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Actress - Splazsh


Redruth

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqQFMjUySio&feature=related

After crafting one of the most enduring albums of the last few years with 2008's 'Hazyville', Actress sets his sights on the future with a crucial LP for Honest Jon's. This album signifies two important points; firstly, the fact that Honest Jon's are putting this out at all acknowledges Mr Cunningham's place in the lineage of potentially classic Afrofuturistic music, from George Clinton through Prince and Shake Shakir, and secondly, a major maturity and cohesion in his sound. Wheras it's predecessor was composed over a staggered period of many, many years, this album was fashioned in a fraction of that time, lending a tangible symmetry between these shapeshifting tracks that's as loose as it is detached from the rest of the modern herd. Of the 14 tracks he's selected, we've previously encountered the first two, with the unstable space float of 'Hubble' appearing on a shady Thriller 12" and his remix of Various Production's 'Lost' reminding us how good his most overlooked cuts can be. From here in it's all about that next-level longing, sealing the airlock and initiating pressure sequence with 'Futureproofing', before laying down the robo-boogie with 'Always Human'. Showing a teflon resistance towards easy categorisation, 'Get Ohn (Fairlight Mix)' swerves down a side street into a footwurkin' face-off by cyborgs sliding to a mutilated mix of Jon E Cash and Chez Damier played underwater. Next we hit the erogenous interzone of 'Maze' and that incapacitatingly lush bassline designed to lock into your central nervous system and send shockwaves of piloerection to every f*cking corner of your soul. After that, we're cynically dumped, cold post-sex style into the Ferraro-esque Prince tribute 'Purple Splazsh', and on into the Detroit ghetto stalk of 'Let's Fly'. The dissonant robo-crunk of 'The Kettle Men' and closing entry 'Casanova' confirm that if anything, the man is only suffering from a surfeit of ideas and expanded technical expertise. Which is never a bad thing. If you want music that enhances or removes you from your own reality like the most visceral sci-fi novel or confirms that there is a sprawling future beyond the stasis of too much modern music, this is just absolutely vital listening.


Honest Jon's Records
Actress

 

Edited by Redruth
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Guest Backson

I've never heard Actress before, and I think I'm going to order this album. i love the really minimal, organic, simple house feel of Senorita.

 

what's the previous album like? because i've fallen in love with the artwork for Hazyville. is it Dubbier?

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Guest raan

I've never heard Actress before, and I think I'm going to order this album. i love the really minimal, organic, simple house feel of Senorita.

 

what's the previous album like? because i've fallen in love with the artwork for Hazyville. is it Dubbier?

 

It´s good. Very good. If you liked this you will also like Hazyville.

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Guest GrandPopPoplock

I never heard of him until about 2 days ago .

 

 

And yes , I enjoy his work . Time to start collecting .

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Guest Backson

GOD DAMN!

 

ordered this through a CD store two weeks ago and its on back order!

 

and I'm too lazy to order off the net like a smart person.

 

so I must wait...

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Guest Backson

seemed very patchy at times, like just a bunch of undeveloped ideas.

i agree, but I wasn't expecting any different so I'm enjoying it alot.

 

I tried to explain Actress to my friend, and ended up describing the music as though someone filmed a DJ playing house music at a club with their phone camera and released the audio. but in a good way.

 

My favourites thus far are Always Human, Purrple Splazsh and Senorita.

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I tried to explain Actress to my friend, and ended up describing the music as though someone filmed a DJ playing house music at a club with their phone camera and released the audio. but in a good way.

Yeah I felt this a bit too.

 

Truth be told I don't think this album is for me. There are some tracks I enjoyed but much of it annoyed me. It might grow on me but I don't really enjoy listening to it so it probably will never get that chance.

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it seemed very patchy at times, like just a bunch of undeveloped ideas. We'll see how it goes today.

 

this is how all actress struck me at first and then something changed - i don't know what happened - just crept under my skin

Edited by troon
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Guest Grizz

Finally got round to listening to this and its a step up from the last album I think. Already playing it for the third time today. Maze is the stand out track for me atm.

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I like a good few of the tracks on this !

 

Hubble

Bubble Butts and Equations

Get Ohn

Let's Fly

Wrong Potion

The Kettle Men

 

and I like the short interlude bits too.

 

 

Love the off-key vibes in Actress's stuff.

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