Soft Machine are a

British rock British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the develop ...

band from

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

formed in mid-1966 by

Mike Ratledge Michael Roland Ratledge (born 6 May 1943) is a British musician. A part of the Canterbury scene, he was a founding member of Soft Machine. He was the last founding member to leave the group, doing so in 1976. Biography and career Ratledge was ...

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming p ...

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely ass ...

Daevid Allen Christopher David Allen (13 January 1938 – 13 March 2015), known professionally as Daevid Allen, sometimes credited as Divided Alien, was an Australian musician. He was co-founder of the psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine (in the UK, 1966) ...

and Larry Nowlin. As a central band of the

Canterbury scene The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) was a musical scene centred on the town of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisational styl ...

, the group became one of the first British

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science ...

acts and later moved into

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy pa ...

and

jazz rock Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and key ...

, becoming a purely instrumental band in 1971. The band has undergone many line-up changes, with musicians such as

Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942), is an English guitarist who was a member of the rock band The Police. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated w ...

Hugh Hopper Hugh Colin Hopper (29 April 1945 – 7 June 2009) was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands. Biography Early career Starting ...

Elton Dean Elton Dean (28 October 1945 – 8 February 2006) was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello (a variant of the soprano saxophone) and occasionally keyboards. Part of the Canterbury scene, he featured in, among oth ...

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

Karl Jenkins Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song "Adiemus" and the ''Adiemus'' album series; ''Palladio''; ''The Armed Man''; and his ''Requiem''. Jen ...

Roy Babbington Roy Babbington (born 8 July 1940 in Kempston, Bedfordshire, England) is a rock and jazz bassist. He became well known for being a member of the Canterbury scene progressive rock band Soft Machine. Biography Babbington started his musical ca ...

and

Allan Holdsworth Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017) was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist and composer. Holdsworth was known for his esoteric and idiosyncratic usage of advanced music theory concepts, especially with respe ...

being members during the band's history. The current line-up consists of

John Etheridge John Michael Glyn Etheridge (born 12 January 1948) is an English jazz fusion guitarist, composer, bandleader and educator known for his eclecticism and broad range of associations in jazz, classical, and contemporary music. He is best known fo ...

Theo Travis Theo Travis (born 7 July 1964 in Birmingham, England) is a British saxophonist, flautist and composer. He is best known for being a member of Soft Machine which he joined in 2006 while the group was still using the "Legacy" suffix and for being ...

Fred Thelonious Baker Fred Thelonious Baker (born 4 June 1960) is an English guitarist and jazz bass guitarist from Tibshelf, Derbyshire. He is known for playing in Phil Miller's Canterbury scene band In Cahoots. Baker played the guitar until his mid-teens, at wh ...

and

Asaf Sirkis Asaf Sirkis (born 1969) is an Israeli jazz drummer, composer and educator. Early life Sirkis spent his teens and early twenties in Rehovot, Israel where he began drum lessons aged 12. His early musical influences were The Beatles, The Police, Ye ...

. Though they achieved little commercial success, Soft Machine are considered by critics to have been influential in rock music. Dave Lynch at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

called them "one of the most influential

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ( ...

bands of their era". The group were named after the novel ''

The Soft Machine ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' by

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

History

Original run (1966–78)

Soft Machine (billed as the Soft Machine up to 1969 or 1970) were formed in mid-1966 by

(keyboards),

(drums, vocals),

(bass, vocals),

(guitar) and Larry Nowlin (guitar). Allen, Wyatt and future Soft Machine bassist

first played together in the Daevid Allen Trio in 1963, occasionally accompanied by Ratledge. In 1964, Wyatt, Ayers, Hopper and Hopper's brother

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word m ...

, another future Soft Machine member, were founding members of

the Wilde Flowers The Wilde Flowers were an English psychedelic rock band from Canterbury, Kent. Formed in 1964, the group originally featured lead vocalist Kevin Ayers, lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist Brian Hopper, rhythm guitarist and vocalist Richard Sin ...

, incarnations of which would also include future members of another Canterbury band,

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

. By 1966, Wyatt and Ayers had both left the Wilde Flowers and reconnected with Allen for a new band called Mister Head, who also included Nowlin. After a few months Mister Head split, with Wyatt, Ayers, Allen and Nowlin joining with Ratledge to form Soft Machine. Suggested by Ayers, the name came from

' 1961 novel ''

''. The band became a quartet when Nowlin departed in September 1966. In late 1966/early 1967, Soft Machine became involved in the early UK underground scene. Along with

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

, they became one of the major resident bands at the

UFO Club The UFO Club ( ') was a short-lived British counter-culture nightclub in London in the 1960s. The club was established by Joe Boyd and John "Hoppy" Hopkins. It featured light shows, poetry readings, well-known rock acts such as Jimi Hendri ...

and played other London clubs like the

Speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States ...

and

Middle Earth Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ( ...

. According to Wyatt, the negative reactions the Soft Machine received when playing at venues other than these underground clubs were what led to their penchant for long tracks and segued tunes, since playing continuously left their audiences no chance to boo. In February 1967, the band released a single, "

Love Makes Sweet Music "Love Makes Sweet Music" was the first single released by the psychedelic rock group Soft Machine. It is one of the first British psychedelic releases, predating Pink Floyd's " Arnold Layne" by a month. The A-side is more pop-oriented, featuring R ...

" (recorded 5 February 1967, produced by

Chas Chandler Bryan James "Chas" Chandler (18 December 1938 – 17 July 1996) was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He ...

), with "Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin (recorded January 1967, produced by

Kim Fowley Kim Vincent Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was the American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed The Runaways in the 1970s. He has been ...

) as the B-side, on

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. It was a commercial flop. In April 1967 they recorded nine demo songs with producer

Giorgio Gomelsky Giorgio Sergio Alessando Gomelsky (28 February 1934 – 13 January 2016) was a filmmaker, impresario, music manager, songwriter (as Oscar Rasputin) and record producer. He was born in Georgia, grew up in Switzerland, and later lived in the Un ...

De Lane Lea Studios Warner Bros. De Lane Lea Studios is a recording studio, based in Dean Street, Soho, London. Although the studios have mainly been used for dubbing feature films and television programmes, major artists such as the Animals, the Beatles, Soft Mac ...

that remained unreleased for several years in a dispute over studio costs. Polydor later released these demos in 1972 as ''Jet Propelled Photographs''. In 1967, as well as the UK, the band also played in the Netherlands, Germany, and on the French Riviera. During July and August 1967, Gomelsky booked shows along the Côte d'Azur with the band's most famous early gig taking place in the village square of Saint-Tropez. This led to an invitation to perform at producer

Eddie Barclay Édouard Ruault (26 January 1921 – 13 May 2005), better known as Eddie Barclay, was a French music producer whose singers included Jacques Brel, Dalida and Charles Aznavour. He founded record label Barclay. Life Ruault, the son of a caf� ...

's trendy "Nuit Psychédélique", performing a forty-minute rendering of "We Did It Again", singing the refrain over and over in a trance-like quality. This made them instant darlings of the Parisian "in" crowd, resulting in invitations to appear on television shows and at the

Paris Biennale The ''Biennale de Paris'' (English: Paris Biennale) is a noted French art festival. History The 'Biennale de Paris' was launched by Raymond Cogniat in 1959 and set up by André Malraux as he was Minister of Culture to present an overview of youn ...

in October 1967. When returning from France, Allen (an Australian) was denied re-entry to the United Kingdom, so the group continued as a trio, while he returned to Paris to form

Gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

. Sharing the same management as

the Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

, Soft Machine supported them on two North American tours during 1968. Now signed to

Probe Records Probe Records was a sub-label of ABC Records. It was started in 1968 as their label for psychedelic rock and progressive rock, but was deactivated in 1970. Between 1970 and 1974, the label was also used for international distribution of material ...

, Soft Machine's first album was recorded in New York City in April at the end of the first tour, though it would not be released until December. Back in London, guitarist

, later of

the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Poli ...

, joined the group. After a few weeks of rehearsals, the quartet began a tour of the U.S. with some headlining shows before supporting Hendrix during August and September 1968. By the time the Hendrix tour began, Summers had been fired at the insistence of Ayers. Ayers himself departed amicably after the final tour date at the Hollywood Bowl in mid-September, and Soft Machine disbanded. Wyatt stayed in the U.S. to record solo demos, while Ratledge returned to London and began composing in earnest. One of Wyatt's demos, "Slow Walkin' Talk", allowed Wyatt to make use of his multi-instrumentalist skills (

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

, piano, drums and vocals) and featured Hendrix on bass. In December 1968, to fulfil contractual obligations, Wyatt and Ratledge re-formed Soft Machine, with their former road manager Hugh Hopper replacing Ayers on bass, and recorded their second album '' Volume Two'' (1969), which started a transition toward

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and key ...

. The album fulfilled the band's contract with Probe and they signed with CBS Records by the beginning of 1970. In May 1969 Soft Machine acted as the uncredited backing band on two tracks of ''

The Madcap Laughs ''The Madcap Laughs'' is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter Syd Barrett. It was recorded after Barrett had left Pink Floyd in April 1968. The album had a chequered recording history, with work beginning in mid-1968, but the b ...

'', the debut solo album by

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...

of Pink Floyd. Shortly after the Barrett recording, Hopper's brother Brian Hopper joined the band on saxophone for a short time. In October 1969, following Brian Hopper's departure, Soft Machine became a septet with Wyatt, Ratledge and Hugh Hopper adding a four-piece horn section comprising saxophonists

and

Lyn Dobson Lyn Dobson (born 22 June 1939 in Bedford) is an English musician, noted as a jazz-rock flautist and saxophonist. He appeared with Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames and Manfred Mann in the mid-1960s, and then with Soft Machine and Keef Hartley, as we ...

, cornet player

Mark Charig Mark Charig (born 22 February 1944 in London) is a British trumpeter and cornetist. He was particularly active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he played in settings as diverse as Long John Baldry's group, Bluesology, Soft Machine, and ...

and trombonist Nick Evans, though the latter two departed after two months. The resulting Soft Machine quintet (Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper, Dean and Dobson) continued until March 1970, when Dobson departed. The remaining quartet recorded the double album ''

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hi ...

'' (1970) and its single album follow-up ''

Fourth Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

'' (1971). ''Third'' was mostly instrumental save for Wyatt's "Moon in June", the last Soft Machine song with lyrics. From ''Fourth'' onwards, the band became completely instrumental on record, and then on stage following Wyatt's departure soon after the album's release. Their propensity for building extended suites from regular-sized compositions, both live and in the studio (already displayed on the first two albums), reached its apogee in ''Third'', unusual for its time with each of the four sides featuring one suite. Over time ''Third'' has become Soft Machine's biggest selling album. During this period, the band received unprecedented acclaim across Europe, and they made history by becoming the first rock band invited to play at London's

Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Ha ...

in August 1970, with the show being broadcast live on national TV. After differences over the group's musical direction, Wyatt left (or was fired)

Unterberger, Richie Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

1996 Robert Wyatt interview
a
Perfect Sound Forever
(online music magazine) in August 1971 and formed

Matching Mole Matching Mole were an English progressive rock band associated with the Canterbury scene. Robert Wyatt formed the band in October 1971 after he left Soft Machine and recorded his first solo album, ''The End of an Ear'' (4 December 1970). He c ...

(a pun on ''machine molle'', French for ''soft machine''; also said at the time to have been taken from stage lighting equipment "Matching Mole"). He was briefly replaced by Australian drummer Phil Howard. This line-up toured extensively in Europe during late 1971 and began the recording of their next album '' Fifth'', but further musical disagreements led to Howard's dismissal at the beginning of 1972, with the album being completed with his replacement,

. ''Fifth'' was released in 1972, with side one comprising tracks recorded with Howard and side two comprising tracks recorded with Marshall. Later that year, Dean left the band and was replaced by

, who also played keyboards in addition to saxophone. Both Marshall and Jenkins were former members of

Ian Carr Ian Carr (21 April 1933 – 25 February 2009) was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator. Carr performed and recorded with the Rendell-Carr quintet and jazz-fusion band Nucleus, and was an associate professor at the Guildh ...

Nucleus Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom * Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucl ...

, and the band's next album, the half-live half-studio double album '' Six'', saw their sound develop even more towards jazz fusion. After the release of ''Six'' in early 1973, Hopper left the band. He was replaced by

, another former Nucleus member, who played 6-string bass. During this period, Jenkins began to take over as bandleader and main composer. After they released ''

Seven 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...

'' in late 1973, the band switched record labels again, this time moving from CBS to

Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...

, a sub-label of

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

. At the end of 1973, another former Nucleus member

was added to the band, their first guitarist since Andy Summers' brief tenure in 1968. Their next album, 1975's '' Bundles'', placed strong emphasis on Holdsworth's playing and was oftentimes reminiscent of

John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaugh ...

Mahavishnu Orchestra The Mahavishnu Orchestra were a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of activity, from 1971 to 1976 ...

. Holdsworth was replaced by

in the spring of 1975, while saxophonist

Alan Wakeman Alan Wakeman (born 13 October 1947) is an English saxophonist who was a member of Soft Machine during 1976, appearing on the album '' Softs''. He is a cousin of the keyboard player Rick Wakeman. Career Wakeman started on the clarinet at age 14 ...

(cousin of

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

keyboardist

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born ...

) was added at the beginning of 1976. Wakeman's time with the band was brief, but did record with them on the next album '' Softs'' (1976), the first album without Ratledge, the last remaining original member of the band, who left in March 1976. Other musicians in the band during the later period were saxophonist

Ray Warleigh Raymond Kenneth Warleigh (28 September 1938 – 21 September 2015) was an Australian alto saxophonist and flautist. Biography Ray Warleigh was born in Sydney, Australia, and migrated to England in 1960, where he quickly established himself as a ...

, violinist

Ric Sanders Richard Sanders (born 8 December 1952) is an English violinist who has played in jazz-rock, folk rock, British folk rock and folk groups, including Soft Machine and Fairport Convention. Biography Sanders' first experience with a professiona ...

and bassists Percy Jones (of

Brand X Brand X were a jazz fusion band formed in London in 1974. They were active until 1980, followed by a reformation between 1992 and 1999, and were active following a 2016 reunion until 2021. Members have included John Goodsall (guitar), Percy J ...

) and Steve Cook. Their 1977 performances, documented on the live album '' Alive & Well'' released early the following year, were among the last for Soft Machine as a working band, their last performance (until the 1984 reformation) being the only Soft Machine concert of 1978, at the Sound & Musik Festival in Dortmund, Germany on 8 December, with a line-up of John Marshall, Karl Jenkins, Steve Cook and Allan Holdsworth.

Occasional reunions (1980–81; 1984)

The Soft Machine name was resurrected for the 1981 album '' Land of Cockayne''. Soft Machine also briefly reformed for a series of dates at London's

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street (London), Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed ...

in the summer of 1984, featuring John Marshall, Karl Jenkins, Ray Warleigh, John Etheridge, bassist

Paul Carmichael Paul Carmichael is an English bass guitarist and composer. Career In his early 20s, Carmichael joined the jazz-rock band Nucleus to play on tour in Germany. He has also toured with Soft Machine and Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia. In the 19 ...

and pianist

Dave MacRae David Scott MacRae (born 2 April 1940, Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand keyboardist, noted for his contributions in jazz and jazz rock, and his collaborations with musicians from the Canterbury scene. Life and career MacRae studied at th ...

Alternative bands (1978–2015)

Soft Heap / Soft Head (1978–88)

Soft Heap In computer science, a soft heap is a variant on the simple heap data structure that has constant amortized time complexity for 5 types of operations. This is achieved by carefully "corrupting" (increasing) the keys of at most a constant number o ...

formed in January 1978, featuring

and

from Soft Machine, and

Alan Gowen Alan Gowen (19 August 1947 – 17 May 1981) was an English fusion/ progressive rock keyboardist, best known for his work in Gilgamesh and National Health. History Gowen was born in North Hampstead, northwest London. He joined Assagai in ...

and

Pip Pyle Phillip "Pip" Pyle (4 April 1950 – 28 August 2006) was an English-born drummer from Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, who later resided in France. He is best known for his work in the progressive rock Canterbury scene bands Gong, Hatfie ...

from the band

National Health National Health were an English progressive rock band associated with the Canterbury scene. Founded in 1975, the band featured members of keyboardist Dave Stewart's band Hatfield and the North and Alan Gowen's band Gilgamesh, including guit ...

. was the acronym formed by the initials of their first names. The newly formed band toured in the spring and summer of 1978 as Soft Head as Dave Sheen replaced Pip Pyle, due to the latter's commitments with the band National Health. The live album ''Rogue Element'' was recorded on that tour and was released in 1978. The original Soft Heap line-up reconvened in October 1978 to record their eponymous studio album ''Soft Heap'' which was released in 1979. After two line-up changes that occurred in 1979–81, the new line-up toured intermittently throughout the 1980s, embarking on four tours during the decade with a total of 25 European concerts, culminating with a gig on 11 May 1988 at the Festival "Jazz sous les pommiers" in

Coutances Coutances () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. History Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town was given the name of ''Constantia'' in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus. ...

, France.

Soft Ware (1999–2002), Soft Works (2002–04), Soft Mountain (2003) and Soft Bounds (2004)

Soft Ware (sometimes SoftWhere) formed in September 1999, featuring Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper,

(on drums) and longtime friend

Keith Tippett Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British jazz pianist and composer. According to AllMusic, Tippett's career "..spanned jazz-rock, progressive rock, improvised and contemporary ...

. This line-up would remain together only briefly, and played just a single gig (

Augustusburg Hunting Lodge The hunting lodge of Augustusburg (german: Jagdschloss Augustusburg) was built from 1568 to 1572 above the town of the same name on a hill called the ''Schellenberg'' () on the northern edge of the Ore Mountains of Germany. The castle, which i ...

, Germany, Sept. 4, 1999). Then in 2002, with Tippett unavailable, another former Soft Machine member,

(on guitar), was brought in with the remaining three members of Soft Ware, who renamed themselves Soft Works in June 2002 to avoid confusion with Peter Mergener's band

Software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

. As Soft Works, they made their world live debut on 17 August 2002 at the

Progman Cometh Progman Cometh Music Festivals were two Canterbury scene music concerts held at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington, USA, in 2002 and 2003. Progman Cometh 2002 Friday, August 16 * 7:00pm Glass (with friends) * 8:30pm Hughscore * 10:00pm Pi ...

Festival (at the Moore Theater in Seattle, Washington), released (on 29 July 2003) their only (studio) album, ''Abracadabra'', consisting of all new material recorded at the Eastcote Studios in London on 5–7 June 2002, and toured Japan in August 2003, Italy in January and February 2004, and Mexico in March 2004. During a Japanese Soft Works tour in August 2003, Elton Dean (on saxophone) and Hugh Hopper (on bass) formed the (very) short-lived band Soft Mountain along with Japanese musicians

Hoppy Kamiyama is a Japanese keyboardist and music producer who has worked with artists such as eX-Girl, The Pugs, Bradford Reed, Bill Laswell, Jan Linton, Marc Ribot, Hugh Hopper/Elton Dean and Damo Suzuki. Biography His record company, God Mountain, was ...

(on keyboards), whom Hopper had met a couple of years earlier, and

Yoshida Tatsuya (born 9 January 1961 in Kitakami, Iwate) is a Japanese musician; drummer and composer who is the only consistent member of the renowned progressive rock duo Ruins, as well as of Koenji Hyakkei. He is also a member of the progressive rock tri ...

(from the band

Ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

) on drums. Indeed, looking for a break from relatively fixed set lists and song forms, Hugh Hopper had contacted Kamiyama with the idea of hitting a studio for a day to see what might happen. Kamiyama brought in Tatsuya, and, with no discussion, the quartet dove right in, playing two 45-minute improvisations. In 2007, a year after Elton Dean unexpectedly died aged 60, the one-time meeting band released their eponymous album ''Soft Mountain'' that they had recorded on that 10 August 2003 day in Tokyo, Japan. The two-part "Soft Mountain Suite" extracts the best thirty minutes from each improvisation. Soft Mountain named themselves after Hoppy Kamiyama, whose name translates to "God Mountain" in English. In June 2004, Elton Dean and Hugh Hopper formed the (very) short-lived band Soft Bounds along with

Sophia Domancich Sophia Domancich (born 25 January 1957) is a French pianist and jazz composer.''Biographie de Sophia Domancich'' sur le site de lCité de la musique de Paris/ref> Life and Work Domancich began learning piano at the age of six and attended th ...

(keyboards) and Simon Goubert (drums), playing at the Festival "Les Tritonales" at Le Triton in

Les Lilas Les Lilas () is a commune in the northern-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. History The commune of Les Lilas (literally "the lilacs") was created on 24 July 1867 by detaching a part of the territory of ...

, France (a suburb in the northeast of Paris). This concert was partially released as the (unique Soft Bounds) album ''Live at Le Triton'' in 2005.

Soft Machine Legacy (2004–15)

In October 2004, a new variant of Soft Works, with John Etheridge permanently replacing Holdsworth, took the name of "Soft Machine Legacy" and performed their first two gigs (two Festival shows on 9 October in Turkey and 15 October in Czech Republic),

Liam Genockey Liam Genockey (born 12 August 1948) is an Irish musician, who is the drummer with British folk rock band Steeleye Span. Biography Genockey was born in Dublin, Ireland. During the 1960s he lived in Plymouth, Devon, U.K, playing in local semi- ...

temporarily replacing John Marshall who had ligament problems (the first Soft Machine Legacy line-up being consequently: Elton Dean, John Etheridge, Hugh Hopper and Liam Genockey). Later on, Soft Machine Legacy released three albums: ''Live in

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Zaan, just north of Amsterdam. The statistical district Zaa ...

'' (2005), the studio album ''Soft Machine Legacy'' (2006) recorded in September 2005 and featuring fresh material and the album ''Live at the New Morning'' (2006). After Elton Dean died in February 2006, the band continued with British saxophonist and flautist

, formerly of Gong and

the Tangent The Tangent is a progressive rock group formed in 2002. History Formation The band was formed in 2002 by Parallel or 90 Degrees keyboardists Andy Tillison and Sam Baine and multi-instrumentalist Guy Manning; The Flower Kings' guitarist Roi ...

. In December 2006, the new Legacy line-up recorded the album ''Steam'' in

Jon Hiseman Philip John Albert "Jon" Hiseman (21 June 1944 – 12 June 2018) was an English drummer, recording engineer, record producer, and music publisher. He played with the Graham Bond Organisation, with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and later form ...

's studio. ''Steam'' was released in August 2007 by Moonjune before a European tour. Hopper left in 2008 because he was suffering from

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

, so the band continued live performances with

deputising for Hopper. Following Hopper's death in 2009, the band announced that they would continue with Roy Babbington again replacing Hugh Hopper on bass. Soft Machine Legacy released their fifth album in October 2010: a 58-minute album entitled ''Live Adventures'' recorded live in October 2009 in Austria and Germany during a European tour. Founding Soft Machine bassist Kevin Ayers died in February 2013, aged 68, while Daevid Allen died in March 2015 following a short battle with cancer, aged 77. On 18 March 2013, the Legacy band released a new studio album, titled '' Burden of Proof''. Travis stated that "legally we could actually be called Soft Machine but for various reasons it was decided to be one step removed."

A return to the name "Soft Machine" (2015–present)

In September and October 2015, it was announced that the band Soft Machine Legacy, comprising drummer John Marshall, guitarist John Etheridge, bassist Roy Babbington and sax, flute and keyboard player Theo Travis, would be performing under the name "Soft Machine" in late 2015 and early 2016: two shows in the Netherlands and Belgium in early December 2015 and a series of seven UK shows in March–April 2016. In December 2015, it was confirmed that the band were officially dropping the "Legacy" tag from their name moving forward, thus reactivating Soft Machine for the first time since 1984. Another former Soft Machine member, Allan Holdsworth, died on 15 April 2017 at the age of 70 at his home in

Vista, California Vista (; Spanish for "view") is a city in San Diego County, California. Vista is a medium-sized city within the San Diego-Carlsbad, CA Metropolitan Area and has a population of 101,638. Vista's sphere of influence also includes portions of ...

, from heart failure.Varga, George (16 April 2017)
"Allan Holdsworth, internationally celebrated guitar innovator, dead at 70"
''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' an ...

''.

Tronc Tribune Publishing Company (briefly Tronc, Inc.) is an American newspaper print and online media publishing company. The company, which was acquired by Alden Global Capital in May 2021, has a portfolio that includes the ''Chicago Tribune'', ...

. Retrieved 13 May 2017.Molenda, Michael (29 June 2017)
"The Magnificent Architect of Improvisation: A Tribute to Allan Holdworth"
''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political ...

''. Retrieved 11 July 2017. On 7 September 2018, Soft Machine released ''

Hidden Details ''Hidden Details'' is the eleventh studio album by the jazz rock band Soft Machine, released in September 2018. Overview ''Hidden Details'' is the first album released under the Soft Machine moniker since '' Land of Cockayne'' in 1981, with a si ...

'' on Dyad Records in the UK and Tonefloat Records in the US, their first new studio album since 1981's ''Land of Cockayne''. In Fall and Winter 2018, they toured the world as part of their 50th anniversary celebration and in support of the new album, and the US in January and February 2019. On 20 March 2020, Soft Machine released ''Live at The Baked Potato'', their first original live album since 1978's ''Alive & Well''. It was recorded live at

The Baked Potato The Baked Potato is a prominent jazz club on Cahuenga Boulevard in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, opened by Don Randi (father of bassist Leah Randi) in 1970. Randi formed his own group, Don Randi and Quest, as the house band. Over the yea ...

, Los Angeles, on 1 February 2019 and was initially only available as a twelve-track only-200-numbered-copy limited edition double vinyl LP; it has since been released on CD. The album documents their extensive 2018–2019 world tour. On 7 December 2021 Soft Machine issued a press release announcing that Babbington was retiring from the band, to be replaced by Fred Thelonious Baker. In June 2023, the band released a new studio album, ''Other Doors''. The album was recorded with John Marshall before he retired from music. Marshall died on 16 September 2023. The current line-up of Soft Machine, in place since August 2022, comprises John Etheridge (guitar), Theo Travis (saxophones, flutes, keyboards), Fred Thelonious Baker (bass) and

(drums). They embarked on a seven-date UK "Spring 2023 Tour" beginning on 3 February 2023 at the New Cross Inn in London and ending on 26 May 2023 at City Varieties in

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

. The band began touring again in November 2023 with dates booked through February 2024.

Style

Soft Machine's music encompasses

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

,"R.I.P. Daevid Allen, founder of Gong and Soft Machine, has died"
by Ben Kaye, ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outl ...

'', 13 March 2015"A guide to the best (and a bit of the worst) of prog rock"
by Jason Heller, ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cr ...

'', 7 June 2012

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

proto-prog Proto-prog (short for proto-progressive) is the earliest work associated with the first wave of progressive rock music, known then as "progressive pop". Such musicians were influenced by modern classical and other genres usually outside of tradit ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

and

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...

, as well as being a part of the

of progressive rock. According to Hugh Hopper, "We weren't consciously playing jazz rock, it was more a case of not wanting to sound like other bands; we certainly didn't want a guitarist."Irvin, Jim.
The MOJO Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion
'; Canongate Books Ltd; 4th edition: 1 November 2007; ; p.208

Members

– guitar *

– saxophones, flutes, keyboards, piano *

– bass *

– drums

Former

– keyboards, piano, organ, synthesizers, flute *

– drums, percussion, lead and backing vocals *

– bass, guitars, backing and lead vocals *

– guitar, bass, backing vocals *Larry Nowlin – guitar, backing vocals *

– guitar *

– bass, guitars, alto saxophone *

Brian Hopper Brian Hopper (born 3 January 1943) is an English guitarist and saxophonist. Hopper was born in Whitstable, Kent, England, and is the older brother of the late bassist Hugh Hopper. With Hugh, he was a member in the early Canterbury scene band W ...

– tenor and soprano saxophones *

– alto saxophone, saxello, flute, keyboards *

– tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, backing vocals *

– cornet, trumpet * Nick Evans – trombone * Phil Howard – drums *

– drums, percussion *

– baritone and soprano saxophones, recorder, flute, oboe, keyboards, piano, synthesizers *

– bass *

– guitars, violin, voices *

– tenor and soprano saxophones *

– alto saxophone, flute *

– violin, keyboards * Percy Jones – bass *Steve Cook – bass *

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disban ...

– bass *

Dick Morrissey Richard Edwin Morrissey (9 May 1940 – 8 November 2000) was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone and flute. Biography Background He was born in Horley, Surrey, England. Dick Morrissey eme ...

– tenor saxophone *

Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English filmmaker. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After about ten years of filming adverts ...

– guitar *

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar may refer to: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 *John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) (178 ...

– piano *

– bass *

– keyboards, piano

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Related bands, projects & tributes discography

Discography

Filmography

*''Soft Machine Legacy: New Morning – The Paris Concert'', available in DVD format (2006) *''Alive in Paris 1970'', available in DVD format (2008) *'' Romantic Warriors III: Canterbury Tales'', available in DVD format (2015)

Notes

References

External links

Official WebsiteSoft Machine section
at the Canterbury Music website

(in French)
Soft Machine discography
(archived) * *
Facelift Magazine
"exploring the Canterbury scene and beyond"
Softs
in "The (almost) authorised Robert Wyatt website"

in'
Facelift Magazine
'
Noisette
"The ultimate Soft Machine experience, music, pictures, movies, facts" {{Authority control Canterbury scene Columbia Records artists English progressive rock groups English jazz-rock groups Harvest Records artists Musical groups established in 1966 Musical groups disestablished in 1984 1966 establishments in England Articles which contain graphical timelines Proto-prog groups

History

Original run (1966–78)

Occasional reunions (1980–81; 1984)

Alternative bands (1978–2015)

Soft Heap / Soft Head (1978–88)

Soft Ware (1999–2002), Soft Works (2002–04), Soft Mountain (2003) and Soft Bounds (2004)

Soft Machine Legacy (2004–15)

A return to the name "Soft Machine" (2015–present)

Style

Members

Former

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Related bands, projects & tributes discography

Discography

Filmography

Notes

References

Further reading

External links