Machinedrum's Rooms was easily one of the better releases of 2011. It was a surprise for me, just as much as his collaborative project with Praveen Sharma, Sepalcure, most well known for contributions to the Black Swan soundtrack. I hadn't heard from Machinedrum in years – probably since 2002's Half The Battle. I don't think I'd be alone in relegating Travis Stewart as a relevant electronic music producer to the past.
Rooms is a totally original take on a whole range of the current underground electronic music trends from dubstep (ok, not so underground) to juke and UKG and much more.
This interview was done via email in 2003 when Stewart toured for the This Is Not Art event in Newcastle.
You started out listening to industrial music and made the move to electronic, how did this progression come about?
I really enjoyed the harsh strange sounds of Skinny Puppy and Download. I eventually got more in to Download than I was into SP. After seeing comparisons to Autechre in reviews and specifically after seeing the video for Second Bad Vibel I had to find more stuff like it. So basically I got into Warp, Rephlex, and other similar labels around that time. I was in ninth grade when I really started to take more of an interest in electronic music.
Machinedrum has a decidedly hip hop flavour, when and how did you start listening to hip hop?
I originally started listening to really cheesy MTV type Hip Hop in the late '80s and early '90s but was never really clued in to underground hip hop until five years ago. Gabe [owner of M3rck] really had a big impact in my hip hop listening, turning me on to old Company Flow, Mr Lif, Jigmastas, MF Doom, Louis Logic, etc. A lot of hip hop tends to get on my nerves after a while, specifically the types that involve repetitive beats and melodies; most of pop rap these days is like this. I guess that would have a lot to do with the fact that the Machinedrum stuff sounds like randomly organised hip hop. Hip hop for kids with ADD.
Would you call Machine Drum electronic or hip hop? Does this matter to you?
It doesn't really matter. Its been called glitch hop, click hop, experimental electronic, IDM, avant-hip hop, indie-hip hop, the list can go on and on. With any form of music that is somewhat eclectic or that involves many elements you are always going to find this trend of multiple genre titles because the music itself is hard to categorise accurately. It's just good time music.
How did you get involved with M3rck?
I released my first album (Syndrone 'triskaideka') on M3rck in 2000 as the first release on the label. Originally I sent Gabe some tracks just for him to hear because I thought our taste in music was pretty similar. I was living in North Carolina at the time and hadn't even finished high school by the time the CD was released.
Apparently, in the past, there’s been a bit of debate about whether Machinedrum rips off Prefuse 73, what’s your take on this?
This comes up quite too often, but I guess its something I have to get used to. I have a lot of respect for Scott's music, but it really has little influence over the music I create. The only thing originally linking us was the fact that both of our debut albums (my album in fact was released before his) featured cut up vocals laid over hip hop type of beats. This type of thing is by no means original. If I had to pick anything that influenced me it was my intense love for the more hip hop type stuff that Gescom/Autechre were doing. Push Button Objects wasn't as much of an influence but definitely stood out in my mind more so than Prefuse. I hadnt even heard any Prefuse by the time most of the tracks for Now You Know were complete! I am going on way too long about this one so Im going to end it with that.
Is there anyone you’ve heard that you’d say was influenced by you?
I would never say that others are influenced by me without knowing about it first, but I have definitely come across new musicians that admit that my music has a large influence over their own material. This makes me feel wonderful and is definitely something that makes me want to continue writing music for as long as I live.
Machinedrum actually developed from your electronic alias Sydnrone, though Machinedrum has ended up being more well known; which style do you prefer to make?
I enjoy doing both of course, it just depends on what kind of mood Im in. I never really sit down and decide "This song is going to be a Syndrone song". I usually just start off with an idea and build on it. Maybe I have been listening to hip hop all day or Brian Eno or Merzbow. Maybe my day has been horrible and I want to just write some kind of loud barrage of noise to keep me entertained instead of throwing a brick through the wall. Sometimes I am feeling lovely and I want to write happy sappy songs. Usually once the song is finished I have determined if it is a Syndrone or a Machinedrum song. All the others usually end up just being "Tstewart" because it isn't so specific. The Syndrone material is more glitchy and technical, more academic and less danceable. Sometimes melodic, sometimes atonal but usually it is very mechanical sounding and involves a lot of close listening. Machinedrum obviously is more hip hop sounding, less intense, more relaxing at times and sometimes very energetic too but it's a totally different energy than that of Syndrone. Machinedrum is more likely to put a smile on your face, Syndrone is more likely to make your jaw drop. I plan on releasing music as "Tstewart" in the near future. I have a lot of music that is kinda just a big mix of all the sounds that I like and aren't as specific as the other two projects. It's a bit jazzier and more organic than the others but you can still hear elements of Machinedrum and Syndrone in the end.
Will there be more releases under the Syndrone moniker?
I am currently putting the finishing touches on the new Syndrone album called Salmataxia. It may be the last Syndrone album but I can not say for sure.
You’ll be participating in workshops while you’re here, do you think it will be difficult to explain/demonstrate what you do or the creative process in general?
Not really. I have developed a somewhat unique method in which I have been able to explain in great detail to friends on many occasions. Being able to explain it in a workshop type of environment only allows me to learn even more about my own process. I think this is extremely beneficial.
How important is your equipment to what you do? Do you feel any of it limits you in any way or do you feel electronic artists should be able to work with what equipment they’ve got?
I definitely think people should be able to work with what they've got, but at the same time it is nice to have lots of new toys to play with. But in the end if you cant make a rig that cost you $1000 to put together, then you probably aren't going to be able to do much with a $10,000 rig. I used Impulse Tracker (DOS based) almost exclusively up until a couple years ago, and that program is extremely limited in comparison to a lot of the software and hardware available to us today. I feel that these limitations made me much more creative in the process. I feel it has definitely changed the way I perceive sound and composition.
It seems from your intricate beat construction that thinking in beats and bars is something that comes naturally to you - do you have a background in drumming?
I started playing percussion in 7th grade and joined a percussion ensemble at Lenoir Rhyne college in 9th grade. I played marching snare for four years during high school and played in many other ensembles from then on including African drumming, steel drumming, and jazz. Only once did I actually play the drum set in an ensemble (college jazz ensemble). Of all these things I think the intricate nature of playing the marching snare definitely rubbed off on me in regards to programming. I would come home after a football game and just start writing the craziest beats just because I would get so amped up after playing.
What extent do you feel it is necessary for aspiring electronic musicians to have a background in drumming or other areas of music?
I think it is definitely beneficial to have knowledge of non-electronic instruments, but not necessary. I'd imagine there are plenty of very skilled electronic artists that have never touched a guitar or a piano in their lives.
When you sit down to write a track, how do you approach it? do you have a preconceived idea or groove in your mind and then set about trying to replicate it with your equipment or do you start playing until you develop something you like, then build on it?
Typically I just sit down when I am bored and I start tinkering around with different samples that I have created. These samples can range from harsh distorted noises to very faint piano plucking sounds so it all depends on what sounds I am using. Most everything I do is primarily sample based, or at least the main body of the composition is. Sometimes I will be playing around on the piano and I will come up with a chord progression or a melody or harmony that I like and I will try to recreate it on the computer.
How does your live show work?
My live show has been getting more and more adventurous. I get really tired of playing shows that consist of me standing over a laptop and expecting people to really get in to it, so I have been trying to incorporate more live instrumentation into my performances. Currently I like to run my guitar through a laptop that is running multiple programs that I can apply effects to. When possible I try to also play the vibraphones in addition to some songs. Normally I just run the sequences on one laptop and I can apply VST effects and rearrange patterns on the fly, but this still involves a nerd looming over a glowing machine and I don't find that entertaining at all. I hope to one day put together a band that can perform live versions of my songs. This of course will be a lot more difficult to bring on the road. I think the fact that my live setup at the moment is so minimal, as is the setup of many laptop musicians, contributes to the great opportunities that have been presented to me in the past few years (playing in other countries and cities at a minimal cost for promoters). This is a symbiotic relationship in fact because the promoters get to bring out musicians that they enjoy, and the musicians get to go places they have never been before. I love this job!
Rooms is a totally original take on a whole range of the current underground electronic music trends from dubstep (ok, not so underground) to juke and UKG and much more.
This interview was done via email in 2003 when Stewart toured for the This Is Not Art event in Newcastle.
You started out listening to industrial music and made the move to electronic, how did this progression come about?
I really enjoyed the harsh strange sounds of Skinny Puppy and Download. I eventually got more in to Download than I was into SP. After seeing comparisons to Autechre in reviews and specifically after seeing the video for Second Bad Vibel I had to find more stuff like it. So basically I got into Warp, Rephlex, and other similar labels around that time. I was in ninth grade when I really started to take more of an interest in electronic music.
Machinedrum has a decidedly hip hop flavour, when and how did you start listening to hip hop?
I originally started listening to really cheesy MTV type Hip Hop in the late '80s and early '90s but was never really clued in to underground hip hop until five years ago. Gabe [owner of M3rck] really had a big impact in my hip hop listening, turning me on to old Company Flow, Mr Lif, Jigmastas, MF Doom, Louis Logic, etc. A lot of hip hop tends to get on my nerves after a while, specifically the types that involve repetitive beats and melodies; most of pop rap these days is like this. I guess that would have a lot to do with the fact that the Machinedrum stuff sounds like randomly organised hip hop. Hip hop for kids with ADD.
Would you call Machine Drum electronic or hip hop? Does this matter to you?
It doesn't really matter. Its been called glitch hop, click hop, experimental electronic, IDM, avant-hip hop, indie-hip hop, the list can go on and on. With any form of music that is somewhat eclectic or that involves many elements you are always going to find this trend of multiple genre titles because the music itself is hard to categorise accurately. It's just good time music.
How did you get involved with M3rck?
I released my first album (Syndrone 'triskaideka') on M3rck in 2000 as the first release on the label. Originally I sent Gabe some tracks just for him to hear because I thought our taste in music was pretty similar. I was living in North Carolina at the time and hadn't even finished high school by the time the CD was released.
Apparently, in the past, there’s been a bit of debate about whether Machinedrum rips off Prefuse 73, what’s your take on this?
This comes up quite too often, but I guess its something I have to get used to. I have a lot of respect for Scott's music, but it really has little influence over the music I create. The only thing originally linking us was the fact that both of our debut albums (my album in fact was released before his) featured cut up vocals laid over hip hop type of beats. This type of thing is by no means original. If I had to pick anything that influenced me it was my intense love for the more hip hop type stuff that Gescom/Autechre were doing. Push Button Objects wasn't as much of an influence but definitely stood out in my mind more so than Prefuse. I hadnt even heard any Prefuse by the time most of the tracks for Now You Know were complete! I am going on way too long about this one so Im going to end it with that.
Is there anyone you’ve heard that you’d say was influenced by you?
I would never say that others are influenced by me without knowing about it first, but I have definitely come across new musicians that admit that my music has a large influence over their own material. This makes me feel wonderful and is definitely something that makes me want to continue writing music for as long as I live.
Machinedrum actually developed from your electronic alias Sydnrone, though Machinedrum has ended up being more well known; which style do you prefer to make?
I enjoy doing both of course, it just depends on what kind of mood Im in. I never really sit down and decide "This song is going to be a Syndrone song". I usually just start off with an idea and build on it. Maybe I have been listening to hip hop all day or Brian Eno or Merzbow. Maybe my day has been horrible and I want to just write some kind of loud barrage of noise to keep me entertained instead of throwing a brick through the wall. Sometimes I am feeling lovely and I want to write happy sappy songs. Usually once the song is finished I have determined if it is a Syndrone or a Machinedrum song. All the others usually end up just being "Tstewart" because it isn't so specific. The Syndrone material is more glitchy and technical, more academic and less danceable. Sometimes melodic, sometimes atonal but usually it is very mechanical sounding and involves a lot of close listening. Machinedrum obviously is more hip hop sounding, less intense, more relaxing at times and sometimes very energetic too but it's a totally different energy than that of Syndrone. Machinedrum is more likely to put a smile on your face, Syndrone is more likely to make your jaw drop. I plan on releasing music as "Tstewart" in the near future. I have a lot of music that is kinda just a big mix of all the sounds that I like and aren't as specific as the other two projects. It's a bit jazzier and more organic than the others but you can still hear elements of Machinedrum and Syndrone in the end.
Will there be more releases under the Syndrone moniker?
I am currently putting the finishing touches on the new Syndrone album called Salmataxia. It may be the last Syndrone album but I can not say for sure.
You’ll be participating in workshops while you’re here, do you think it will be difficult to explain/demonstrate what you do or the creative process in general?
Not really. I have developed a somewhat unique method in which I have been able to explain in great detail to friends on many occasions. Being able to explain it in a workshop type of environment only allows me to learn even more about my own process. I think this is extremely beneficial.
How important is your equipment to what you do? Do you feel any of it limits you in any way or do you feel electronic artists should be able to work with what equipment they’ve got?
I definitely think people should be able to work with what they've got, but at the same time it is nice to have lots of new toys to play with. But in the end if you cant make a rig that cost you $1000 to put together, then you probably aren't going to be able to do much with a $10,000 rig. I used Impulse Tracker (DOS based) almost exclusively up until a couple years ago, and that program is extremely limited in comparison to a lot of the software and hardware available to us today. I feel that these limitations made me much more creative in the process. I feel it has definitely changed the way I perceive sound and composition.
It seems from your intricate beat construction that thinking in beats and bars is something that comes naturally to you - do you have a background in drumming?
I started playing percussion in 7th grade and joined a percussion ensemble at Lenoir Rhyne college in 9th grade. I played marching snare for four years during high school and played in many other ensembles from then on including African drumming, steel drumming, and jazz. Only once did I actually play the drum set in an ensemble (college jazz ensemble). Of all these things I think the intricate nature of playing the marching snare definitely rubbed off on me in regards to programming. I would come home after a football game and just start writing the craziest beats just because I would get so amped up after playing.
What extent do you feel it is necessary for aspiring electronic musicians to have a background in drumming or other areas of music?
I think it is definitely beneficial to have knowledge of non-electronic instruments, but not necessary. I'd imagine there are plenty of very skilled electronic artists that have never touched a guitar or a piano in their lives.
When you sit down to write a track, how do you approach it? do you have a preconceived idea or groove in your mind and then set about trying to replicate it with your equipment or do you start playing until you develop something you like, then build on it?
Typically I just sit down when I am bored and I start tinkering around with different samples that I have created. These samples can range from harsh distorted noises to very faint piano plucking sounds so it all depends on what sounds I am using. Most everything I do is primarily sample based, or at least the main body of the composition is. Sometimes I will be playing around on the piano and I will come up with a chord progression or a melody or harmony that I like and I will try to recreate it on the computer.
How does your live show work?
My live show has been getting more and more adventurous. I get really tired of playing shows that consist of me standing over a laptop and expecting people to really get in to it, so I have been trying to incorporate more live instrumentation into my performances. Currently I like to run my guitar through a laptop that is running multiple programs that I can apply effects to. When possible I try to also play the vibraphones in addition to some songs. Normally I just run the sequences on one laptop and I can apply VST effects and rearrange patterns on the fly, but this still involves a nerd looming over a glowing machine and I don't find that entertaining at all. I hope to one day put together a band that can perform live versions of my songs. This of course will be a lot more difficult to bring on the road. I think the fact that my live setup at the moment is so minimal, as is the setup of many laptop musicians, contributes to the great opportunities that have been presented to me in the past few years (playing in other countries and cities at a minimal cost for promoters). This is a symbiotic relationship in fact because the promoters get to bring out musicians that they enjoy, and the musicians get to go places they have never been before. I love this job!