Machinedrum

While the early work of Brookyln, NY-based Machinedrum (aka Travis Stewart) was more closely aligned to the cut'n'paste hip-hop of Prefuse 73, this latest release has more in common with the manic, post-modern production styles of Wagon Christ or Bibio. Rhythm-heavy, yet soulful and accessible, Room(s) is built upon a base of organic-sounding drum samples and a killer kick-drum. The dubstep influence is strong – Stewart is also one half of Sepalcure on Hotflush Recordings – but the influences here are eclectic, drawing from hip-hop, UK garage and techno. "Now U Know Tha Deal 4 Real" sounds like a heavily caffeinated Burial, with its Auto-Tune, garage-y beats and great vocal hook. "Come1" begins with unabashedly rave-y piano chords but smoothes out into an ethereal, vocal-led number. With this release, Stewart has created a fresher, warmer, more confident sound for himself with less glitch, superb production and most of all, a great sense of fun that will appeal to a broad range of electronic music fans.