house
Occupations	producer DJ
Years active	1999 to present
Labels	Ghostly International Spectral Sound M nus Perlon Plus 8
Website	matthewdear.com

Matthew Dear is an American music producer, DJ and electronic avant-pop artist.

History[link]

Texas- (Kingsville, Texas) born Dear moved to Michigan as a teenager, where he was inspired by the sound of Detroit Techno. Dear met Sam Valenti IV at a party while attending the University of Michigan, after which the two started the record label, Ghostly International, based on a shared love of electronic music. Dear’s first single was 1999’s "Hands Up For Detroit" (co-produced by ghettotech pioneer Disco D, who performed under the name Daisha). Successive singles, such as "Stealing Moves" and the chart-topping "Mouth to Mouth" (as Audion) were issued on Spectral Sound, Ghostly’s offshoot that focuses on dancefloor music.

Dear’s first album Leave Luck to Heaven appeared in 2003 and was praised widely as a seminal fusion of pop and minimal techno. The album’s single "Dog Days" became one of Spectral’s best sellers and a favorite of international DJs like Richie Hawtin.^[1] Dear followed the album with Backstroke in 2004 and has also begun working under the harder-edged Audion alias, apart from additional monikers False and Jabberjaw.

In 2007, Matthew Dear released his sophomore full length, Asa Breed. Matthew and his band, Matthew Dear's Big Hands then began a US promotional tour tour and a European tour as the opening act for Hot Chip. 2008 saw the re-release of Asa Breed as the Asa Breed Black Edition. This re-release added 5 new songs, including a remix of Don and Sherri from Hot Chip and the video for the song, shot in downtown New York City.

Matthew Dear's latest album, Black City, was released on August 17, 2010. It conceptualizes a futuristic metropolis that never sleeps. Dear describes 'Black City': "Well, there's a kind of timelessness to it in the sense that I don't want things to run on a 24-hour clock. It seems like a city that's always awake, maybe always dialled in electronically, and cannot be turned off. It's this imaginary weird never-sleeping town. But yeah it's full of lust, and love, and dark shadows. Weird things around the corner…"^[2]

Dear is a graduate of Lake Orion High School in Lake Orion, Michigan.

2011[link]

Matthew is currently opening for the NYC band Interpol, performing on their first three dates in the UK.

Influences[link]

Matthew Dear has listed Talking Heads, David Bowie, Adonis, Nitzer Ebb, and Roman Flügel as inspirations.^[3]

When asked who he is influenced by as Matthew Dear, "Definitely I'm influenced by Brian Eno and a lot of his work. I've said it before but he is one that is so interesting to listen to on all formats whether it be his production with other bands, whether it's his solo work or whether it's his collaboration work with other artists. He's probably the number one."^[4]

Discography[link]

As Matthew Dear[link]

Solo[link]

Albums:

• 2003 Leave Luck to Heaven (Spectral Sound)
• 2004 Backstroke (Spectral Sound)
• 2007 Asa Breed (Ghostly International)
• 2008 Asa Breed Black Edition (Ghostly International)
• 2010 Black City (Ghostly International)
• 2012 Beams

EPs

• 2003 EP1 (Spectral Sound)
• 2003 EP2 (Spectral Sound)
• 2007 Don and Sherri (Ghostly International)
• 2012 Headcage

Singles

• 2000 Irreparably Dented (Spectral Sound)
• 2001 Stealing Moves (Spectral Sound)
• 2003 Dog Days (Spectral Sound)
• 2004 Anger Management / Future Never Again (Spectral Sound)
• 2007 Deserter (Ghostly International)

Compilations

• 2008 Beginning of the End: Spectral Sound Singles (Spectral Sound)

Tracks featured on[link]

• 1999 Hands Up For Detroit (Ghostly International)
• 2003 Idol Tryouts: Ghostly International Vol. 1 (Ghostly International)
• 2003 State of the Union EP (Spectral Sound)
• 2005 Spectral Sound Vol. 1 (Spectral Sound)
• 2006 Idol Troyouts: Ghostly International Vol. 2 (Ghostly International)
• 2007 Chuck (TV series) Season 1, Episode 4 (NBC)
• 2007 "Gossip Girls (TV series) Season 1, Episode 1"
• 2008 Life Beyond Mars: Bowie Covered

Remixing[link]

• 2004 DJ Minx A Walk In The Park (M_nus)
• 2004 Håkan Lidbo Clockwise Rmxs (Shitkatapult)
• 2004 L'usine Flat Remixes (Ghostly International)
• 2004 Monobox The Remixes (Logistic Records)
• 2004 Osborne Bout Ready to Jak Remixes (Spectral Sound)
• 2004 Someone Else + Miskate Rip It Cookie Muenster EP (Foundsound)
• 2005 Circlesquare / Colder 7 Minutes / Shiny Star (Remixes) (Output)
• 2005 The Postal Service We Will Become Silhouettes (Sub Pop)
• 2006 Hot Chip No Fit State (EMI)
• 2006 The Chemical Brothers Do it Again (EMI)
• 2007 Black Strobe "I'm a Man" (Playlouder)
• 2007 Terence Fixmer "Electrostatic" (Planete Rouge)
• 2007 Dubfire "I Feel Speed" (SCI + TEC Digital Audio)
• 2008 Matt John "Olga Dancekowski" (Bar25)
• 2008 Sasha "Park It In The Shade" (emFire)
• 2008 Kieran Hebden, Steve Reid "People Be Happy/Rhythm Dance" (Domino)
• 2008 Spoon "Don't You Evah" (Merge Records)
• 2008 Liquid Liquid "Optmo" (Domino Records)
• 2009 The Juan MacLean "Happy House" (DFA Records)
• 2010 The XX "VCR" (XL Recordings, Young Turks)
• 2010 Charlotte Gainsbourg "Time Of The Assassins" (Because Music)
• 2010 The Drums "Me And The Moon" (Moshi Moshi/Island)

As Audion[link]

• 2004 Kisses EP (Audion I, Spectral Sound)
• 2004 The Pong EP (Audion II, Spectral Sound)
• 2005 Just Fucking (Audion III, Spectral Sound)
• 2006 Suckfish (Audion IV, Spectral Sound)
• 2006 Fabric 27 (Fabric)
• 2006 Mouth to Mouth (Audion V, Spectral Sound)
• 2006 Just a Man / Just a Woman [with Ellen Allien] (Audion VI, Spectral Sound)
• 2007 Mouth to Mouth (Remixes) (Audion R1, Spectral Sound)
• 2007 Noiser/Fred's Bells (Audion VII, Spectral Sound)
• 2008 Billy Says Go (Audion VIII, Spectral Sound)
• 2009 I Am The Car (Audion IX.I, Spectral Sound)
• 2009 Look At The Moon (Audion IX.II, Spectral Sound)
• 2009 It's Full of Blinding Light EP (Audion IX.III and X,Spectral Sound)
• 2009 Stoplight (Audion IX.IV, Spectral Sound)
• 2009 Instant In You (Audion IX.V, Spectral Sound)
• 2009 That's That (Audion IX.VI, Spectral Sound)
• 2009 Push (Audion IX.VII, Spectral Sound)

As Jabberjaw[link]

• 2003 Girlfriend (Perlon)
• 2009 The Connie Shake (Spectral Sound)
• 2009 The Garden Of Eden (Spectral Sound)

As False[link]

Singles/EPs:

• 2002 .WAV Pool (Plus 8)
• 2002 Warsaw Bread (Plus 8)
• 2003 You Wouldn't/Beginner's Luck(Plus 8)
• 2004 Sink the Ship EP (M_nus)
• 2005 River Camping (M_nus)
• 2007 Fed on Youth (M_nus)
• 2009 Love Letters (M_nus)

Albums:

• 2003 False (Plus 8)
• 2007 2007 (M_nus)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Matthew Dear

• Official Home Page
• Matthew Dear on Myspace
• Review of Asa Breed at Grooves Magazine
• Review of False's River Camping at Grooves Magazine
• Review of Audion's Mouth to Mouth at Grooves Magazine