Machinedrum - A View Of U (LP) - Silver Marbled Vinyl

Machinedrum’s A View of U landed via Ninja Tune on 9 October 2020, and it still hits like a lucid dream you can dance to. Travis Stewart has spent two decades refining a sound that sits between footwork’s jittery kinetics and RnB’s heart-on-sleeve warmth, and this record captures that tightrope with real grace. It is fast, bright and sometimes brutal, yet there is always a melody reaching out a hand.

The title nods to out-of-body moments Stewart has talked about, the kind of onstage headrush where you feel both inside the music and floating above it. You can hear that pull from the first minute. Percussion flits and flickers like a creature with three hearts, synths beam in like flares, and then he drops into pockets where time loosens. The tempos often push into drum and bass territory, but the mood never feels cold. He is a North Carolina kid who absorbed jungle, hip-hop and Chicago footwork the way some of us absorbed summer footy, and the blend feels intuitive rather than clever for clever’s sake.

The guest list is a neat study in dynamic contrast. Freddie Gibbs turns “Kane Train” into a chase scene, gliding over needlepoint breaks with that calm snarl he does better than anyone. The beat keeps mutating under him, but Stewart leaves just enough headroom for the verse to breathe. “Spin Blocks” with Father moves with a different kind of swagger, all sub weight and sly spacing, the vocal half-lidded and cool while the drums scamper around it. Then there is the stunner, “Sleepy Pietro,” where Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan threads labyrinthine runs through a crystalline, half-time chassis. It is one of those crossovers that read like a curio on paper and turn out to be a pure alignment of taste and touch.

Jesse Boykins III turns up for “Wait4U,” and the chemistry is real. Stewart’s chords sway, the drums do that elastic Machinedrum thing, and Boykins leans into a gently pleading hook that feels built for late drives along Sydney Road after the shops have shut. Even the instrumentals feel conversational. He loves to cut the lows and let the pads bloom, then snap everything back with a snare that sounds like a finger click in a tiled room. It is a language he honed on Vapor City and Human Energy, but here it has more patience. The drops feel earned. The details do not shout.

What makes A View of U stick is how it balances intensity with lift. The bass hits deep enough to trouble your neighbours, yet the treble slides are almost choral. Rhythms swarm, then pause to show you the bones. Some tracks flirt with rave nostalgia, all hands-in-the-air chords and sunrise shimmer, but the programming is too lithe to feel retro. If you have followed Stewart across side projects like JETS or Sepalcure, you will recognise that knack for collaboration that does not sand down his edges. He invites people in, sets a pace, and still sounds like himself.

Spin it on wax if you can. The Ninja Tune pressing gives the low end room to bloom, and all that micro-percussion stays clean rather than sandpapery. Crank “Kane Train” and you will hear why DJs reached for it when dancefloors crept back to life. If you are hunting for Machinedrum vinyl, this is the one I reach for most, the sweet spot between chest-rattling club power and a headphone record that keeps revealing little flourishes on the tenth listen. A View of U vinyl has been steadily sought after since release, and it is the kind of cut you could point to if someone asked why people still chase dance music on record rather than a playlist.

For buyers, it is an easy recommendation if you like your breakbeats bright and your synths hopeful. Pop into your favourite Melbourne record store and you might catch it in the staff picks, or just buy Machinedrum records online if you are outside the city. There is a small community of diehards trading Machinedrum albums on vinyl across the usual forums and in vinyl records Australia groups, and this album always comes up with a smile and a nod.

A View of U feels like the moment Stewart aligned all his obsessions and let them breathe. No forced narratives, no novelty for clicks, just smart, emotive club music that remembers it is meant to move bodies and minds. It sounded like a light turning on in 2020, and it still does now.