Actress - R.I.P. (Honest Jon's) Rating: 8 (out of 10)
Actress, of course, is no lady. For much of the past decade the U.K. electronica entrepreneur (label owner, producer, DJ, composer) Darren Cunningham has been pumping out streams of extemely addictive music skirting the parameters of hip-hop, house and other clubaffiliated techno concoctions.
Born in Wolverhampton, Cunningham played football for West Brom right up until a knee injury at 19 sent him fulltime into music. His first tracks came out on his own Werk Discs label in 2004 with an album, Hazyville, following in 2008. He released the brilliant Splazsh on Honest Jon's Records in 2010.
On R.I.P. Actress dials down the beats with no loss of originality in the music. The tracks are for the most part atmospheric soundscapes that stick to a steady 4/4 rhythm or wander off into almost beatless territory. There's usually at least a pulse moving through the sound such as the record surface scratches that rotate in and out of "Jardin."
Some of the material is reminiscent of David Bowie's ambient Low period in Berlin with Brian Eno while Autechre's subtle electronic experimentations are another precursor to Actress' shift away from overt beat music.
Only time will tell as to whether R.I.P. is just a blip in his oeuvre - Cunningham recently informed The Guardian that he is planning to record his follow-up disc, Ghettoville, in Jamaica.
