Drawing on alt-pop, folk, and even electro-rock, Proper-Sheppard used Sophia as an outlet for low-key compositions that sounded nothing like the shockingly loud and intense material performed by the God Machine. He released two Sophia albums during this period, 1996’s Fixed Water and 1998’s The Infinite Circle (which saw the artist joined primarily by other Flower Shop recording artists). A concert set, De Nachten, followed in 2001. Moving to the City Slang label, Sophia issued their next studio effort, People Are Like Seasons, in early 2004.