Travis Stewart (born March 4, 1982), better known as Machinedrum, is an American electronic record producer and performer from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

.Machinedrum Interview
Interview Magazine, retrieved 9/7/12 He is also known as Syndrone and Tstewart. He is one half of

Sepalcure Sepalcure is a musical collaboration between Travis Stewart (better known as Machinedrum) and Praveen Sharma (better known as Braille). Their self-titled debut album, ''Sepalcure (album), Sepalcure'', was released in 2011 on the Hotflush Recordin ...

, with Praveen Sharma, one half of JETS, with

Jimmy Edgar Jimmy Edgar (born August 10, 1983) is an American electronic music producer, conceptual artist and sound designer from Detroit, Michigan. He initially released music under the names Michaux and Kristuit Salu and Morris Nightingale, before forma ...

, as well as half of Dream Continuum with Jim Coles, a.k.a. Om Unit.

Biography

Travis Stewart was born in

Eden, North Carolina Eden is a city in Rockingham County, North Carolina, Rockingham County in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Piedmont Triad, Greensboro-High Point Metropolitan Statistical Area of the Piedmont Triad region. As of the United State ...

. He was exposed to a wide range of musical influences in his childhood. His grandfather played

pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

for a country band, and gave Stewart his first guitar. His first recordings were made at his grandparents' house, around the age of 5 or 6. His parents kept a house full of instruments, and a singer-songwriter cousin continually exposed him to new sounds and ideas.Menedetter, Valentin
Machinedrum Interview
HHV Mag, 3/5/12Dicker, Holl
Machinedrum Interview
Resident Advisor, 9/19/11 He fostered an interest with

polyrhythms Polyrhythm () is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-r ...

while playing marching snare in his high school band, and the

djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

in an African ensemble. Stewart played in two local alternative bands, marching band, jazz band as well as several percussion ensembles before turning more towards electronic music around the time of 8th grade. Using handed down computers, he began to produce his own music, and connected with a community of likeminded musicians over the Internet. He started the Machinedrum project during his final two years of high school, between 1998 and 1999. After graduation, he attended

Full Sail University Full Sail University is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida. It was formerly a recording studio in Ohio named Full Sail Productions and Full Sail Center f ...

in Florida to study audio engineering. In 2001, at the age of 19, he released his first record as Machinedrum, "Now You Know", on

Merck Records Merck Records (2000–2007) was a record label based in Miami and run by Gabe Koch. It released electronic music. Background Their releases cover a wide range of styles, from cut up vocal hip hop by their most prominent artist Machinedrum, to c ...

. Following college, Stewart moved to New York City and got involved with

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

-based boutique label Normrex, and has during that time collaborated with such artists as Tiombe Lockhart, Theophilus London, Jesse Boykins III,

Azealia Banks Azealia Amanda Banks ( ; born May 31, 1991) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, she began releasing music through Myspace in 2008 before being signed to XL Recordings at age 18. S ...

and Mickey Factz, among others. For Theophilus London, Stewart produced and mixed the ''Jam Mixtape'' as well as ''This Charming Mixtape''. For

, he produced the tracks Barbie Shit, Luxury, 1991, Van Vogue, L8R, and Fantasea among others. From 2001–2010, Stewart is credited for having released 8 albums, as well as numerous remixes, mixes, singles, and EPs. Stewart's collaboration with Praveen Sharma, known as

, began after the two had collaborated on parties Percussion Lab and Cassette NYC, then decided to record music together, which gained the attention of Hotflush Recordings, who signed the duo. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' considered their self-titled LP one of 2011's Top 50 albums, and the song "Pencil Pimp" made the list of 2011's Top 100 Tracks. In 2010, Stewart and Sharma wrote and performed the song "Outside the Lines" for the film ''

Black Swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent ...

''. Also in 2010, Stewart signed to the label LuckyMe and released the ''Many Faces'' EP, followed by the "Alarma" single in 2011 and the ''SXLND '' EP in 2012. In 2011, Stewart released the album Room(s), on

Planet Mu Planet Mu is an English electronic music record label created and run by Mike Paradinas. The label started out as a subsidiary of Virgin Records then Paradinas set up the label independent of Virgin. After releasing intelligent dance music, the ...

. The album was made mostly on the road, with Stewart limited to his laptop and headphones. His single "She Died There" was featured in the video game ''

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

'' on the fictional radio station FlyLo FM.. In 2013, Stewart signed to

Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an independent record label based in London, with a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1990 by musicians Matt Black and Jonathan More, known collectively as Coldcut. The label was established as an outlet for Col ...

and announced his debut LP for the label, '' Vapor City'' which was to be released later that year. Since then Machinedrum has released two more LPs on Ninja Tune: Human Energy in 2016 and A View Of U in 2020. Additionally he went on to produce most of Dawn Richard's 2016 album "Redemption", as well as collaborated with artists like A$AP Ferg, Freddie Gibbs, Sub Focus, Rochelle Jordan, Tigran Hamasyan and many more. JETS, a collaboration formed in 2012 between Stewart and long time friend

, have released 1 LP "Zoospa" and 3 EPs together. They continue to produce music for artists like Tanerélle, Flohio, and B-La-B as well as collaborating with artists like Tkay Maidza, Theophilus London, Dawn Richard, Mykki Blanco and Roses Gabor. Travis has recently scored the music for a new German true crime drama series called "Das Geheimnis Des Totenwaldes". As a performer, Stewart has played such venues as the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

, Palladium Times Square in New York City, Zócalo Plaza in Mexico City, The Roundhouse in London, the Sonar Music Festival '11, '12, '14 and '15 in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, and

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

Discography

As Machinedrum

Albums

*''Now You Know'' – Merck (2001) *''Half the Battle'' – Merck (2001) *''Urban Biology'' – Merck (2002) *''Bidnezz'' – Merck (2004) *''Mergerz & Acquisitionz'' – Merck (2006) *''Cached'' – The Inside (2006) *''Want to 1 2?'' – Normrex (2009) *''Room(s)'' –

(2011) *'' Vapor City'' –

(2013) *''Vapor City Archives'' –

(2014) *''Human Energy'' –

(2016) *''A View of U'' –

(2020) *''3FOR82'' –

(2024) *''3FOR82_D3LUX3'' –

(2024) *''3RMX82'' -

(2025)

EPs

*''Half the Battle'' – Merck (2002) *''Half the Battle 2'' – Merck (2003) *''Half the Battle 3'' – Merck (2004) *''Late Night Operation'' – Normrex (2009) *''Many Faces'' – LuckyMe (2010) *''Let It'' – Innovative Leisure (2010) *''Sacred Frequency'' –

(2011) *''Alarma'' – LuckyMe (2011) *''Ecstasy Boom (Edits)'' – Independent (2011) *''SXLND'' – LuckyMe (2012) *''Nastyfuckk'' – The Index (2012) *''Gunshotta Ave.'' –

(2013) *''Vizion Centre'' – Vapor City Citizenship Programme (2013) *''Vapor Park'' – Vapor City Citizenship Programme (2014) *''Fenris District'' –

(2014) *''Berry Patch (with Holly)'' – Vision Recordings (2020) *''Psyconia'' –

(2021) *''天の川 iver Of Heaven(with Holly)'' – Vision Recordings (2023) *''4#TRAX'' –

(2023)

Singles

*''$$ Life / The Way'' – TLM Records (2011) *''Eyesdontlie'' –

(2013) *''Want Me'' – Adult Swim (2014) *''What Is This'' –

(2017) *''1 2 B Needed'' –

(2017) *''Hype Up'' –

(2018)

As Tstewart

*''Living Exponentially'' – Merck (2006) *''Elysian'' – A Mercury KX Release (2022)

As Syndrome

*''Triskaideka'' – Merck (2000) *''Triskaideka EP'' – Merck (2001) *''Salmataxia'' – Merck (2004)

As JETS (with
Jimmy Edgar Jimmy Edgar (born August 10, 1983) is an American electronic music producer, conceptual artist and sound designer from Detroit, Michigan. He initially released music under the names Michaux and Kristuit Salu and Morris Nightingale, before forma ...
)

*''JETS EP'' – Leisure System (2012) *''The Chants EP'' – Ultramajic (2015) *''ZOOSPA'' – Innovative Leisure (2019) *''Zaps EP'' – Innovative Leisure (2019)

As Sepalcure (with Praveen Sharma)

*''Love Pressure EP'' – Hotflush (2010) *''Fleur EP'' – Hotflush (2011) *''Sepalcure'' – Hotflush (2011) *''Make You EP'' – Hotflush (2013) *''Folding Time'' – Hotflush (2016) *''Dial Your Line (feat. Kevin Hussein) (Single)'' – IAMSIAM (2018)

As Dream Continuum (with Om Unit)

*''Reworkz EP'' –

(2012) *''Ride Away (Single)'' – Astrophonica (2018)

Selected Remixes

* Jacques Greene – "The Look" (Machinedrum Remix) *New Villager – "Rich Doors" (Machinedrum Remix) *Grems feat.

Foreign Beggars Foreign Beggars were an English Hip hop music, hip hop and dubstep group. Since their formation in 2002, the group's trajectory had seen them evolve from an underground hip hop group to an electronic crossover act. The group consisted of four a ...

– "Broabilly" (Machinedrum Remix) *Salva – "Keys Open Doors" (Machinedrum Remix) *Sub Swara feat. Dead Prez – "Speak My Language" (Machinedrum Remix) *

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

– "Belshazzar" (Machinedrum Remix) *

Solange Solange may refer to: People with the given name * Solange Knowles (born 1986), American R&B/soul singer * Solange of Bourges (d. 880), Christian saint * Solange (psychic) (1952–2021), Italian TV personality, psychic and commentator * Solange A ...

– "Sandcastle Disco" (Machinedrum Remix) *Sound Tribe Sector 9 – "Tokyo" (Machinedrum Remix) *Edit – "Certified Air Raid Material" (Machinedrum Remix) *Lazer Sword – "Gucci Sweatshirt" (Neon Black Mix) *Mochipet – "African Trampoline" (Machinedrum Mix) *

Bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee (less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee), is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus ''Pan (genus), Pan'' (the other bei ...

feat. Andreya Triana – "Eyesdown" (Machinedrum Remix) *Scuba – "M.A.R.S" (Machinedrum Remix) *Gang Colours – "Fancy Restaurant" (Machinedrum Remix) *Dominique Young Unique – "Stupid Pretty" (Machinedrum Remix) *Son of Kick – "Playing the Villain" (Machinedrum Remix) *

The Glitch Mob The Glitch Mob is an American electronic music duo from Los Angeles, California. It consists of edIT (Edward Ma) and Ooah (Josh Mayer). Boreta (Justin Boreta) was a member of the group from its formation until 2023. Chris Martins of ''LA Weekly' ...

– "Between Two Dreams" (Machinedrum Convergence) *

Rudimental Rudimental are a British drum and bass band, signed to Asylum Records, Atlantic Records and Black Butter Records. The band consists of Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden and Leon "Locksmith" Rolle. They were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2013, and ...

feat.

Will Heard William James Heard (born 26 April 1991)Will Heard , Biography ...

Anne-Marie Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson (born 7 April 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. She has attained various charting singles on the UK Singles Chart, including Clean Bandit's " Rockabye", which peaked at number one, as well as "Alarm", " Ciao ...

– " Rumour Mill" (Machinedrum Remix) *

Noisia Noisia was a Dutch electronic music trio from Groningen, Netherlands. The trio was composed of Nik Roos, Martijn van Sonderen, and Thijs de Vlieger. Their music spanned several genres, including drum and bass, dubstep, breakbeat, and house. They ...

– "Get Deaded" (Machinedrum Remix) *

Hermitude Hermitude are an Australian electronic music, electronic-Australian hip hop, hip hop duo, originating from the Blue Mountains (Australia), Blue Mountains, New South Wales. Biography Early years Multi-instrumentalists, Luke Dubber (a.k.a. Luke ...

feat. Bibi Bourelly – "Stupid World" (Machinedrum Remix) *

Boards of Canada Boards of Canada are a Scottish electronic music duo consisting of the brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin. Signing first to Skam Records, Skam followed by Warp (record label), Warp Records in the 1990s, they received recognition following th ...

– "Untitled Warp 10 Birthday Party 1999 Bootleg" (Machinedrum Edit) * ††† (Crosses) – "Day One" (Machinedrum Remix)

References

{{Authority control 1982 births Living people American electronic musicians Intelligent dance musicians Chiptune and tracker musicians People from Eden, North Carolina Musicians from North Carolina Hotflush Recordings artists Planet Mu artists