God Is an Astronaut

God Is an Astronaut

God Is an Astronaut is an Irish post-rock band from County Wicklow, formed in 2002 by twin brothers Niels and Torsten Kinsella. The group is active from 2002 to the present and is associated with ambient, instrumental, instrumental rock, krautrock, post-rock and rock. Its core members are Niels Kinsella, Torsten Kinsella, Lloyd Hanney and Jamie Dean, with Anxo Silveria listed as the current support and touring drummer.

Formation and name

The band takes its name from a quote in the film Nightbreed. Niels and Torsten Kinsella remain the only founding members, and since 2025 the band functions as a duo while continuing to use touring and support musicians live.

Style and live presentation

The group’s music draws on electronic music, krautrock and space rock, and its sound has been compared to Tangerine Dream. God Is an Astronaut presents live performances as a full audio-visual set, using projected self-edited footage and lighting, with each song accompanied by its own video.

Recordings and releases

The band’s debut album, The End of the Beginning, appears in 2002 on Revive Records, the label independently owned by the band. It is described as having been intended as a farewell to the industry. Two videos from the album, for “The End of the Beginning” and “From Dust to the Beyond”, receive airplay on MTV UK and other MTV Europe networks.

In 2006, a licensing deal with Rocket Girl leads to the re-release of the EP A Moment of Stillness and the album All Is Violent, All Is Bright. The single “Fragile” from that album receives plays on MTV2 UK’s 120-minute show and on MTV’s The Comedown.

Subsequent releases include Far from Refuge in 2007, God Is an Astronaut in 2008, Age of the Fifth Sun in 2010, Origins in 2013, Helios | Erebus in 2015, Epitaph in 2018, Ghost Tapes #10 in 2021, Somnia in 2022 and Embers in 2024. The band has released nine studio albums by the point described in the biography, and later discography entries continue that output. The band says it treats each album as a sonic snapshot of its state at the time of recording.

Career highlights

In 2011, the band reissues remastered versions of most of its early albums. It performs at Eurosonic Festival in 2012, when Ireland is the spotlight country. The group also tours in China, Russia, Brazil and across Europe.

Line-up

Torsten Kinsella performs vocals, guitar and keyboard, while Niels Kinsella plays bass and guitars. Lloyd Hanney is listed as drummer from 2003 to 2025. Jamie Dean is credited with keyboards and guitar between 2010 and 2017, and again from 2020 to 2022. Other former contributors include Gazz Carr and Robert Murphy on keyboards, synthesizer and guitar.