North Carolina born artist Travis Stewart is perhaps best known for his raucous, percussion-centric approach to IDM music under the name Machinedrum, having been active since 2000, releasing albums such as 2001’s Now You Know, 2009’s Want To 1 2 and 2011’s Rooms. In 2006, Stewart began releasing music concurrently under the moniker tstewart, commencing with the album Living Exponentially. As of today, Stewart has released a new album entitled elysian. The record can be found on all streaming services, and you can listen to “elysian walk pt.1” below.
tstewart’s sound has always been more reserved and placid than Machinedrum, and nowhere is this truer than on this new album. Songs such as “baxter climb” opt for a more danceable angle, however the track itself is hazy and the persistent beat is subdued and unobtrusive. Stewart makes heavy use of piano throughout the album; sometimes grand and glassy as heard on the opening track, sometimes warm and raw, as heard on the likes of “flow away” and “buena”, and sometimes with more than a touch of jazz influence, as heard on “feel who you are”.
According to a press release, elysian takes its name from Los Angeles’ own Elysian Park, which is located in the downtown area of the city, and is a piece of nature that remains largely unaffected by the urban sprawl around it. The park, as indicated by the title of the album, is the muse for Stewart’s latest work. Stewart has released a series of visualisers to some of the tracks, which feature stunning footage of the inside of Elysian Park.
Stewart himself said, again according to a press release: “Elysian literally translates to ‘heaven for heroes’. I’m not religious. To me, the idea of heaven is an inner-peace you seek while alive. I try to find moments in my life where I connect with that feeling and one of the easiest ways is exploring nature.”
Seeking an equilibrium between city-life and nature, tstewart describes many parts of his life as a pendulum swinging. Sometimes he enjoys making intricate beats and exploring sound design, whilst other times the relaxing call of the keys beckons. Splitting time between LA and New York, there’s a sense of frustration around any monotony creeping into tstewart’s fascinating life. Having produced for stars like Azealia Banks, A$AP Ferg and Jesse Boykins III, tstewart played with this new sound just one month after releasing Machinedrum’s career-defining Human Energy body of work.
Accompanying the album release is elysian walk, a web based and real world experience of tstewart’s world: http://tstewart.net/ (only on mobile). Using the Google Maps platform, fans can explore their local area to unlock exclusive content, such as newly created sonic journeys for a park walk, B sides, stems, and personal messages from the artist.
Photo Credit: Bonobo/Press Release
