I’m very picky about my dubstep, post-dubstep, bass music. Whatever you want to call it. I enjoy the stuff that tends towards the IDM edge (with nods to Autechre), or to actual dub, or to dubstep’s roots in the Drum & Bass scene. I know this album covers a swath of genres (as only Travis could), from footwork, to juke, to post-dubstep, to (post?)IDM. I’m coming at it with a skeptical ear towards things labeled dubstep and towards Travis’s new music (I wasn’t really feeling a lot of Want To 1 2). But straight up, I really enjoy this album.
With the exception of Come1 (don’t really dig this one most of the time), I’ve listened straight through this album a lot, which I can rarely say about many albums recently. I’ll guess that Travis and Mike P’s ears are tuned quite the same as mine, as a possible explanation about why I’m so into this one. As I really didnt expect to be, its been an awesome surprise for me. Travis can attest that I’ve never much been into vocals in music, or even vocal samples in songs at all. He somehow found a way to slip them past me, and get me vibing to music with straight RnB vocal samples in ways I never expected. Hell, I regularly go 20-30mph over the speed limit vibing out listening to The Statue on the highway.
I can see that some Merck fans are not gonna feel this direction for Travis’s music, but I have to say that if I had seen an album like this coming, I would have kept Merck going as long as needed to see it come out on the label (that being said, I am proud that Mike P has picked it up for his excellent imprint). I’ll accept that this is definitely a different move for the “Machinedrum” moniker than his diehard Merck fans can be comfortable with for the most part. But the other option would be for him to run the glitch-hop sound into the ground with a half dozen albums slowly getting more and more forgettable, as Prefuse did. I much prefer he switches up to interesting new material like this, even if he whiffs with a few tracks along the way. This one is definitely in my top 10 of 2011. Bravo Trav.
PS. He has a new EP coming out next week on Luckyme, entitled SXLND. Like his last one for them, it has its cool moments, but you need to accept that the music and the release is being crafted more for the dancefloor, than for the headphones/bedroom as his Merck stuff was.
Amazon Digital Release & Sound Clips
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Hey Gabe. Yeah, I agree, I love this album and actually wasn’t surprised by the sound he explored here. It’s definitely Machinedrum, but with a new attitude, and I’m sure Travis, as with Mike P. naturally have their ear on the pulse of the latest sound, simultaneously influencing as well as being influenced by it. I believe it was Pitchfork who said Machinedrum “lost it’s voice” with Room(s), which shows just how out of touch a bunch of geekish rock hipsters are about this music. I too am skeptical of anything labeled dubstep as well as with anything with lyrics, riding the same wavelength as Eno, who, for the most, felt that lyrics detracted from the actual music. In this case, as with any good electronic music, they actually enhance the overall listening experience. I’d say to all those folks who are stuck in IDM-land 2002 (which is a fine place to visit from time to time, no doubt), to please emerge from their caves and listen with an open-mind and fresh perspective. The problem with music, as with any artform, is that the artists need to change in order to grow and thrive, and it’s unfortunate when people harbor any preconceived notions about the work presented to them, expecting the same ol’ same ol’, unwilling to recalibrate their brains to take in something new or different. I feel bad for those people, and sometimes it’s the artists who suffer as a result as well when the public’s “not ready”, especially when it’s their main source of income. VanGogh is THE classic example. Anyhow, sorry for the long-winded essay here. I simply want to send out my appreciation to those who aren’t afraid to blaze some new trails, as is the case with Travis and his music. Looking forward to the new EP (thanks for the tip)!