Pre-Release
- JUN 7, 2024
- 11 Songs
- Splazsh · 2010
- Statik
- AZD · 2017
- R.I.P. · 2012
- AZD · 2017
- Statik
- LXXXVIII · 2023
- Karma & Desire · 2020
- LXXXVIII · 2023
- LXXXVIII · 2023
Essential Albums
- Splazsh is one of those albums that plays better as an album than as individual songs, giving it a gestalt quality; it's a painting more than a series of brushstrokes. Where Actress' first album, Hazyville, used much of the same vocabulary—an echo of deteriorated rave and ambient influence—Splazsh is a more perfected evolution of that sound. Starting with the near-nine-minute "Hubble" (a song that should by all rights grow tiresome with a persistent four-to-the-floor), there's never a sense of lost energy in the gentle ebb and flow of the track programming. In fact, perhaps part of why this works so well as a cohesive piece is the fact that Actress never seems to make anything longer (or shorter) than it needs to be. There aren't any intentionally DJ-friendly intros or outros, and some perfectly dance floor–friendly selections like "Senorita" are more like tone poems, clocking in at just a few minutes. Whether by virtue of excellent editing, production, or something more ephemeral and indefinable, Splazsh is an immediate classic; it's an expression carving out its own moment in time.
Albums
- 2024
- 2023
- 2022
- 2020
- 2018
- 2017
- 2014
Music Videos
Artist Playlists
- Exploring the psychedelic extremes of no-fi techno.
Singles & EPs
- 2022
- 2013
- 2011
Compilations
Appears On
- Young Paint
About Actress
Under his primary alias of Actress, Darren Cunningham is behind some of the least predictable, least classifiable electronic music of his time. Since his modest 2004 debut with the No Tricks EP, the British producer has juggled diverse inspirations including funk and electro, art rock, house, and noise while putting a fresh spin on the forms to decayed, disorienting effect. His productions, once self-termed "R&B concrète," have consequently dumbfounded some DJs, while they've been devoured by more adventurous jocks. One of the most acclaimed sonic experimentalists, Cunningham has often landed on The Wire's annual Top 50, starting with Splazsh, which topped the magazine's 2010 chart, and continuing through AZD in 2017. Cunningham has kept listeners guessing with LAGEOS, a 2018 recording with London Contemporary Orchestra; 2020's Karma & Desire, incorporating vocals from the likes of Zsela and Sampha; and 2023's LXXXVIII, containing some of his trippiest and most direct material.
- HOMETOWN
- Wolverhampton, England
- BORN
- August 23, 1979
- GENRE
- Electronic