Travis Stewart has unveiled a new EP as Machinedrum.
Psyconia, a follow up to Stewart’s A View of U album, features six tracks that explore the spaces between broken beats, hip-hop, techno, and drum & bass.
Its title is a play on words, combining “psychic” and “syconia,” which is the plural form of syconium. In botany, a syconium is a fleshy hollow receptacle that contains flowers which develop together into a fruit, like a fig. Fig trees represent creation and abundance in various cultures. “It is the fruit from the tree of enlightenment,” we’re told. It represents “a new beginning.”
“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,” Stewart tells EDMjunkies. “There’s also an area near where I live known as Figueroa which is a Spanish translation of Figueira, the Portuguese name for a fig tree. I found these synchronicities intriguing and so I went with it for the theme of this EP.”
Lead single “Only One” features the soulful vocals of Angelica Bess, which you can stream below, but the EP also features North Carolina rapper Deniro Farrar, Chrome Spark, and songwriter Jorge Elbrecht.
The EP artwork is by Kushagra Gupta who took Stewart’s inspirations and created a fictional musical instrument that looks both like a fig and an alien.
Tracklisting
01. Only One (feat. Angelica Bess)
02. Stone Age (feat. Deniro Farrar)
03. Inner Ear (feat. Chrome Sparks)
04. U Just R (feat. Jorge Elbrecht)
05. Figueroa
06. Stairzzzzzz
Psyconia EP is scheduled for September 10 release. You can order it here and stream “Only One” feat. Angelica Bess via the player below.
