The tracks Hopprock and Road of the Lonely Ones were released in 2020 and will be featured as tracks on the upcoming album, alongside the brand new Dirtknock which can be heard on all available streaming platforms. The duo has released the track list for the upcoming album on January 11th, which can be seen below.

The singles Hopprock and Road of the Lonely Ones have been released as singles but Four Tet suggests it will be advantageous to listen to them as part of a whole when the album is officially released. Four Tet continued to discuss the longevity of the project and his excitement for its released, he stated that he “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.”

When discussing the duo’s collaborative methods, and moreover their friendship, Four Tet stated “that [Four Tet] put this concept to [Madlib] 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. On discussing the genre and sound of the album Sound Ancestors Four Tet explained that it is not “made into beats for vocalists to use but instead arranged into tracks that could all flow together in an album designed to be listened to start to finish.” 

pic.twitter.com/mk4hX0qsMO

— Four Tet (@FourTet) December 13, 2020

Neither Four Tet nor Madlib has confirmed a collaborative tour, however Four Tet will be playing  a series of shows throughout 2021 and 2022. Considering safety concerns surrounding the Covid-19 global health crisis and the recent restrictions the UK has put in place for in-person events, this is subject to change.

Many events throughout the country, including Glastonbury, have been cancelled for the summer of 2021. Tickets for Four Tet’s headlining tour are still available for purchase today, can be found here. The new track from Madlib and Four Tet, Dirtknock is available today everywhere and look out for Sound Ancestors next week.

Sound Ancestors Tracklist:

1. ‘There Is No Time (Prelude)’
2. ‘The Call’
3. ‘Theme De Crabtree’
4. ‘Road Of The Lonely Ones’
5. ‘Loose Goose’
6. ‘Dirtknock’
7. ‘Hopprock’
8. ‘Riddim Chant’
9. ‘Sound Ancestors’
10.’ One For Quartabê/Right Now’
11. ‘Hang Out (Phone Off)’
12. ‘Two for 2 -For Dilla’
13. ‘Latino Negro’
14. ‘The New Normal’
15. ‘Chino’
16. ‘Duumbiyay’

Four Tet and Madlib have been in collaboration on this album for many years, says Four Tet in a social media post back in December and he stated that he put this concept to [Madlib] 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. 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.

On discussing Sound Ancestors Four Tet stated that the record is not made into beats for vocalists to use but instead arranged into tracks that could all flow together in an album designed to be listened to start to finish. The singles Hopprock and Road of the Lonely Ones have been released before the full album but as mentioned, Four Tet suggests it will be better heard as part of the full album.

2021 https://t.co/v9YM9QDc5d

— Madlib (@madlib) December 14, 2020

The artists have separately released other collaborations last year with the release of Four Tet’s tracks Her Revolution and His Rope, with two other artists Burial and Thom Yorke. Madlib collaborated on Noname’s Song 33,and worked with Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire and Oh No.

The collaborative album from Madlib and Four Tet, Sound Ancestors, will be released sometime this month through Madlib Invazion. The single Road of the Lonely Ones is available on streaming platforms and now the latest single Hopprock is available everywhere and can be listened to above. Read mxdwn.uk ‘s Madlib and Four Tet Announce Collaborative Album ‘Sound Ancestors’ for more information on the coming album.

The forthcoming new record is comprised of Madlib’s music and vocals, with the arrangements completed by Four Tet, acting as editor, arranger and master on the album. The two artists have been working on Sound Ancestors for many years and only completed the collaboration a few months ago according to a statement on Four Tet’s social media.

When regarding the upcoming album with Madlib, Four Tet stated that the American DJ/Rapper is always making loads of music in all sorts of styles and I was listening to some of his new beats and studio sessions when I had the idea that it would be great to hear some of these ideas made into a Madlib solo album. Not made into beats for vocalists to use but instead arranged into tracks that could all flow together in an album designed to be listened to start to finish.

When discussing how Four Tet and Madlib got on board for such an innovative and creative project, he stated that he put this concept to [Madlib] 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. 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.

2021 https://t.co/v9YM9QDc5d

— Madlib (@madlib) December 14, 2020

Both artists have released many collaborations in 2020, even as recently as last Friday when Four Tet announced the streaming release of the tracks Her Revolution and His Rope, a collaborative record made with Burial and Thom Yorke. Four Tet’s most recent album Sixteen Oceans featured many musical partnerships including Caribou and Tame Impala.

Madlib collaborated with Freddie Gibbs in 2019 on the project Bandana and more recently the rapper helped produce the artist Noname’s Song 33, and went on to work in partnership with Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire and Oh No. This collaboration with Four Tet is only the latest in the long line of Madlib’s inclination towards A-List team efforts.

The newly-announced collaborative album Sound Ancestors will be released on an undetermined date sometime in January next year and is not currently available to pre-order at this time. The single Road of the Lonely Ones is currently available on all streaming platforms.