The God Machine - Sunday Velvet

FAQ

(originally by christophe demunter)

- what is society line ?
- where does the name the god machine come from ?
- where can i find the god machine's first album, scenes from the second storey ?
- where can i find the god machine 's second album, one last laugh in a place of dying ... ?
- where can i find the god machine 's ep's, 7"es, 12"es, promos ?
- where can i find the god machine live recordings or videos ?
- where can i find the god machine shirts ?
- what are the remaining god machine members up to these days ?
- what is said at the beginning of dream machine ?
- where does the introduction to home come from ?
- where does the sample in the desert song come from ?
- what are the symbols that are figured on the ego ep cover and record ?
- why isn't it possible to listen to some sound files on this site ?

- what is society line ?

frederic: society line was the first name of the god machine. for more informations, please, check the society line page on this site. at the time they were in san diego and albert amman was the fourth band member. it seems that they sounded like typical eighties wave-pop (joy division, new order, the cure, echo and the bunnymen and the smiths, for example), including a cover of "white rabbit" (jefferson airplane)... so, here are the lyrics of "white rabbit":

white rabbit (JEFFERSON AIRPLANE) one pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small and the ones that mother gives you, don't do anything at all go ask alice, when she's ten feet tall and if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you're going to fall tell'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call and call alice, when she was just small when the men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go and you've just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind is moving low go ask alice, i think she'll know when logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead and the white knight is talking backwards and the red queen's off with her head remember what the dormouse said feed your head, feed your head

- where does the name the god machine come from ?

frederic: well, there is a book written by william jon watkins titled "the god machine" (1942). it could be the origin of the band's name. it seems to be "an orwellian story of a horrifying future because it could happen. many exciting elements." the same with "the god machine" by martin caidin (1968): "it is a suspense story that is chillingly real. it's an original, imaginative and grimly authentic warning of what could happen here - if no today, then perhaps tomorrow", "computer science fiction published in 1969 by bantam books, 281 pages." these mentions are taken from two www.ebay.com descriptions...

- where can i find the god machine's first album, scenes from the second storey ?

frederic: it seems to be impossible to find this one inside europe. the only ways to get hold of a copy in europe is: 1) let someone bring you or send you a copy (www.sophiamusic.net). 2) try www.ebay.com.

- where can i find the god machine's second album, one last laugh in a place of dying ... ?

frederic: it seems to be impossible to find this one outside europe and south africa. the only ways to get hold of a copy in america are: 1) let someone bring you or send you a copy from europe (www.sophiamusic.net). 2) visit europe and, if you're lucky, buy your own copy. 3) try to get it via mailorder although none of those companies carries this one. according to the christophe's fan site, a swedish mail-order company has (had ?) some copies: mail them at mozzer@tripnet.se. 4) try www.ebay.com.

- where can i find the god machine's ep's, 7"es, 12"es, promos ?

frederic: it's seems to be impossible to find any of these but some second-hand shops sometimes carry copies of one of those releases. the only way to get those songs is asking someone (will blandin, for example) who does have them to make you a copy. if you don't know anyone who has the original releases, try via www.sophiamusic.net, the god machine e-mailing list: purity@dds.nl or www.ebay.com.

- where can i find the god machine live recordings or videos ?

frederic: apart from "home" and "she said", no live versions of the god machine songs were released. there are some live tapes and cds circulating around the globe. some of those are (very) low quality audience recordings, some are satisfying quality radio broadcasts. someone even spotted a god machine live video at a new york flea market. there's a "home" video clip and mtv showed short clips of "commitment"... in march 1993, mtv europe had a god machine mini-special in two hours but i don't know where you could get a copy of this...

- where can i find the god machine shirts ?

frederic: the god machine sold shirts and hats at their concerts but those are most probably out of stock now for a long time...

- what are the remaining god machine members up to these days ?

frederic: ron lives in london and robin shares his life between london and brussels. ron is involved in writing, directing and producing films like a forty minutes short film titled "the trinity tower". robin is still in the music buisness: he runs his own record label, the flower shop recordings, which released stuff from elevate, ligament, rosa mota, swervedriver and many more. for more information, please, check www.theflowershoprecordings.com and www.sophiamusic.net. in 1996, robin picked up music again and formed a new band called sophia. they released their debut album "fixed water" in november 1996... for more informations, please, check the "links" page. last but not least, former society line (pre god machine) member albert amman now lives in seattle, works in the software buisness, still plays music and put out tapes.

- what is said at the beginning of dream machine ?

frederic: this conversation is taking from bertolucci's "the sheltering sky" (1990), based on the novel written by paul bowles (1949). it was also used by the band neurosis in their song "lost". this is the excerpt (error disturbed...) used in "dream machine": "are you lost ?" - "yes." - "because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. yet everything happens only a certain number of times. and a very small number, really... how many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that was so deeply important that you can't even conceive your life without it. perhaps four or five times. how many more times will you see the full moon rise, perhaps twenty, perhaps not even that. and yet it all seems limitless."

- where does the introduction to home come from ?

frederic: the sample used in "home" comes from a song called "pilentze pee", performed by the bulgarian "folk" band le mystère des voix bulgares.

- where does the sample in the desert song come from ?

frederic: the sample comes from some old tv-show called "the hurting church".

- what are the symbols that are figured on the ego ep cover and record ?

frederic: these symbols are called "runes". on a french website, i found that runes definition: "il s'agit d'un système de divination dont l'origine remonte à l'âge préhistorique. les runes sont le plus vieil alphabet qui existe en occident. le mot rune signifie mystère ou secret. la rune est la représentation graphique d'une idée ou d'un concept. il est reconnu que les runes peuvent servir de talismants, il est aussi possible d'en extraire le pouvoir et s'en sevir lors d'un rituel pour obtenir ce qu'on désire. le pouvoir reste ainsi avec le demandeur pour la durée spécifiée lors du rituel. attention, il faut être très spécifique dans ses demandes lorsqu'on fait appel à la magie des runes. si vous n'êtes pas précis, ça ne marchera pas comme vous le voulez et si vous demandez plus d'une chose, vous risquez de laisser aux puissances runiques le choix de ce qu'elles vous accorderont."

... on an english web page: "definition: strictly speaking, runes are letters from ancient teutonic and norse alphabets. in the modern context, they are placed upon small tiles which are believed to have magical or, more often divinator properties. they are commonly used for the purpose of divination, foretelling the future. the word itself, rune, stems from the indeo-european root "rw", which means "secret" or "mystery.""

it clearly seems that the god machine members were fascinated by these signs. it's sure that a t-shirt of the god machine (check "pictures") was released and there is a big circle of runes drawn on its front.

- why isn't it possible to listen to some sound files on this site ?

frederic: now you can go to THE GOD MACHINE's myspace profile... (((i would like my site to be considered as a tribute to the god machine. so, most at all, i'd like to respect the decision robin proper-sheppard and ronald austin took after jimmy's death. as it has been said before, today, the god machine records aren't pressed anymore. so, i don't think it would be a nice idea to put some sound files on this site because it would not be very respectful for the two remaining members. if robin and/or ronald aren't ok with the stuff from my site, i'm ready to stop everything. robin told it: now he isn't in the god machine anymore. and, if you really care, there is a lot of opportunities to find some god machine music... well, i hope you understand. thank you.)))