Lone Reality Testing

Matt Cutler is a type of author who likes to keep the artistic aura to the work and who avoids multiplying entities beyond the sphere of sound. He is always very explicit about what he does, too. But despite these efforts he seems not to be able to contain this sphere within a fixed framework. He tends to rely on a peculiar sonic alphabet that functions on the verge of a dreamy vision and borderline sensory experience. The producer’s newest album, Reality Testing, doesn't change this foundation. Whereas it breaks the linear progression towards alter-danceability of which Galaxy Garden was the greatest manifestation, the scope of interest has remained a symptomatic range of techno, house, and hip-hop that is subject to nostalgia-driven aberrations characteristic of his early longplaying efforts: from retro-vibe beats by Dilla (“Meeker Warm Energy”) and Guillermo Scott Herren (“2 is 8”) to 4/4 classics by Juan Atkins (“Begin To Begin”, “Vengeance Video”), Underground Resistance (“Aurora Northern Quarter”), and DJ Sprinkles. Most importantly, the album is not a surrender-type of a return. Beatmaking alone has undergone a noticeable dispossession from the nebulous coats of British producer’s first albums and more attention is given to it, which is a doubtful regress. Once again, Cutler’s music deserves a great deal of listening.