
Turtle Turtle Up (Extended Version) – Four Tet (2005, Domino Records, Taken from ‘Everything Ecstatic Part 2’)
Turtle Turtle Up – Four Tet (2005, Domino Records, Taken from ‘Everything Ecstatic’)
The original version of ‘Turtle Turtle Up’ is just over two minutes long. It is a collection of bleeps and computer generated noises rather like the sounds from the game ‘Defender’ with drums added to it. It is rather cool in a mismatched kind of way. That kind of sums up most of Four Tet’s fourth album ‘Everything Ecstatic’. When that is good it is brilliant and when it isn’t it is a bit all over the place – which being Four Tet, was probably the point anyway, and therefore its brilliant regardless.
When ‘Everything Ecstatic’ was released back in 2005, Kieran Hebden being the unbridled genius that he is released a DVD version of the album which came with a bonus additional CD. That was called ‘Everything Ecstatic Part 2’ and that opened with an extended version of ‘Turtle Turtle Up’. Now with the original being just over two minutes long you would expect an extended version to include perhaps a few extras minutes of beats and squiggles to perhaps take it to 3 or 4 minutes, but this is Four Tet remember.
The extended version of ‘Turtle Turtle Up’ clocks in at just over sixteen minutes. It is EIGHT times longer than the original and for what it is worth – it is infinitesimally better than the original version. It’s full of squeaks, noises, breaks, beats, drums, keyboards, crashes, whirls, swirls, twirls and that’s just the first eight minutes. Its pretty much what Four Tet would sound like if they ever got invited to an Aphex Twin themed fancy dress party. Its incredible and makes it 5 – 4 to the alternative versions, with nine to play.
Also included on that bonus CD was part 2 of ‘Sun Drums and Soil’, which is probably the most well known track on ‘Everything Ecstatic’. The part 2 version starts with a bunch of noises that sound like the sort of noises that cheap seventies sci -fi films used in order to make them sound futuristic. All that the fades away and what is left is some wonky sounding synths, a shimmering snare, jazzy drums, scratchy beats and stop start breaks and then suddenly just stops in a way that makes you think that you headphones have stopped working. Personally I think it’s great in its own disjointed messy way.
Sun Drums and Soil (Part 2) – Four Tet (2005, Domino Records, Taken from ‘Everything Ecstatic Part 2’)
Here’s your original part one, which is pretty much an entirely different track, full of relentless drums, faint organs, whirling horns, tinkering keyboards and stuttering beats – it’s marvellous just in case you needed telling.
Sun Drums and Soil (Album Version) – Four Tet (2005, Domino Records, Taken from ‘Everything Ecstatic’)
On Monday – The Manic Street Preachers give us an example of why demo’s sometimes don’t need to be released.