Machine Girl

About Machine Girl

Machine Girl started as the solo project of Matt Stephenson in 2012, making abrasive electronic music in his apartment that sounded like drum and bass getting fed through a woodchipper. The early stuff was rough and lo-fi, but there was already something there. By 2014, drummer Sean Kelly joined, and the project became a proper duo. That's when things got interesting.

The turning point was probably 2016's WLFGRL. It's still the album most people know them for, the one that established what Machine Girl actually is. Tracks like WDYM and Krystle (URL Cyber Palace) took the harsh noise and breakcore foundation and added something almost punk about it. Not punk in genre, but in energy. The whole thing felt like it was trying to break your speakers on purpose, but in a way that made you want to turn it up.

After WLFGRL, they kept pushing. The Ugly Art appeared in 2018, expanding the palette with more industrial textures and guest vocals. Then U-Void Synthesizer in 2020, which got weirder and more sprawling. But 2021's MG Ultra might be their best work. It refined everything they'd been doing into something more focused. Sick!!!!!! and Even Though show they can write actual hooks without losing the chaos. There's this moment in Nu Nu Meta Phenomenon where the beat just dissolves into static and then rebuilds itself, and it shouldn't work but it does.

Their live shows are notorious, mostly for being extremely loud and turning into makeshift mosh pits wherever they play, whether that's a DIY basement or an actual venue. Stephenson usually handles production and vocals while Kelly attacks the drums like they owe him money. The setup is minimal but the volume is not.

2023 brought MG Ultra Deluxe Edition, essentially a victory lap with remixes and extra material. Then in late 2023 and into 2024, they dropped the Empress series of EPs, continuing to experiment with the formula. Tracks like HAHA and HEAD HEAVY prove they haven't lost the plot. If anything, they're getting better at balancing the accessible and the abrasive.

What's notable about Machine Girl is they've built this whole thing independently, releasing through their own label, avoiding the usual industry paths. They've influenced a generation of younger artists making aggressive electronic music, but they're still doing their thing without much compromise.

Right now they're still touring, still making noise, still finding new ways to make breakbeats sound hostile. The core of what they do hasn't changed much since WLFGRL, but they keep finding small ways to evolve it. They're not trying to go mainstream, and mainstream isn't coming to them. That seems fine for everyone involved.

Machine Girl shows are chaotic and confrontational. The sound is overwhelming—distortion and density cranked past comfort. The crowd is usually small, devoted, and there specifically for this. There's no real moshing, just people standing close together absorbing the assault. They don't perform to crowds; they perform at them.

Known for HAHA, WDYM, HEAD HEAVY, Even Though, MOLTO BENE

See Machine Girl Live