Ghettoville

Genre: minimal techno, space noir, cardboard, sewers, london, fog, the meaning of the universe

Actress' 2012 album "R.I.P." is one of my favorite albums of all time (!) and this record doesn't disappoint. Here the London producer applies his enigmatic aesthetic to a much heavier sound. Each track is like a sonic jigsaw puzzle. One of 2014's finest releases.

Favorites: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 16 (but all are interesting). No FCCs.

Others: Andy Stott, Laurel Halo, Oneohtrix Point Never, Raime, Haxan Cloak

1. (7:23) ** Dark rumbling atmosphere and lurching beat. Menacing synth overtones emerge around 5:00
2. (5:33) Staticky, industrial beat. Wonderfully textured, but definitely one of the more gloomy tracks on here. Not for the faint of heart.
3. (4:21) ** Kitschy horn/synth matched with really brilliant tiny vocal samples. First moment of light after the initial murk.
4. (5:52) ** Begins with steady, heavy beat. Great queasy bass-line. Super hypnotic
5. (4:45) ** Huge mechanical beat and super villain synths. Deep recurring vocal sample. Concrete-mixer techno.
6. (2:35) **** Peppiest track here. 80's infomercial synth melody (it's awesome, believe me) and great little drum fills. Who knew Actress could pull off vaporwave.
7. (2:32) *** Slinky space station techno at its finest. I feel like I could only truly appreciate this song in zero gravity.
8. (6:04) Hissing backdrop with musique-concrete detail of what sounds like a pen writing. Patient, reserved track.
9. (3:27) Thudding, squelchy beat and wonderful slowly interchanging textures.
10. (5:03) **** Begins with big distorted bass and slow addition of drums. Gorgeous, internet café on Mars melody. Steadily becomes dancier. A definite favorite.
11. (5:52) Starts right off the bat with a blast of vocal sample and synth. Swaggering bass-line and 4/4 heartbeat (to start).
12. (2:29) *** Short and sweet. Great drums and addictive sample/melody interplay. This is the moment in the movie when the super villain does something really evil and you know you should disapprove but he's just so damn cool.
13. (1:17) Distorted female vox singing "don't stop the music". Could be cool as a transition between tracks.
14. (2:40) Deep soulful vocal sample that sings "wrap yourself around me". Slower track.
15. (5:48) ** Like when you're walking around outside of a party and can only hear the distorted throb of the drums and a hazy mist of synths.
16. (3:42) *** Really awesome catchy vocal samples. Steadily gains momentum. Super cool.