LONE
REALITY TESTING
(R&S RECORDS)
Matt "Lone" Cutler's heart belongs to hip hop. It's easy to forget this given how the British producer only started to attract critical notice after switching from the post-J Dilla instrumentals of his early albums to a style that had more in common with house and rave music. The transition wasn't terribly unnatural given that his sonic trademark was rich synth chords, a sound rare in hip hop but prevalent in dance. He kept those intact; he just switched up the rhythm and instantly went from generic beatmaker to underground dance hero, producing one of 2012's best electronic albums in Galaxy Garden. Read more »