“Techno” is a word that brings up a lot of different thoughts for many. First and foremost is a generalization of the electronic music, which is simply not true; secondly, a rich history of releases predominately coming from Detroit and Berlin; and thirdly, the dreaded cloud hanging over the “minimal” subgenre. Any artist associated with the genre knows that it’s an immersive world with layers upon layers of past influences, thoughts, sounds and rhythms surrounding a steady beat. While there are people who are straightforward with their tunes in techno, there are artists who stay behind the sound of their productions and let listeners decide where they should be in the world that is electronic music. One such producer is Darren Cunningham, better known by his production moniker “Actress.” While working under a mysterious guise, his tunes are shrouded in a mist of grays, beiges, and whites, perhaps depicting a murky London skyline or just a cloudy day anywhere in the world. The music of Actress, which is intimate, inquisitive and intricate all at once, fits perfectly on the label which Cunnigham runs: WERKDISCS. With a prolific roster of producers (Zomby, Lone, Lukid, Nochexxx and more), Cunningham’s music fits the mold of forward-thinking house/techno as well as contributes to making listeners think while toe-tapping.

URB:  How did you end up making tunes? What brought you into making music in the first place?
ACTRESS: A chance meeting with a stranger, who became a good friend of mine, whilst DJing at a house party lead me to starting out fresh in production. I’m from a city in the UK called Wolverhampton–wolves–which was also the home of hardcore pioneer Goldie. This town is the root of who I am today. I was out DJing and buying records, about 17 at the time, playing at house parties at student houses and digs. He liked the music I was playing, liked how I was mixing, and asked me if I’d like to come to his house to collaborate on tracks. It was just the opportunity I was looking for, as I’d seen a few documentaries about music making, but was never sure how to get into it.

URB: How did the “Actress” moniker come about?
ACTRESS: 6:00 am sprawled out listening to birds.

URB: Your tracks seem very stripped down, spacey and fuzzy in a way. What do you feel represents this “haze,” if you will, in your music from your own experiences?
ACTRESS: Most of the material on Hazyville is of that nature, but I wouldn’t generally say that haze is the defining sound.

URB: It seems like your sound is solely for your ears, it’s a personal engagement for every person who listens. Yet it still goes off well in many ways on a dancefloor; how do you strike the balance of your tracks between “headphone” and “club” tunes?
ACTRESS: When I write a body of work, I’m looking to go straight to the nervous system. It really depends on my mood at a particular time and set of circumstances. If I need to find a track that works on the floor, it’s not usually a problem; I just try and seek out new ways to make something sound fresh right there and then. Often the most important things about playing my tunes is how challenging does a DJ want to be and is that DJ good enough to make it work. Certainly, the more contemporary DJs are having to step up because there are a lot of very individual artists coming through and a very discerning audience that actually wants to be challenged on the dancefloor.