SECURE SHOPPING
The coming together of two of modern electronic music’s most intriguing minds provided the highlight of our week when Actress met Legowelt on Clone Jack For Daze.
This week at Juno
by Juno Plus on 19.04.2013 at 16:29pmLegowelt – Elementz Of Houz Music (Actress remixes)
by Juno Plus on 19.04.2013 at 14:30pm
Actress and Legowelt may not come across as very compatible at a glance, but they actually have quite the shared heritage. Both of their catalogues trudge through the difficult-to-pin-down territory between experimental and dance music, and each producer appears capable of balancing their introverted and extroverted sides by managing an eclectic output while retaining a hermetic loner mystique of sorts.
Actress remixes Legowelt for Clone Jack For Daze
by Juno Plus on 14.02.2013 at 18:05pm
Actress joins the Jack For Daze fold with two remixes of the Legowelt jam “Elements of Houz Music”.
Moiré – Never Sleep
by Juno Plus on 13.02.2013 at 12:09pm
Blasting out of nowhere with a devastatingly self-assured debut single, Moiré is a hitherto unknown quantity in the electronic music world, but that fits in just fine with the wayward nature of Actress’ Werkdiscs stable. There have been plenty of sizable splashes made by previous Werkdiscs releases such as Lone, Lukid or Zomby, but really the label exists in a murky underworld created by its own curatorial aesthetic, which of course is a strengthening point when it would be so easy to make safer moves from Actress’ vaunted position in these times.
Werk Discs introduce Moiré
by Juno Plus on 16.01.2013 at 12:30pm
The Actress helmed Werkdiscs imprint has just announced details of its next release, from hitherto unknown producer Moiré.
Watch: Actress – Voodoo Posse Chronic Illusion
by Juno Plus on 10.01.2013 at 13:27pm
Werkdiscs have just revealed a video accompaniment for a track on the label’s forthcoming EP from Actress.
Werkdiscs announce partnership with Ninja Tune
by Juno Plus on 26.06.2012 at 15:22pm
This just in: Werkdiscs and Ninja Tune have just announced details of a partnership – and you can get a free Actress track to celebrate.
Listen: Teengirl Fantasy – Motif (Actress Remix)
by Tony Poland on 07.06.2012 at 10:55amAs referenced in our recent trawl through the archives of Actress, Darren Cunningham seems to belong among those lucky few blessed with the innate talent to pick out an all new direction when approaching remixes – and this much is evident on his new remix of recent R&S signings Teengirl Fantasy.
Actress – R.I.P review
by Juno Plus on 24.04.2012 at 12:53pm“I can’t explain how I made those tracks, it’s just impossible,” Darren Cunningham said when describing the process of making his third album, R.I.P, in a press release back in February. “It’s like painting with button and sliders… Melting and dripping, seeping yourself liquid into the machinery.” It’s a rare moment of honesty from a man whose Twitter persona is one of the most baffling of any of his peers – whilst he obviously doesn’t shy away from the limelight like Zomby, happy to undertake quite serious, thoughtful interviews, his online identity is nevertheless filled with misdirection and incoherent half-statements which veer off on tangents as if he’s mentally channel surfing.
Again The Addiction: Analysing the Actress archives
by Juno Plus on 18.04.2012 at 16:13pm
With Honest Jon’s on the cusp of gracing an expectant audience with R.I.P, Darren Cunningham’s third album under the Actress moniker, the moment seemed right for the core of Juno Plus to delve into what came before. Read on as Aaron Coultate, Scott Wilson and Tony Poland offer up their favourite moments from the producer’s endlessly impressive discography.
Read the rest of this entry »
Actress and Convextion feature on Rush Hour Vault Series Vol 2
by Tony Poland on 30.03.2012 at 09:39am
Koreless and Lapalux added to Tate Modern showcase
by Juno Plus on 08.03.2012 at 13:23pm
Actress remixes Kasabian’s “Narcotic Farm”
by Juno Plus on 06.03.2012 at 16:28pm
Kodiak – Spreo Superbus review
by Juno Plus on 05.03.2012 at 11:09amIt’s surprising to think that Numbers is only a two-year-old label, given the clout they carry in the UK scene. Granted the component labels that gave rise to the collective have a few more years behind them, but in some ways it’s hard to recall the days before major league dances were daubed in the dazzling colours of hyper-modern output from Deadboy, Mr Mageeka or Mosca.
Actress reveals R.I.P.
by Juno Plus on 20.02.2012 at 21:04pm
On a day when people were getting to grips with the prospect of Werkhaus boss Actress performing live at the Tate Modern’s Yayori Kusama exhibition, full details of the elusive producer’s third album also slipped out.
Win: Tickets to Beyond The Clouds with DJ Deep, Maurice Fulton, Actress and Hunee
by Juno Plus on 01.02.2012 at 14:37pm
The organisers of the excellent Corsica Studios-based night Beyond The Clouds have offered us a pair of tickets to their next party, featuring the formidable talents of DJ Deep, Maurice Fulton, Actress and Hunee.
Actress – Rainy Dub review
by Juno Plus on 08.12.2011 at 15:53pmSeemingly intent on keeping a captive following guessing, Actress has spent much of 2011 merely hinting at what his next substantial move will be. Those who follow his obtuse Twitter feed will no doubt have basked in the free sonic experiments he’s left as a digital trail over the past few months, whilst there have been some intriguing remix commissions along the way (a sonic dissection of New York’s Laurel Halo in particular resonates still). Of course there has been a drip feed of original material this year too, with a decidedly swampy contribution to the NonPlus canon complemented by what was revealed to this website as a personally illuminating experience in Africa recording as part of the DRC album for Warp.
That wait is of course drawing to a close with the recent news that Honest Jon’s will release the third album from Actress, further strengthening the relationship that commenced when the label released his second album Splazsh in 2010. An advance chance to bask in the possibilities of how the as yet unnamed album will sound is afforded with this sonically challenging but quite excellent twelve inch. There is plenty to admire here, with the lead track described quite presciently by the label as the “alien son of Sleng Teng”. Just like that riddim pioneered a new wave of digital dancehall when Wayne Smith joined forces with King Jammy on “Under Me Sleng Teng”, “Rainy Dub” seems to signify a concentrated shift in focus towards ever new jagged dissections through the fuzziest extremes of sub bass. Minute attention to detail such as the near indecipherable vocal gurgles trapped far beneath ensure you keep returning to the track as new sonic elements come to light.
“Faceless” creeps towards you like second album highlight “Purple Splazsh” regurgitated through a robotic variant of the human centipede, with the track’s hazy melodic elements desperately trying to claw through the claustrophobic rhythms, creeping corroded textures and rising gurgles of stomach acid. It would be churlish to presume how that forthcoming album may sound on the basis of “Rainy Dub” and “Faceless” as neither will be present on it, but both tracks show one of the UK’s most interesting musical talents in uncompromising form.
Tony Poland
Huntleys & Palmers turn 4 with Planningtorock, Actress and patten
by Scott Wilson on 17.11.2011 at 11:06am
Promoters and record label extraordinaire Huntleys & Palmers have just announced details of their fourth birthday bash, featuring appearances from Planningtorock, Actress, Ivan Smagghe and patten.
New Actress arrives on Honest Jon’s
by Tony Poland on 11.11.2011 at 15:11pm
As with most things Honest Jon’s, a new release from Actress has just dropped on the label with little prior fanfare, offering an insight into the elusive producer’s forthcoming album, set for release on the West London label early next year.
Actress: Clubbing in the Congo
by Juno Plus on 19.09.2011 at 16:02pm
Actress, real name Darren Cunningham, remains of the most elusive, singular, and, well, interesting characters in contemporary electronic music. His unique brand of muggy, heavily compressed electronica has graced two much-loved albums – one on his own Werk Discs imprint, the other via West London record emporium Honest Jon’s. There have also been EPs via Instra:mental’s Nonplus and Trus’me’s Prime Numbers labels, but it has been his relationship with Honest Jon’s (who released Spazsh, and will release his next album) that has given him his widest audience. His shadowy reputation has been fostered by an (at times) aloof attitude to self-promotion and a wonderfully baffling Twitter account, through which he’s been known to give away free tracks en masse. His live performance at the recent Field Day festival in London, although not quite attaining Zomby levels of capriciousness, served only to enhance his reputation: 25 minutes late for his scheduled slot, he arrived dressed in a black cape and proceeded to put on one of the most incendiary performances of the day.
He recently took part in the DRC project – on Oxfam initiative spearheaded by former Blur frontman Damon Albarn, which saw a troupe of UK based musicians travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo to record an album with local musicians. Albarn’s close association with Honest Jon’s no doubt alerted him to Cunningham’s production prowess, and he was joined on the voyage to Central Africa by a varied cast of musicians including XL boss Richard Russell, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Dan The Automator, Jneiro Jarel, Marc Antoine, Alwest, Remi Kabaka, Rodaidh McDonald and Kwes. The album, entitled Kinshasa One Two, was recorded in Kinshasa over a five day period in July this year and will see release via UK label Warp. We spoke to Cunningham about his time in the Congo, which he discussed in vivid detail, describing it as a “life changing” experience. Typically, he chose to take a slightly different approach to his peers, spending most of his time away from the studio interacting with local families, walking through the ghettos of Kinshasa and experiencing the city’s vibrant club scene.