- Unsettling downtempo, mismatched grooves and strange soul—it's Actress at his most Actress.
- Actress came dangerously close to perfection early on in his career. His defining trilogy of albums—Hazyville, Splazsh and R.I.P.—outlined a style as lo-fi as it was expansive. He made bitcrushed loops out of samples and synths that sounded small and claustrophobic. But on closer listen, they seemed to open up into infinite new universes, like staring into the centre of a fractal. Since then, he's become more restless and adventurous—collaborating with an orchestra on one record and Sampha and other vocalists on another—but with his latest, LXXXVIII, he strips things back again. Foregoing guest artists and lasering in on the repetitive nature of his most familiar work, LXXXVIII focuses on piano, electronics and voice, building on last year's explicitly club-oriented Dummy Corporation. Adding a tinge of jazz to one of dance music's most recognisable sounds, the LP is eclectic and comforting, designed to make you squirm and relax at the same time.
LXXXVIII is the Roman numeral for 88, which calls back to a free mixtape of the same name from just before the release of his opus Karma & Desire. 88 was also a back-to-basics affair—22 sketches that ranged from loud bursts of inspiration to quiet, introspective valleys—and LXXXVIII is structured the same way. The (relatively) raucous opener "Push Power ( a 1 )," with its unsettling vocal sample and rumbling drums, gives way to the lengthy and disjointed "Hit That Spdiff ( b 8 )." That one starts out as a piano ballad before developing into a sonic landscape with the kind of exquisite melody you'd hear from Hiroshi Yoshimura or Haruomi Hosono, captivating in spite of its almost stubborn quietude.
Other slow moments include the dark ambient drone of "Green Blue Amnesia Magic Haze ( d 7 )," which reminds me of some of the bleaker moments on R.I.P.. It's a black hole in the middle of the album, but the gravitational pull of "Oway ( f 7 )," a chunky piano house cut with plenty of spaced-out touches, builds the momentum back up. It's one of a few all-timer Actress club tracks on LXXXVIII. The closer, "Pluto ( a 2 )," is another fine groove, a bit of soulful Detroit house run through the usual Actress prism that stops abruptly just as it's getting started. He's more generous on the imposing techno of "Memory Haze ( c 1 )," whose kick drum vapour trails sound like heavy exhales, while "Azd Rain ( g 1 )" is an aqueous trip through Drexciyan waters with the strange, bubbling cadence of the best moments on Splazsh.
The most striking tune on LXXXVIII harks back to yet another Actress, the sampladelic producer who made irresistible grooves on his own Thriller label. "Its me ( g 8 )," built around a shifting vocal melody cut into various pieces, is like looking at an R&B lyric sheet through a magnifying glass, only reading a couple words at a time. The vocal sample unfurls more with each few bars of crackly funk, a genius move that makes Actress's gibberish cipher feel like a real, fleshed-out song. It's a wonderful sequel to Ghettoville highlight "Rap," which remains one of Actress's most popular tracks thanks to its dead simple, vaporwave-inspired loop.
Part of the reason why LXXXVIII is so enjoyable is all these callbacks—it's catnip to a diehard Actress fan. There's a few new wrinkles on there, sure—the jazzy chord changes, the piano, the almost formless ambient sections—but mostly it's what he does best. There's a texture to the sounds, a sonic trademark you can sometimes feel more than hear. That kind of consistency can be dangerous when you're a maverick like Actress, but for him it's more of a blessing than a curse. Dummy Corporation proved that he didn't need a concept or conceit to make good music, and while LXXXVIII was apparently inspired by game theory and chess, above all it's a rock-solid Actress album packed with mind-bending sound design and off-kilter grooves. Even when he comes close to repeating himself, he makes it as exciting as hearing his music for the first time all over again. And how many dance music producers can say that?
Tracklist01. Push Power ( a 1 )
02. Hit That Spdiff ( b 8 )
03. Azd Rain ( g 1 )
04. Memory Haze ( c 1 )
05. Game Over ( e 1 )
06. Typewriter World ( c 8 )
07. Its me ( g 8 )
08. Chill ( h 2 )
09. Green Blue Amnesia Magic Haze ( d 7 )
10. Oway ( f 7 )
11. M2 ( f 8 )
12. Azifiziks ( d 8 )
13. Pluto ( a 2 )