R.I.P "Actress" AKA Darren Cunningham and the future sounds of no tomorrow
With an unrivaled grAce, RIP stems with dissonance distortion and dominance
the layers of jagged synths caress death as its last breath
cloaking reality with a preferable understanding of the unknown
Darren Cunningham's sound is an obsession with the unknown
it's from the unknown that everything is made
techno is an understanding of possession, regression, and devolution
it's a tactile letting go and allowing something unexpected to happen
it's manifestation through machines
and machine through manifestation
where the shallow open hi hat makes it's way
to the 64 bar drop
a moment of silence in the "The Lords Graffiti"
then an orgasmic eruption of staggering synth chords
or the gentle stir of "N.E.W."
as it rotates into a substance of jelly sound
the trajectory that escapes from within
is inverted, and the organs are worn on the outside
everything is turned inside out on R.I.P
aka "Ruin Inadequate Progress" and the tables are turned
over and over, round and round
the rhythm is sound of all sorts
it's a contrived, sinister and destructive variation of a tech tone
that's not to say the album is ever all that aggressive
it has its moments of "Where am I" and "How did I get here"
like an abduction where the inside of the universe is everything but black
the stars are worn inside out
the moon is a ring
the sun is migrating from one corner of your mind to the next
RIP, "Rain influenced Puddles"
and there is not rest for the dead
it's techno immortality ...
power
lies
corruption
in art of all sorts a deception is key
Darren's music is not gentle, it's a convoluted downward spiral into oblivion
and the unquantized revelation that samplers are best used w/out an instruction manual
808's, 909's there is danger in using heartbreaking hardware in 2013
Actress' is very good at playing the role of danger
Danger is provocative, and soothing to the rebellion
R.I.P hovers over you like a UFO, taking you to the places you already know
showing you spaces you would like to go
The track R.I.P is a slow stab, quick jab of an opener
It catches you off guard, and can change the atmosphere in any room
it blossoms like a rose in a candle lit room
deformed, frowned, and unwilling to compromise it's own faults
not that it has any, but this isn't music for people who are sorry for themselves
or sorry for who they know they have to be
It's the round of life inside a coffin
to open the minds of everyone listening, watching, tasting, feeling,
smell the roses and step inside a masterpiece
a matrix of data deconstructed and rooted in a way of life
post digital, post dubstep, post advancement of every kind
the progression is regression
and Actress' claim is never in showing you what you can do
it's showing you what you can't
hardware + instruments, and a computer
all components of what is used to make music now days
why add limitations by subtracting any of those three essential variables
but thats a secret, and it's only intended for anyone willing to wager their soul on it
it's remarkable to see the Actress progression from 2008's Hazyville released on his very on Work Discs imprint
from the abstract funk theory applied to repetitive rhythms and futuristic philosophy
breaking the chains from what was always meant to be a free form movement
Richie Hawtan will testify, Actress is BLACK, and his music is revolutionary
as revolutionary as the first metroplex 12" No UFOs by Model 500
tactics of a lost and forgotten art form, in the heyday children playing DJ
Internet warship by the suburban landscape selling out the city for the yuppy (irony) Movement,
Trapped in the Dub of the Drugs that really own u, the affliction of addiction
Techno is a Theory, That human can and will regenerate and revitalize the entire planet
through sonic manifestation of beauty through samplers and electronics
in the early stages of the techno sound, "minimal" wasn't the goal as much as the result
and in todays add sound, slash/rob, smash/fuck/fucked existence of
awfully busy, awfully loud, awfully trendy territory
Actress stakes his claim and backs it up like a polka dot "automatic" 6-gear porsche
Automatic because of his conviction to doing what hasn't been done before
and some would way it could be similar to the broken tech sound of the early 90s
to an extent that may be true, and from his boiler room set it's clear he only has himself to blame for his choices
to extinguish his sound as both a call to the Techno-Innovation, but also carving out a niche untapped in todays sound scape
Actress is unmistakeable as generating his own unique style, 2010's "Splazsh" is a terrific album,
The Wire's number one album of the year at the time
Slithering R & B tones echo endlessly over british bangers and bitches to feast on them
it's sexy minimal tech-funk for the weed inducing steady charge of an angel ready to do some work with the wicked
and there is cause for the realization that we are in fact living in the most exciting era of any life form.
R.I.P. "Rotation If Permitted", is a strong energetic effort with passion dedication and a truly remarkable request for something different,
in a familiar setting with a devotion to generating a new sound everyone already knew
when speaking to a guy like Darren Cunningham it is very important to know who you are dealing with
it's never appropriate to invalidate anyone as important as him because their filthy rich biatch
He copped the gear, he set the shit up, he banged out every tune with enough conviction
that I bet a techno snob might mistake his sound for that of Underground Resistance,
or perhaps the damaged side of Carl Craig and Jeff Mills (w/less focus on the kick drum or the 4x4 rhythm)
but he belongs to the solo club of destructive innovation as those from mid 80's Detroit, and late 80's UK did before him.
Trick Question! Who else is even remotely similar stylistically in the super producer category w/ the likes of...
Rustie, Kode9, Zomby, TNGHT!, and Lone...ect?
Those guys all mix together, if anything Actress might be have more in common with the productions of
Hessle Audio's Pearson Sound, James Blake and Pangea
or to a lesser extent Night Slug's "Girl Unit" on A dirty distorted dark tech-day
Actress isn't here to please anyone, he makes music because he makes music
it's a post modern idea in a post modern universe
modern is a thing of the past, Techno is exacerbating the future today for tomorrow
and there is no parallel, no one as innovative, alone in the 3rd wave
lost in the millions of stingrays and fish animal life forms
mutating a soulless machine until it starts to sing and grows fingers like a rose grows thorns
love hurts don't it? he love what he does, you can tell by the way he plays
hoodie up, no distractions: just techno, in your face till you can't breathe... techno
R.I.P "Ready Inner Peace", He is never at the mercy of his equipment
always in command, always on the move, like a thief in the knight
he is riding a black horse headless into grooves that shock and terrify
however this stun is done with serious sub, he is a british gent/
he could never be Detroit, because he replaced their kicks for something more
SUB-BASS a UK invention, the sound that brings people closer
the cocktail of dance music
and the entire world noticed
the entire universe struck with an intensity
to better the soul through sonic manifestation.
R.I.P
I hope Actress turns into the next RDJ...that'd certainly indicate that something was going right in mainstream electronic music.
