Actress

Not too long ago, English DJ and producer Darren Cunningham, secreted behind the unobvious nom de guerre Actress, was known only to a select few. He's been pulled from the underground into the limelight by the enthusiastic reviews of his latest record, Splazsh, which "The Wire" called the best album of 2010. Although critics see Actress as the savior and replenisher of dubstep, he's more likely to admit his fascination with Detroit and Berlin techno on the one hand, as well as Aretha Franklin and Stevie wonder on the other. Isn't too surprising then, that he describes his music as "r'n'b concrète" - and that ain't talkin jive. His cuts are catchy, nearly poppy - and all the while avant-garde.