Formed and established in Los Angeles by Beau Baker and Omar Quiñones in 2013 – both veterans of the LA alternative music scene; the duo self-released several singles through social media and online services. In 2014 the band signed to Manchester-based AnalogueTrash to release their first official single, Push, which gained popularity amongst the Los Angeles industrial/goth club scene, followed soon after by their debut full-length album Lost.
2015 saw Vain Machine continue to expand its audience. They played a range of grassroots within California, eventually being invited to perform at the Dark Arts Festival in Salt Lake City and the Colorado Goth Festival in Colorado Springs.
Later that year – and seeing a departure in sound from their earlier material – the single Eat You Alive was released on an AnalogueTrash label sampler, a track which received considerable airplay on online radio stations and downloads via Bandcamp.
Fast forward to February of 2018, and a rework of the famous KISS song I Was Made For Lovin’ You was officially released and collaborated on the title track of Black Violet with local Los Angeles artist Vió.
Late 2018 saw the band drop a three-track EP titled Harm, marking the band’s first original material to be released in 2015. Instead, Omar spent 2019 rebuilding the sound of the back catalog for live performances, recording new music, and playing gigs on both sides of the Atlantic.
2019 also saw the band embark on a small west coast tour with The Secret Light and Xibling, with gigs in Denver, Palm Springs, and Albuquerque, while November of that year saw Vain Machine embark on a career-defining UK tour, performing in Manchester and Birmingham and culminating with a rapturous reception at the final Beat: Cancer Festival at London’s infamous Slimelight.
The visit was preceded by the release of Invisible, a radical reimagining of the Skylar Gray song, with proceeds from the track being donated to Project Semicolon, an organization dedicated to preventing suicide.
Vain Machine shows no sign of slowing down in 2020, with a new EP Disconnect due for release in March in cassette and digital formats and more live shows on the horizon. Each release draws strength from adversity and adventure and sees Vain Machine getting stronger and stronger, both musically and lyrically. We can’t wait to find out where this exciting band goes next.
