Monday 1 August 2011

Actress - Harrier ATTK / Gershwin (& Roy Orbison - The Actress)

Actress - Harrier ATTK / Gershwin (Nonplus)
This record is a twelve inch single with two songs on it by electronica music maker Actress also known as Darren Cunningham from South Norwood, SE25. I've not really listened to much electronica before because most of the music I listen to is guitar music from the sixties. Electronica music is music made with synthesisers, drum machines, keyboards and computers and is made mostly for dancing to in discotheques but you can listen to it at home too.
          The first song Harrier ATTK is a slow moving, repetitive track with soft sounds like rain falling or electricity coming through the wires or maybe like there is a crack in the record but I think it is supposed to sound like that. In the background there are other sounds which reminds me of the noises in a telephonists room in an big old office building. I like this piece of music and it would be good to fall asleep to as it is very relaxing and would make you sleep well; it is not really music you could dance to though.
          The other song is called Gershwin; George Gershwin was a composer who composed hit musicals like South Pacific and Porgy and Bess but this track is nothing like what Gershwin would write. It is a faster song than Harrier ATTK and more like something you could dance to as it is very jazzy. The main sounds in this track are noisy electronic drums but there is also electronic pianos in there too and perhaps this is why it is called Gershwin as Gershwin was also a pianist as well as a composer.
          Overall I would say that I thought that both of these songs were very nice to listen to and i would like to listen to more music by Actress and to more electronica. I would give this record 10 out of 10.

Roy Orbison - The Actress
By coincidence, my favourite song at the moment is The Actress by Roy Orbison. Roy Orbison was a very good songwriter and a singer that I like very much whose first record was Ooby Doobie in 1956. Oobie Doobie was a rock and roll record but Roy soon started making more sentimental music like Only the Lonely in 1960 and Dream Baby in 1962, The Actress was the B-side of Dream Baby. Roy Orbison died in 1988 aged 52 and this is a great shame because a lot of people liked him and will miss him. The Actress is a very sad song about a woman who is pretending to love the singer but doesn't love him really. So here is "The Big O" himself singing this great hit of his, I hope you all enjoy it:

2 comments:

  1. Hey Peter,

    Just enjoyed your Fall review and was interested in your thoughts on Actress, too. I reckon if you like this track then you'll like both of the Actress albums. My favourite is the first one, Hazyville.

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  2. Hi Andrew, Thank you very much. I haven't the other albums but I liked this one a lot so maybe I will listen to them some time.

    Yours Sincerely, Peter James Kemp.

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