Actress AKA Darren Cunningham, alongside creating some of the most interesting records to emerge from the UK underground scene in years, is the founder and owner of cult label Werkdiscs. If his "No Tricks" EP was indebted to the beat-bending works of IDM artists like Autechre and Aphex Twin, Cunningham swept aside such expectations with "Hazyville," his debut album and a masterpiece of grainy, bass-heavy house rhythms which created a sonic palette all to its own.
Cunningham claims to be inspired most by Detroit artists like Drexciya and Juan Atkins, but its clear he's not interested in revisiting the past, despite the emotional nostalgia hinted at in Hazyville's title. If he borrows from the past, it's only to keep his music evolving, as on the anonymous series of 12 inches he's collaborated with fellow Werkdiscs artist on as Thriller.
Cunningham claims to be inspired most by Detroit artists like Drexciya and Juan Atkins, but its clear he's not interested in revisiting the past, despite the emotional nostalgia hinted at in Hazyville's title.
The Thriller EPs are more diverse than Hazyville, morphing from Flying Lotus-style downtempo to banging techno to off-kilter funk on "Freak For You." After signing UK artists like Zomby, Lukid and Lone, who will be the next to release on Werkdiscs, Actress surely deserves plaudits for his label management skills, but it's his own work that may be looked back on as truly classic years from now.
