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The Indian Roots Behind Four Tet Ahead of III Points Miami 2026
III Points returns to Miami this week on October 16 and 17, bringing more than 100 artists to Mana Wynwood for two nights of electronic music, hip-hop, R&B and experimental sounds. Underworld, Blood Orange, Kelela, Flying Lotus, Charlotte de Witte, Honey Dijon, Lil’ Kim, Tricky and Four Tet are among the names on this year’s lineup.
For many electronic music fans, Four Tet needs little introduction. Less familiar may be the family history behind one of his most personal albums. The British producer and DJ, whose real name is Kieran Hebden, is half-Indian on his mother’s side, and that connection helped shape “Morning/Evening”, a 2015 album built partly around records inherited from his Indian grandfather and the voice of Lata Mangeshkar.
With III Points only a few weeks away, Sanskar Savvy is taking a closer look at that part of Four Tet’s music as we Celebrate, Explore, Connect! with South Asian stories appearing across major festival lineups.
Four Tet Heads to III Points Miami
The festival has built its identity around artists who move fluidly through genres, and this year’s lineup stretches through electronic music, hip-hop, R&B, and other sounds. Four Tet is scheduled to perform Saturday, October 17, according to his official tour calendar. Exact festival set times have not been announced yet.
His Miami weekend will continue beyond the festival. Four Tet is also scheduled to join Floating Points and Daphni for a three-way back-to-back set at Club Space on October 17 as part of the official III Points Satellite programming. Disco Lines, horsegiirL, Kettama and others are also on the bill. For South Asian listeners, though, one of the most interesting parts of Four Tet’s story goes back more than a decade.
Family Records Led Four Tet Back to His Indian Heritage
When he was young, Hebden inherited a collection of Indian movie soundtracks and devotional records from his grandfather. He later told The Guardian that he originally put the records away without spending much time listening to them.
That changed after his grandmother died in 2013. Hebden said her death made him feel that his connection to his Indian family was beginning to fade, prompting him to return to the records his grandfather had left behind. As he spent more time with the collection, he became particularly interested in Lata Mangeshkar and began experimenting with her voice in his own production.
Those sessions developed into Morning/Evening. The album consists of two extended pieces, “Morning Side” and “Evening Side,” each about 20 minutes long. On “Morning Side,” Hebden uses Mangeshkar’s recording of “Main Teri Chhoti Bahna Hoon” from the 1983 Hindi film “Souten”, building electronic rhythms and textures around her voice. Critics also noted the album’s connection to Indian classical traditions, where ragas can be associated with particular times of day.
For listeners who grew up hearing Mangeshkar through Hindi films, family playlists or their parents’ record collections, finding her voice inside a Four Tet album creates an unexpected meeting point between familiar South Asian music and contemporary electronic production.
The Album Was Also About Family
What makes “Morning/Evening” particularly relevant to Hebden’s heritage is how he arrived at the music. He wasn’t just revisiting Indian records. He was thinking about his grandparents and what remained of his connection to that part of his family. In the same 2015 interview, Hebden recalled making chapatis with his grandmother and realizing after her death that he wanted to preserve the tradition. He began making them with his own daughter, carrying a small piece of family life into another generation.
That detail adds context to the album. Music, food, and family memories were all part of Hebden reconnecting with something that had begun to feel more distant. The records his grandfather left behind ultimately became material for the kind of electronic music Hebden had already spent years creating. For many people growing up across cultures, that relationship may sound familiar. Heritage does not always show up in the same way or at the same point in life. It can remain in a record collection, a family recipe, or a childhood memory until something brings it back into focus.
Four Tet Arrives With New Music
Four Tet is also heading into III Points with new material. On July 30, he released “Human Voice”, a two-track project produced by Hebden through his Text Records label. The title track features vocals from Katie Serva, followed by “T246 130ish Electribe Plaits.”
The release joins a catalog that includes “Three”, “New Energy”, “Sixteen Oceans”, and “Morning/Evening.” No confirmed III Points setlist exists, and there is no indication yet that material featuring Mangeshkar will be part of his Miami performance.
That is not really the point of the connection. Knowing the history behind “Morning/Evening” adds another layer to an artist many festivalgoers may already recognize, even without knowing the Indian family history behind that record.
Why Four Tet Caught Our Attention
One reason Sanskar Savvy started looking more closely at major festival lineups was to find stories like this one. South Asian influence in global music doesn’t always appear under a category labeled “South Asian music,” and artists don’t have to build their entire careers around their heritage for it to influence meaningful work.
Four Tet’s Indian background is one part of a career that spans more than two decades. “Morning/Evening” captures a moment when Hebden chose to explore that part of his family history directly. His grandfather’s records, memories of his grandmother, and Lata Mangeshkar’s voice all became part of the finished album.
When Four Tet arrives at III Points this October, Miami audiences may hear an artist they have followed for years. South Asian listeners now have another part of his story to know. As we think about our motto, Celebrate, Explore, Connect!, we are especially grateful for the opportunity to Celebrate the South Asian influences appearing across music, Explore the stories behind the festival lineups we follow, and Connect our community with artists and music they may not have discovered in quite the same way before. III Points takes place October 16 and 17, 2026, at Mana Wynwood in Miami. Four Tet is scheduled to perform Saturday, October 17, with exact set times expected closer to the festival.
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