Forget your smooth transitions and 16 bar beats. Actress has completely flipped the script with this raw, eclectic, and thoroughly enjoyable mix for the 49th installment of DJ-Kicks.
I was apprehensive, yet excited to hear exactly what this mix would sound like. Actress had been vocal in the fact he would not allow BPM’s to dictate his track selection, he wanted the tracks to really speak for themselves. You can read more about the reasoning behind Actresses’ track selections here. Would this result in an awkward, jarring mix? Or in actual fact, the complete opposite. A unique and thoughtful musical experience contained within a mere one hour set. After a thoroughly enjoyable hour, I can confirm it is wholeheartedly the latter.
Initially I was greeted with the familiar bass and hi hat combination, a comforting yet safe sound, definitely not pushing any musical boundaries thus far. This continues with the addition of some mild ambiance and a simplistic techno beat, easy listening but again, nothing ground-breaking. Then, suddenly, with no warning, a complete change of pace. A breath of fresh air as you exhale the deep bass and inhale a sprightly synth accompanied by heavy phaser. Reminiscent in my mind of Floating Points’ Nuits Sonores, Actress introduces a new flavour to the mix with Lorenzo Senni’s Elegant, and Never Tiring.
This seemingly random yet ingenious flow continues throughout, twisting and turning with all manner of sounds, all contributing to the bizarre but hypnotic nature of the mix, the uncertainty of just what is coming next is strangely addictive. From Tin by Zennor, providing a bass infused oriental vibe snaking smoothly into a disco beat as Those Moments by Moon B kicks in, oozing funk whilst being peppered with some jazzy saxophone.
Like any good artist, Actress signs this masterpiece with his own exclusive production. Bird Matrix, a track he made just after he finished writing Ghettoville. “My studio was going through a transition, so I was testing all the equipment, and that was one of the first tunes that came out of those experiments”, he explains. Its penultimate placing within the mix allows for a moment of reflection, to comprehend what exactly it just is you’ve listened to, before rounding off with Gherkin Jerks 1989 spacey classic, Red Planet.
This mix definitely isn’t for everyone, that’s for sure. It’s highly experimental, which may serve as a deterrent for many, however there will be many others, myself included, who thinks it’s utterly brilliant. There’s a delicate balance between genius and insanity and Actress has expertly traversed his way along to bring us this fantastic installment for the 49th DJ-Kicks.
CD TRACK LIST
01 Breaker 1 2 – 2
02 Lorenzo Senni – Elegant, and Never Tiring
03 Reel by Real – Look At Me
04 Autechre – Pen Expers
05 Chameleon – Thought 2
06 Beneath – Stress 1
07 Simbiosi – Impari
08 Zennor – Tin
09 John Beltran – Anticipation
10 Moon B – Those Moments
11 STL – Psychelicious
12 Snakepiss – Toil
13 Shit and Shine – Pearl Drop
14 Chez n Trent – Windy City Club
15 Mark Fell – Section 1-7
16 GNESIS – Pear
17 Shxcxchcxsh – LDWGWTT
18 Hank Jackson – Track 3
19 Actress – Bird Matrix (DJ-Kicks)
20 Gherkin Jerks – Red Planet
LP SIDE SPLITS
A1 Lorenzo Senni – Elegant, and Never Tiring
A2 Reel by Real – Look At Me
A3 Simbiosi – Impari
B1 John Beltran – Anticipation
B2 Shit and Shine – Pearl Drop
C1 Chez n Trent – Windy City Club
C2 Mark Fell – Section 1-7
D1 Actress – Bird Matrix (DJ-Kicks)
D2 Gherkin Jerks – Red Planet