''AZD'' (pronounced "Azid") is the fifth studio album by British

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

ian

Actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

(real name Darren Cunningham). It was released on 14 April 2017 on

Ninja Tune Records Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London. It has a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded by Matt Black and Jonathan More (better known as Coldcut) and managed by Peter Quicke and others. Inspired by a visi ...

. Upon its announcement, the video for the lead single "X22RME" was released on Ninja Tune's YouTube channel. ''AZD'' is Actress's fifth album. The preceding album, ''

Ghettoville ''Ghettoville'' is the fourth studio album by British electronic musician Actress. It was released on 27 January 2014 by Werkdiscs and Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London. It has a satellite office i ...

'', had been suspected to have been his last. As an artist, Actress has always been considered vague in regards to the intentions behind his actions and albums. Christian Eede of ''The Quietus'' writes that while a common theme of Cunningham's albums reportedly experienced by listeners is death and a downbeat vibe, ''AZD'' shows Actress in a more humorous and open light. Cunningham tends to give vague titles to his music works to give his audience a glimpse of what the concept of the pieces are instead of fully revealing his thoughts on his songs. The album has a central concept of the sound associated with 'chrome'. Chrome can represent futuristic ideals while also conveying coldness which in turn could represent human dissociation. Even with this, ''AZD'' is a big change in terms of energy from past albums. Its energy is described and felt as higher, as it is not as gloomy or dark as his others.

Track listing

Track listing adapted from Ninja Tune's website.

References

2017 albums Actress (musician) albums Ninja Tune albums {{2010s-electronic-album-stub