One of experimental electronic music's true visionaries is back. Actress (Darren Cunningham) has officially announced his tenth solo studio album, Radical Frame, arriving on September 18 via Ninja Tune, and if the first two singles are any indication, this could become one of the year's most fascinating electronic releases. Following the hypnotic "Live By You" featuring CASISDEAD, the newly unveiled "Overchord" dives even deeper into Actress' unmistakable world of fractured rhythms, blurred melodies, and immersive sonic architecture.
Radical Frame follows Actress' collaborative album Concréte Waves with pioneering electronic composer Suzanne Ciani, released earlier this year. While that project explored the meeting point between two generations of electronic experimentation, the new record returns Actress to his own singular artistic universe, one built around what has been described as "inter-dimensional electronic composition" and an exploration of the Black avant-garde. Nearly two decades after his groundbreaking debut Hazyville, Cunningham continues to reinvent his sound instead of revisiting past successes.
The latest single, "Overchord," perfectly captures why Actress remains one of electronic music's most unpredictable producers. Built from disjointed rhythmic fragments, shimmering textures and constantly shifting atmospheres, it feels both deeply abstract and surprisingly inviting. The accompanying video, directed by Anna van der Velde, places Actress inside a surreal luxury prison of his own creation, reinforcing the dreamlike and conceptual nature of the music itself.
The album also promises further exciting collaborations. Alongside the previously released "Live By You" with CASISDEAD, Radical Frame closes with "Sheets," featuring acclaimed experimental artist Rainy Miller. Across eight tracks, Actress continues to blur the boundaries between avant-garde electronics, deconstructed club music, ambient abstraction and futuristic techno-territory that few artists navigate with such confidence.
What makes this announcement especially exciting is that both preview tracks suggest Actress isn't interested in simply refining his established formula. Instead, Radical Frame appears to push even further into unexplored territory while retaining the mysterious, emotionally ambiguous sound design that has made his work so influential over the last twenty years. For listeners who appreciate electronic music that rewards repeated listening and challenges conventional expectations, this is already shaping up to be one of the most anticipated albums of 2026.
To coincide with the album's release, Actress will spend the coming months performing DJ sets and live shows across Asia, Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe, including appearances at festivals such as We Out Here, Dekmantel, Pitchfork Festival London, and other major events. If the new material translates to the stage as powerfully as these first two singles suggest, audiences are in for something truly special.
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