The God Machine was an

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band, active in the first half of the 1990s. Its members were all from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, but they all lived and performed mainly in the United Kingdom and across Europe. The band consisted of three members,

Robin Proper-Sheppard Sophia is a British indie rock band consisting of Robin Proper-Sheppard—former member of The God Machine—and the Sophia collective, a group of musicians who collaborate with Sophia. "Oh My Love" from the album ''People are like Seasons'' ...

(guitar/vocals), Jimmy Fernandez (bass) and Ronald Austin aka Austin Lynn Austin (drums), and they first performed officially under the name The God Machine in 1991. They released an EP, ''Purity'' with the Eve record label, and were later given a recording contract with

Fiction Records Fiction Records is a British record label founded by Chris Parry in 1978, owned by Universal Music Group and based in the United Kingdom. It is best known for being the home of The Cure for over 20 years. It was originally a part of Polydor, ...

. They released two albums in their career, both with their trademark dark and industrial-sounding alternative rock, before Fernandez suddenly died from brain hemorrhage. Their single release of "Home", peaked at No. 65 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in January 1993. Proper-Sheppard went on to form The Flower Shop Recordings label, and bands Sophia and The May Queens. In 2020, after nearly 3 decades, Austin formed and launched his own music project
Mercylane
Their second album, '' One Last Laugh in a Place of Dying'', was recognized by

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

as one of the "90 greatest albums of the 90s" (#88) in their December 1998 issue. Their earlier San Diego incarnation was called Society Line, and also featured guitarist Albert Amman, who left the band before its move to London.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

Scenes from the Second Storey ''Scenes from the Second Storey'' is the debut album by American rock band the God Machine, released in 1993 by Fiction Records and Polydor. It peaked at number 55 on the UK Albums Chart. The album opens with a sample from the film adaptation o ...

'' (Fiction Records, 1993) – UK No. 55 *'' One Last Laugh in a Place of Dying'' (Fiction Records, 1994) – UK No. 100

EPs/singles

*''Purity'' EP (Eve Recordings, 1991) **12", featuring "Home", "The Blind Man" and "Purity". These were the original versions and were subsequently re-recorded for the ''scenes from the second storey'' album *''The Desert Song EP'' (Fiction Records, 1992) **CD and 12", featuring "The Desert Song", "Prostitute", "Commitment" and "Pictures Of A Bleeding Boy". The title track was the original version of the song and was subsequently re-recorded for the ''scenes from the second storey'' album, sounding significantly different from the version here. The three B-sides were not available on any album *''Ego'' (Fiction Records, 1992) **CD and 12", featuring "Ego", "Temptation" (The Experimental Zen Mix) and "The Piano Song". The two B-sides were extended versions of the tracks available in shorter form on ''scenes from the second storey'' *''Home'' (Fiction Records, 1993) **7" silver vinyl, featuring "Home" (edit) and "

What Time Is Love? "What Time Is Love?" is a song released, in different mixes, as a series of singles by the band the KLF. It featured prominently and repeatedly in their output from 1988 to 1992 and, under the moniker of 2K, in 1997. In its original form, the ...

" (a cover version of

The KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing ...

). The B-side was not available on any album **CD, featuring "Home", "Double Dare" (BBC radio session, a cover version of

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

), "All My Colours" (a cover version of Echo & the Bunnymen) and "

Fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

" (a cover version of

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

). The three B-sides were not available on any album **12", featuring "Home", "All My Colours", "Train" (a cover version of The Morlocks) and "Fever". The three B-sides were not available on any album **Promo-CD, featuring "Home" (edit), "Home", and "What Time Is Love?". The latter B-side was not available on any album **Promo-CD, featuring "Home" (live), "Pictures Of A Bleeding Boy", "Commitment" (BBC radio session) and "Fever". None of these tracks were available on any album

Compilation appearances

*''Independent 20'' (compilation CD) featuring "Home" (original pre-album version from Purity EP) (Beechwood Music, 1992) *''Maximum Bliss'' (Select magazine sampler cassette) featuring "She Said" (demo) (Fiction Records, 1992) *''Hybrid'' (sampler CD) featuring "The Desert Song" (original pre-album version from The Desert Song EP) (Fiction Records, 1992) *''Bilag Til Rock Furore 22'' (Rock Furore magazine sampler CD) featuring "Commitment" (BBC radio session) (Rock Furore, 1993) *''In A Field Of Their Own Volume 2 – Glastonbury 93'' (NME live compilation CD) featuring "She Said" (live) (NME, 1993) *''The Lost Weekend'' (compilation 12" vinyl) featuring "Pictures Of A Bleeding Boy" (Blast First, 1993) *''Love Bites'' (compilation 10" vinyl, 2nd in the series of "The Kennel Club" record releases) featuring "The Devil Song" (alternative version) (Blue Eyed Dog Records / RTM, 1994)

B-sides / rare tracks

* ''Home'' (original pre-album version) * ''The Blind Man'' (original pre-album version) * ''Purity'' (original pre-album version) * ''The Desert Song'' (original pre-album version) * ''Prostitute'' * ''Commitment'' * ''Pictures Of A Bleeding Boy'' * ''Temptation'' (The Experimental Zen Mix) * ''The Piano Song'' (extended version) * ''

'' (

cover) * ''Double Dare'' (BBC radio session,

cover) * ''All My Colours'' ( Echo & the Bunnymen cover) * ''

'' (

cover) * ''Train'' ( The Morlocks cover) * ''Home'' (live) * ''She Said'' (demo) * ''Commitment'' (BBC radio session) * ''She Said'' (live) * ''The Devil Song'' (alternative version)

References

External links

The God Machine – GeocitiesGone but never forgotten: The God Machine1993 interview of The God MachineTruth and Beauty : The story of The God MachineThe official unofficial Sophia site 'Sophiamusic.net'
{{DEFAULTSORT:God Machine (Band), The Alternative rock groups from California Indie rock musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups from San Diego Fiction Records artists