Machine Girl (sometimes stylized as machin3gir1) is an American electronic music project created in 2012[1] by Matt Stephenson (also known as DJ Chaotic Ugly) in Long Island, New York.[2][3][4] In 2015, the project became a duo, with Stephenson recruiting percussionist Sean Kelly to play live drums.[5][6]
MG1, The opening song to Machine Girl's first LP, WLFGRL, that became a popular animation meme in 2023.
In 2022, Machine Girl composed the original soundtrack for the video game Neon White, coming in two parts—"The Wicked Heart" and "The Burn That Cures"—in link with the scenario of the game.
Style and themes
In an interview with Revolver magazine, Stephenson defined Machine Girl as "fucked-up electronic punk" and stated that they did not like the "industrial" tag for being "very goth, and very black and white" considering the project "a lot more colorful".[7]Kerrang! listed them as one of the "bands expanding the definition of hardcore", and described the project as "a particularly punky and ferocious breed of the electronic sub-genre breakcore that could easily pass for hardcore when they rip it live".[8]Pitchfork defined their style as "relentlessly smashing together bits of punk, grindcore, rave, industrial, and more" and "unpredictable and dangerous, full of animalistic rage and uncontrollable energy".[9]
Their music often features lyrics and samples criticising capitalism and exploring mental health, gender identity, and sexuality. This can particularly be seen in their albums ...Because I'm Young Arrogant and Hate Everything You Stand For, The Ugly Art and U-Void Synthesizer.
The project is named after the 2008 Japanese film The Machine Girl,[7] which they occasionally sampled on their 2014 album WLFGRL.
Other projects
Stephenson is also a member of the electronic duo Prolaps with Bonnie Baxter from Kill Alters. Originally collaborating together on the track "Vomit" from ...Because I'm Young Arrogant and Hate Everything You Stand For, they began releasing music in 2020.[10]
Members
Matt Stephenson – production, bass guitar, vocals (2012–present)
Sean Kelly – drums (2015–present)
Discography
Studio albums
WLFGRL (2014)
Gemini (2015)
...Because I'm Young Arrogant and Hate Everything You Stand For (2017)
Machine Girl released an official music video for their single, "Until I Die", from the album, MG Ultra. The video was directed by Bryan M. Ferguson.[11] Another official music video from the same album followed a week later, this one being for the song "Motherfather".[12] Despite bearing similarity to AI generated art, this video was confirmed to not have any AI generated assets in it, as stated by its director, John Lee. On October 4th 2024, they released a music video for the song "Psychic Attack",[13] which is the last song of the album MG Ultra. Two months later, on December 13th 2024, Machine Girl released another music video for "Ass2Mars", another MG Ultra song.[14]
