Hailing from San Francisco, unique dance trio The M Machine (composed of Ben “Swardy” Swardlick, Eric Luttrell, and Andy Coenen) certainly caught the attention of music fans and artists across a plethora of genres. In fact, the group recognizes a “difference between The M Machine fan and the average electronic music fan.” The group sets themselves apart from the stereotypical dance scene that has arisen in the past fifteen or so years by blending stunning sound engineering and production with thoughtful lyrics from multiple influences and genres alike. Descending from roots in video game sound design, their two-part album takes the listener on a ride from high-energy electro tracks, to beautiful down tempo, to heavy dubstep tracks, and they conclude the ride with influences stemming from the french duo Justice. While on stage, the trio performs more like a band rather than a typical DJ would. They do this by triggering live samples and playing synths on stage while a massive LED board resembling the shape of an M syncs to the music and illuminates the stage. (See below for a video of the iconic M)
The first album of the 12 track, two-part series, Metropolis Pt. 1, opens with a futuristic track entitled ‘Immigrants’, that appears to have come straight out of the french electronica scene while maintaining a precipice of power. ‘Deep Search’ would have to be one of my favorites on this album due to the masterful sound design and production. An initial crawling clap encompasses the atmosphere, while a bright pluck, some crawling synths, a smart bass line, and a deep kick round out the song. Similarly, ‘Black’ opens with industrial sounding claw sounds, followed by a matrix-sounding build and finally releases into a ride of huge bass and minimal beats at its conclusion. ’Faces’ provides the listener with a heavy synth line while thoughtful lyrics nestle in with a smooth beat while ‘A King Alone’ inherits that theme by combining Passion Pit style riffs with Gotye-style vocals that compliment the rest of the song. Rounding out the first part of the debut album, ‘Shadow in the Rose Garden’ flaunts the group’s ability to jump from genre to genre without missing a beat. Following a form of catch-and-release dubstep, slick drum beats and blazing synths propel the listener to new heights of sound.
Initially, I didn’t expect Pt. II to even compare with the variety that the first half displayed. In hindsight, I was dead wrong. Featuring the vocals of Blake Hazard, ’The Palace’ hits the perfect blend between a nasty dubstep tune and a song with meaning. Soft piano slowly erupts into bleeding heavy guitar sounds at the beginning, and maneuvers into the style of dubstep which The M Machine teased us with in the first part of the album. Next, ‘Ghosts in the Machine’ and ‘Tiny Anthem’ show us more of an indie dance side to the act by utilizing sly riffs and meaningful lyrics through the center of the album. ‘Moon Song’ explodes out of its inception into a heavy synth note leading to distant vocals and concluding with multiple drops sure to satisfy. ‘Schadenfreude’, track number five, really disappointed me because of its willingness to sacrifice some unique elements for the most sound. I found the production slick, but I found the rest of the musical features mediocre. Luma rounds out the album by combining multiple genres into one nine minute piece, bringing the music to its conclusion.
The M Machine certainly brings a new approach to typical dance music by encompassing multiple genres. Of course, the group has described their style as dabbling in “a few [genres]. We see most of our success writing electro-house and vocal-based indie-electro. Still, we’re no stranger to future techno, dubstep, and pop.” I highly encourage anyone who is ambitious about listening to new music and being open to growth to give them a listen.
