ACTRESS — Radical Frame LP

Actress – Radical Frame LP arrives on Ninja Tune as catalogue ZEN322, a 12-inch black vinyl that marks a striking moment in the producer’s evolving oeuvre. Eighteen years after the debut Hazyville, Darren Cunningham’s new record gathers his signature fragments of broken-down music, microscopic sound sketches and refracted dance-floor heat into a cohesive statement that feels like an apotheosis of his black-British avant-garde vision. Within Ninja Tune’s recent output, Radical Frame shares its release day with the label’s ZEN322N entry, while earlier offerings such as Bonobo’s Black Sands LP 2x12” (ZEN140, 2025) and Little Dragon’s New Me, Same Us (ZEN263B, 2024) illustrate the label’s continued investment in forward-thinking electronic music. The surrounding catalogue, including Ebbb’s Shallow Hits LP (ZEN327, 2026) released earlier this year, positions Radical Frame as a contemporary counterpoint to the label’s diverse synth-pop and house-inflected releases. Side A opens with “The Experiment”, a concise burst that immediately establishes the record’s exploratory tone. “Gimme Tha’ Fuckin’ Money Man” follows, extending the momentum with a rhythmic thrust that feels ready for late-night decks. The third cut, “Live By You (feat. CASISDEAD)”, introduces a vocal fragment that adds a fleeting human touch before the track dissolves back into the abstract. “Overchord” and “Paris” continue the journey, each offering a brief, zoomed-in glimpse of Cunningham’s inter-dimensional compositional language, while “Withending” closes the side with a subtle shift that hints at the record’s deeper undercurrents. Side B begins with “Cosmo”, a track that re-engages the listener’s attention through a slightly altered groove, providing a smooth transition from the A-side’s closing mood. “Sheets (feat. Rainy Miller)” rounds out the record, its guest vocal element offering a delicate contrast that enhances the overall atmospheric palette. Radical Frame sits alongside Actress’s recent releases such as the tape-only DARREN J. CUNNINGHAM (TAPE) on Smalltown Supersound (2025) and the 12-inch Tranzkript 1 on Modern Obscure Music (2025). Those projects explored similar terrain of fragmented sound design, and the new LP can be heard as a synthesis of those experiments, presenting a more polished yet still enigmatic frame for Cunningham’s evolving language. For DJs, the record offers a collection of succinct, rhythmically engaging pieces that can be layered into a set without demanding extensive transition time. The A-side’s kinetic tracks lend themselves to peak-hour energy, while the B-side’s more contemplative moments provide texture for deeper, mood-driven passages. Collectors will appreciate the black vinyl presentation, which aligns with the label’s aesthetic of understated elegance while delivering the full spectrum of Actress’s sonic signatures. The 12-inch format presents the eight tracks across two sides, preserving the intended sequencing and allowing the nuanced dynamics to breathe on analog playback. The black vinyl pressing complements the record’s thematic focus on the “black avant-garde”, reinforcing the visual and auditory concept in a single tactile experience. Actress – Radical Frame LP, Ninja Tune, catalogue ZEN322, 12-inch vinyl, eight tracks. Tracklist: A1. Actress – The Experiment A2. Actress – Gimme Tha' Fuckin’ Money Man A3. Actress – Live By You (feat. CASISDEAD) A4. Actress – Overchord A5. Actress – Paris A6. Actress – Withending B1. Actress – Cosmo B2. Actress – Sheets (feat. Rainy Miller)