Released: November 3, 2023

Genre: Electronic

From: UK

Label: Ninja Tune

Why you should listen: London-based electronic-music legend Actress has released an incredible new album titled LXXXVIII. His projects, as with 2020’s Karma & Desire, have always had vast and eclectic soundscapes, as he meanders between harsh, throbbing basslines on tracks like the opener “Push Power ( a 1 )” and smoother, more subtle melodies and compositions on tracks like “Hit That Spdiff ( b 8 )” or “Green Blue Amnesia Magic Haze ( d 7 )”. The unassuming and unpredictable sonic explorations make this a hypnotic and fascinating listen, with some incredible compositions that may end up being some of my favourite of the year. An example is “Game Over ( e 1 )” a melodic, vocal-led track with an incredibly punchy beat and a groove that is utterly infectious. The soul sample and loop on “Its me ( g 8 )” is incredible as well, while “Oway ( f 7 )” is a beautiful piano-led track with fast-paced drumming and synth leads that add to the rich texture of the track. The colourful piano-led melody on “M2 ( f 8 )” is fantastic too. What I’ve loved about Actress’ music over the years (and the reason he’s one of the greatest to do it), is his ability to combine a lot of piano-led compositions and classical music influences into a dance, club setting. The textures he’s able to create with his music are amongst my absolute favourite. LXXXVIII is a melodic, sonically meandering body of work that showcases Actress’ talents as one of the great modern electronic music composers of our time.

The album: