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Machinedrum's Vocal Sample Overload
2 Oct
Summary
- Machinedrum's Room(s) heavily features vocal samples.
- Stewart uses samples in dense, layered arrangements.
- The album blends bass music with diverse electronic styles.
Travis Stewart, operating as Machinedrum, has released Room(s), an electronic album characterized by an extensive use of vocal samples. These samples are employed in a dense, overlapping fashion, a trend popularized by UK bass music that now signifies contemporary electronic soundscapes.
Stewart's approach is more abundant than precise, layering these vocal snippets to create weight and mystique. The album, which follows his 10-year discography across various electronic genres, leans heavily into bass music influences. Here, vocal samples are stripped of their original context, becoming primary sonic elements.
Active drum patterns and warm keyboards provide structure, but the ubiquitous, contorted vocal textures often unify the album's diverse tracks. While Stewart experiments with styles like piano house and R&B, the dominant vocal samples can obscure significant shifts in tempo and genre. The album may resonate most with fans of artists like Jacques Greene and Burial.
Despite the potential for sonic homogeneity, the album offers a rich, hyper-melodic experience for listeners drawn to textured, vocal-driven electronic music. The extensive layering of sounds rewards dedicated listening to discern individual track differences.
