Machinedrum, real name Travis Stewart, has released a new EP titled Psyconia, which is a play on words that combines “psychic” and “syconia,” the plural for syconium aka a fig tree.
Machinedrum was inspired by fig trees' resiliency for this project.
“We have a few fig trees growing on our property and they tend to withstand the harshest climates southern California throws at them, so I found that inspiring,” explains Stewart. “There’s also an area near where I live known as Figueroa which is a Spanish translation of Figueira, aka the Portuguese name for a fig tree. I found these synchronicities intriguing and so I went with it for the theme of this EP. It’s especially relevant to this time in my life in which my daughter has become a symbol of creation and abundance in my life.”
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The EP opens with the jazzy first single “Only One” featuring Angela Bess. “Stone Age,” with Deniro Farrar (leader of CultureRap), is another outstanding rap collab in a long line of great rap songs that Machinedrum has done. The quirky electronic track “Inner Ear” with Chrome Sparks has the detail to make you lean in and find those little intricacies with your inner ear.
The final batch of tunes dive into the sugary, quick and fun part of Machinedrum’s discography with a blend of jungle, drum and bass and house with some beautiful synth melodies and skittering drums to hold everything together. “Stairzzzzzz” adds a little more toughness to the mix with the foray of jungle as the EP comes to its conclusion.
Machinedrum deftly drops another batch of well-crafted and well-produced tunes, just about a year beyond his latest album. He released his last album A View Of U, which was one of our best in 2020, and continues to put out quality music. Grab your copy of Psyconia here via Ninja Tune.