Boxcutter

Hailing from Northern Ireland, electronic musician <a href="spotify:artist:6VsTlw5oWv98R5Eko1KC20">Barry Lynn</a> received an exceptional amount of acclaim for his work under the name Boxcutter, which melded glitchy drum'n'bass breakbeats with the heavy sub-bass of grime and dubstep, often being referred to as "breakstep." Over time, the project evolved to incorporate more influences, including the frenetic rhythms of Chicago's footwork scene as well as more relaxed synth-funk rhythms, coming closer to the work of producers like <a href="spotify:artist:1AEcpjnSCmm53IBZQo3g9z">Dâm-Funk</a>. Boxcutter began producing drill'n'bass tracks during the early 2000s, and around the middle of the decade his sound became more influenced by U.K. garage and the developing dubstep scene. <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Hotflush+Recordings%22">Hotflush Recordings</a> issued Boxcutter's 2005 debut single, "Brood," and the full-length Oneiric appeared on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Planet+Mu%22">Planet Mu</a> the following year. Enormously well-received by the underground electronic music community, the album was followed in 2007 by Glyphic (also on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Planet+Mu%22">Planet Mu</a>), as well as non-album single "Philly" (on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Hotflush%22">Hotflush</a>). In 2008, <a href="spotify:artist:6VsTlw5oWv98R5Eko1KC20">Lynn</a> reverted to his given name for the album Balancing Lakes, a collection of early tracks recorded between 2002 and 2005 that recalled artists such as <a href="spotify:artist:4mtHSXwIHihO6MWNq5Qoko">Squarepusher</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3AO9jmM1JTooPNcu9tTyZx">Meat Beat Manifesto</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2VAvhf61GgLYmC6C8anyX1">Boards of Canada</a>.

<a href="spotify:artist:6VsTlw5oWv98R5Eko1KC20">Lynn</a> resumed using the Boxcutter moniker in 2009 for Arecibo Message, which continued his breakstep sound but also found him dipping into downtempo electro and funk styles. The 2011 full-length The Dissolve was significantly less glitchy than prior work, embracing disco and chilled-out Balearic rhythms, and including a few collaborations with vocalist Brian Greene. In 2012, <a href="spotify:artist:6VsTlw5oWv98R5Eko1KC20">Lynn</a> diverted even further from this sound with a self-titled full-length as <a href="spotify:artist:4ozKRS5LZTRnuvhenGkmmD">the Host</a>, which resembled a more grainy, lo-fi take on the footwork sound combined with a theme of '90s Internet nostalgia. <a href="spotify:artist:6VsTlw5oWv98R5Eko1KC20">Lynn</a> also collaborated with <a href="spotify:artist:1uyhoNBFU9kCRZZ4no7elN">Drew Lustman</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:1qykxtFM9KoTti5y3xV1uk">FaltyDL</a>) for a house 12" under the name NeferTT, released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Hotflush%22">Hotflush</a> in 2012. <a href="spotify:artist:6VsTlw5oWv98R5Eko1KC20">Lynn</a> resumed using the Boxcutter handle for the juke-influenced 2013 EP Gnosis, released by <a href="spotify:artist:3rblB9Pm51uKd9uYPVPB7B">Om Unit</a>'s <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Cosmic+Bridge%22">Cosmic Bridge</a> label. Following several digital EPs as Boxcutter on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Kinnego+Records%22">Kinnego Records</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6VsTlw5oWv98R5Eko1KC20">Lynn</a> brought back <a href="spotify:artist:4ozKRS5LZTRnuvhenGkmmD">the Host</a> for his next full-length, a trippy ambient album called Esalen Lectures released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Touch+Sensitive%22">Touch Sensitive</a> in 2015. The full-length was quickly followed by <a href="spotify:artist:4ozKRS5LZTRnuvhenGkmmD">the Host</a>'s EP Audience Science, released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Kinnego+Records%22">Kinnego Records</a>. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi