Karma & Desire

Karma & Desire is the seventh solo studio album by British electronic music producer Actress, released on Ninja Tune on 23 October 2020. Its announcement was preceded by the surprise release of a single-file album by Actress named 88, which included a PDF hinting towards Karma & Desire's track listing. The album was officially announced on 1 September 2020 and described by Actress as being "a romantic tragedy set between the heavens and the underworld". The announcement of the album was accompanied by the release of the lead single from the album, "Walking Flames", featuring British singer Sampha. The album was included in 'Pitchfork'''s 41 Most Anticipated Albums of Fall 2020.

On 23 October 2020, Karma & Desire was released through Ninja Tune, along with an accompanying short film of the same name directed by Lee Bootee/ The film stars Actress, Sampha, Zsela, and Aura T-09, who all feature on the album. American musician Yves Tumor also appears. The album reached number 4 on the UK electronic album charts and was well received by critics, with Actress being acclaimed for further developing his sound.

Critical reception
Phil E. Bloomfield of Bandcamp described Karma & Desire as "warmer and more generous than anything [Actress has] released to date", In a 10/10 review, Ela Minus wrote in Future Music that the album is "a masterpiece of ethereal, smudged contemporary electronic music" and "perhaps Actress' most accomplished work to date". It was named the 41st best album of 2020 by The Guardian and the 31st best album of 2020 by Clash. At the 2021 Libera Awards, Karma & Desire was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Record, ultimately losing to Caribou's Suddenly.

Personnel

 * Darren Cunningham – production (tracks 1–11, 13–17), mixing (all tracks)
 * Noel Summerville – engineering
 * Aura T-09 – production (11, 15)
 * Young Paint – production (12)
 * Kara-Lis Coverdale – co-production (17)
 * Unseen_Werk – creative direction, photography
 * Inventory Studio – graphic design