Twenty-five years is a long time to stay ahead in electronic music, especially considering how quickly genres mutate and scenes evolve and collapse. So I sat down with North Carolina-born beatmaker Travis Stewart, better known as the inimitable Machinedrum, to ask what his secret is.
Across records like Room(s), Vapor City and now the new mini-album BL00MS, Stewart has melded influences like jungle, footwork, UK bass, ambient, juke, techno, hip-hop and R&B into his own distinctive sound, and always managed to sound fresh and exciting. Along the way, there have been collaborations with Azealia Banks, A$AP Ferg, Tinashe, Dawn Richard and Hudson Mohawke, plus an insane catalogue of remixes: Solange, Boards Of Canada, The Glitch Mob, Bonobo and Johnny Cash (yes — THE Johnny Cash).
We talk about the cities that shaped him, from North Carolina to New York to three formative years in Berlin. We unpack how “gateway” sounds can lead people into deeper listening (and possibly — begrudgingly on both our parts — how brostep may have acted as a catalyst for deeper listening), and how he’s kept his work connected to his root influences without getting trapped by any one lane.
The second half goes deep on independence and the modern music business. BL00MS is his first self-released project after years with Ninja Tune, and he’s thinking hard about direct-to-fan release strategies, touring systems, and treating streaming like marketing rather than a lifeline. We also get into authenticity on social media, how to promote music without turning it into a clown show, and why self-imposed limitations inside Ableton Live can be the difference between endless tweaking and finishing a record.
So, it’s great to be back. Lost and Sound is now monthly. I started making episodes way back in 2018, and it’s gone on a real journey since then. Now totally independent, I rely on listeners like you to help keep the project growing.
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BL00MS on Bandcamp.
