Machinedrum - A View of U (2020)

It feels like we've been writing about Machine Drum since the idea of digital releases was still just a fantasy, a testament to Travis Stewart's longevity.

In the beginning he was positioned alongside Prefuse 73, a beatmaker who was using IDM techniques to re-imagine hip-hop structures. Since then he's gone on to produce for a slew of artists, most visibly D∆WN. This latest full-length finds him collaborating with a jawdropping list of guests, including Awful Records boss Father, Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs and Canadian R&B singer Rochelle Jordan.

It's all smooth stuff from beginning to end, showcasing Stewart's keen ear for production and his ability to distill ideas from LA's beat scene, the EDM festival circuit, the US pop chart and beyond and still emerge with a record that's solidly in keeping with his diverse catalog. But despite the laundry list of features, it's still nice to hear Stewart go it alone on 'Inner Eye' and 'Ur2yung', reminding us of, um, Merck-ier times.