Almost 15 years had passed since the last time this W&H writer had seen Robin Proper-Sheppard of SOPHIA in his previous guise as front-man for The God Machine playing a loudly shimmering performance at a glorious Glastonbury festival. At that time the band were plying their “Scenes From The Second Storey” album, a groundbreaking piece of early Emo rock that would prove highly influential to emerging bands at the time, the one most obviously at all being Mogwai.
God Machine’s music was a plethora of guitar noise which would appeal to those whose thirst was for heavy rock, but it also offered up something more - an intense sensitivity which utilised piano, cello and acoustic guitars to create great waves and crescendos of emotion.
Just before the release of their follow up album, their bassist Jimmy Fernandes tragically dropped dead of a brain tumour. Proper-Sheppard emerged from this harrowing experience, at first withdrawing from making music altogether and then resurfacing and shifting his style toward a softer sound. The intense emotions were still there, but understandably there was a sense that Proper-Sheppard didn’t want, or need to use a metaphorical machine gun to get his message across.
|
In the crowded but intimate setting of the Spitz club, it was clear Proper-Sheppard hadn’t lost his energy or enthusiasm for performing to his appreciative fans, in-between songs affectionately offering up small talk. It was clear, and warming to see that his sextuplet band really enjoying performing together, smiling familiarly at one another other when successfully carrying out a group crescendo riffs and all that.
Regularly changing guitars, the acoustic and electric performances of the songs all carried a genuine gravitas. There has always been something strangely dignified in the sound Proper-Sheppard creates, the audio version of some beacon spirit hailing against giant waves of human despair.
The night was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster - we had solemnity, warmth and a genuine experience of intimacy. Personally, I felt grateful to have witnessed Sophia perform such significant and effective music with such sensitivity.
|
