Soft Machine are an English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band from

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

, Kent. The band were formed in 1966 by

Mike Ratledge Michael Ronald Ratledge (6 May 1943 – 5 February 2025) was 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. Early life Ratledg ...

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is an English retired 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 para ...

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 asso ...

Daevid Allen Christopher David "Daevid" Allen (13 January 1938 – 13 March 2015) was an Australian musician. He was co-founder of the psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine (in the UK, 1966) and Gong (band), Gong (in France, 1967).McFarlane, 1999, Biograp ...

and Larry Nowlin. Soft Machine were central in the

Canterbury scene The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) is a musical scene that originated in the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisation ...

; they became one of the first British

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

acts, and later moved into progressive and

jazz rock Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music Music genre, genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, a ...

. In 1971, Soft Machine became a purely instrumental band. Soft Machine's lineup has undergone many changes, and has included

Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942) is an English guitarist best known as a member of the rock band the Police. Prior to joining the Police, Summers had been a member of several bands during the 1960s, including Zoot Money's Big Roll ...

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 i ...

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 Soft Mach ...

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

Karl Jenkins Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins, , Honorary Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, HonFLSW (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song "Adiemus (song), Adiemus" (1995, from the Adi ...

Roy Babbington Roy Babbington (born 8 July 1940 in Kempston, Bedfordshire, England) is an English 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 mus ...

and

Allan Holdsworth Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017) was a British jazz and rock music, rock guitarist, violinist and composer. He contributed to numerous bands, including Soft Machine, U.K. (band), U.K., The Tony Williams Lifetime, Pierre Moerl ...

. , the current lineup 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) is a British saxophonist, flautist and composer. He is a member of Soft Machine which he joined in 2006 while the group was still using the "Legacy" suffix and was a member of Gong from 1999 to 2010. Biography Tra ...

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 which ...

and

Asaf Sirkis Asaf Sirkis (; born 1969) is an Israeli jazz drummer, composer and educator. He is a member of the jazz rock band Soft Machine. Early life Sirkis spent his teens and early twenties in Rehovot, Israel where he began drum lessons aged 12. His ear ...

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

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called them "one of the most influential underground bands of their era". The band's name originates from

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

's novel ''

The Soft Machine ''The Soft Machine'' is a 1961 novel by American author William S. Burroughs. It was originally composed using the cut-up technique partly from manuscripts belonging to '' The Word Hoard''. It is the first part of ''The Nova Trilogy''. Title a ...

''.

History

Original run (1966–78)

In mid 1966,

(keyboards),

(drums, vocals),

(bass, vocals),

(guitar) and Larry Nowlin (guitar) formed Soft Machine, who were billed as The Soft Machine up to 1969 or 1970. Allen and Wyatt first played together in 1963 as part of the Daevid Allen Trio, and were occasionally accompanied by Ratledge. In 1964, Wyatt and Ayers 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 Si ...

; by 1966, they had both left that band and rejoined Allen to form the short-lived band Mister Head, which also included Nowlin. The four members soon joined with Ratledge to form The Soft Machine. Ayers suggested the band's name, which comes from

's novel ''

'' (1961). The band became a quartet when Nowlin departed in September 1966. During late 1966 and early 1967, the Soft Machine became involved in the early

UK underground The British counter-culture or underground scene developed during the mid-1960s, and was linked to the hippie subculture of the United States. Its primary focus was around Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill in London. It generated its own magazin ...

scene. Along with

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

, they became one of the major resident bands at the

UFO Club The UFO Club ( ') was a short-lived UK underground, British counter-culture nightclub in London in the 1960s. The club was established by Joe Boyd and John Hopkins (political activist), John "Hoppy" Hopkins. It featured light shows, poetry r ...

, and played other London clubs like the

Speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a beer flat or blind pig or blind tiger, was an illicit establishment that sold alcoholic beverages. The term may also refer to a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. In the United State ...

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 Soft Machine received negative reactions when playing at venues other than these underground clubs; this led to their penchant for long tracks and segued tunes because continuously playing deprived their audiences chances to boo them. In February 1967, the band released their first single " Love Makes Sweet Music" on

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a 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 ...

. In April 1967, the Soft Machine 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 Soho, London. The studios have mainly been used for dubbing feature films and television programmes. Major artists including the Animals, the Beatles, Herman's Hermits, Soft Machi ...

; due to a dispute over studio costs, these tracks were unreleased for several years. Polydor later released these demos in 1972 as ''Jet Propelled Photographs''. Later in 1967, the band began touring in mainland Europe, becoming especially popular in France. When returning from a tour of France in August, Allen, an Australian, was denied re-entry to the UK, so the group continued as a trio while Allen returned to Paris to form

Gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...

. The Soft Machine, who shared the same management as

the Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

, supported them on two North American tours during 1968. The band 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 ...

and recorded their eponymous first album in New York City in April at the end of the first tour, though it was not released until December. In London, guitarist

, later of

the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

, joined the Soft Machine. The band's new line-up began a US tour with some headlining shows before supporting Hendrix in August and September 1968. By the time the Hendrix tour began, Summers had been fired at Ayers' insistence. Ayers himself departed amicably after the final tour date at the Hollywood Bowl in September, and the Soft Machine disbanded. Wyatt stayed in the US to record solo demos while Ratledge returned to London and began composing. In December 1968, to fulfil contractual obligations, Wyatt and Ratledge re-formed the Soft Machine with their former road manager

replacing Ayers on bass. Hopper, like Ayers and Wyatt, was a founding member of The Wilde Flowers. In 1969, the Soft Machine recorded their second album '' Volume Two'' , which started a change to

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

. The album fulfilled the band's contract with Probe and they signed with

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...

by the beginning of 1970. In May 1969, the Soft Machine played 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 lengthy recording history, with work beginning in May 1968, but the bul ...

'', the debut solo album of Pink Floyd's

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, guitarist and songwriter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Until his departure in 1968, he was Pink Floyd's frontman and primary songwriter, ...

. Shortly after the Barrett recording, Hopper's brother

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 ...

, another Wilde Flowers co-founder, joined the Soft Machine on saxophone. Around this time, the band recorded the soundtrack for a multimedia show called ''Spaced'', which ran in London for five days in mid 1969. The soundtrack was commercially released in 1996 by Cuneiform Records. In October 1969, following Brian Hopper's departure, the Soft Machine expanded to a septet; Wyatt, Ratledge and Hugh Hopper added a four-piece horn section composed of the 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 w ...

, 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 K ...

and trombonist Nick Evans. After two months, Charig and Evans departed the band. The quintet 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'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

'' (1970) and its single-album follow-up '' Fourth'' (1971). ''Third'' was mostly instrumental save for Wyatt's song "Moon in June", the last Soft Machine song to have lyrics. ''Third'' is unusual for its time in having each of the four sides feature one suite. ''Third'' has since become Soft Machine's biggest-selling album. From ''Fourth'' onwards, the band became completely instrumental on record, and then on stage following Wyatt's departure soon after the album's release. During this period, the band received unprecedented acclaim across Europe, and they became the first rock band to be invited to play in August 1970 at London's Proms concert, and the show was broadcast live on UK national television. After differences over the group's musical direction, Wyatt was fired Unterberger, Richie
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 ...

(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 (band), Nucleus, and was an associate professor a ...

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 Nucleu ...

. The band's next album was a half-live half-studio double album ''

Six 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics A six-sided polygon is a hexagon, one of the three regular polygons capable of tiling the plane. A hexagon a ...

'', released in early 1973. After the release of ''Six'', Hopper left the band and was replaced by

, another former Nucleus member. During this period, Jenkins began to take over as bandleader and main composer. After they released ''

Seven 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, supers ...

'' in late 1973, Soft Machine again switched record labels 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 British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...

. At the end of 1973, another former Nucleus member

was added to the band, becoming their first guitarist since Andy Summers' brief tenure in 1968. Holdsworth played on the next album '' Bundles'' (1975) before leaving in early 1975. Holdsworth's replacement was

, and the 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 ...

, a 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 * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

keyboardist

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist and composer best known as a member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his prolific solo career. AllMusic describes Wakema ...

, also joined at the beginning of 1976. The next album, ''

Softs SofTS (Russian: СофТС) was an Uzbek private television channel owned by Gulnara Karimova's Terra Media. The channel was an international affiliate of the Russian network STS who supplied it with programming and broadcast primarily in the Russ ...

'' (1976), was the first without Ratledge, the last-remaining original member of the band, who left in March 1976. Other members of Soft Machine during the late 1970s were the saxophonist

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

, the violinist

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

, and the bassists Percy Jones of

Brand X Brand X were a British jazz rock band formed in London in 1974. They were initially active until 1980, followed by reformations between 1992–1999 and 2016–2021. Despite sometimes being considered to be a Phil Collins side project (due t ...

and Steve Cook. During 1977, Soft Machine recorded the live album '' Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris'', which was released early the following year. In 1978, Soft Machine gave only one live performance, which was at the Sound & Musik Festival in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, on 8 December, with a line-up of Marshall, Jenkins, Cook and Holdsworth. After this show, Soft Machine disbanded.

Occasional reunions (1980–81; 1984)

The name Soft Machine was resurrected for the 1981 album '' Land of Cockayne''. Soft Machine also briefly reformed for a series of concerts 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 in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sc ...

in mid 1984 that featured John Marshall, Karl Jenkins, Ray Warleigh, John Etheridge, bassist Paul Carmichael 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 Soft Heap (or Soft Head) was a Canterbury scene and jazz-rock supergroup founded in January 1978 and active throughout the Eighties. History Main source: Origins Jazz-rock band Soft Heap was formed in January 1978 by four musicians, two of ...

was formed in January 1978 by

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 1971 ...

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 Canterbury scene bands Gong, Hatfield and the North ...

from

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 gui ...

. is an acronym that is composed of the initials of the members' first names. The band toured in the early-to-mid 1978 as Soft Head because Dave Sheen replaced Pip Pyle due to Pyle's commitments to National Health. The live album ''Rogue Element'' was recorded on that tour and was released in 1978. The original Soft Heap line-up reformed in October 1978 to record their eponymous studio album, which was released in 1979. After two line-up changes from 1979 to 1981, the new line-up intermittently toured throughout the 1980s; they performed four tours during the decade in 25 European concerts, culminating 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 The capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town was given the name of ''Constantia'' in 298 during the reign of Roman Emperor Constantius ...

, France.

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

Soft Ware (sometimes SoftWhere), which was formed in September 1999, was composed of Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper,

on drums and Marshall's long-time 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 contemporar ...

. This short-lived line-up played one performance at (

Augustusburg Hunting Lodge The hunting lodge of 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 is visible from afar, is a local l ...

, Germany, on 4 September 1999. In 2002, with Tippett unavailable, another former Soft Machine member

(on guitar) joined the other three members of Soft Ware, who in June2002 renamed themselves Soft Works to avoid confusion with Peter Mergener's band

Software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

. Soft Works made their live debut on 17 August 2002 at the Progman Cometh Festival at Moore Theater in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

; and a live album of the performance was released on 29 July 2003. Their only studio album ''Abracadabra'', consisting of new material and recorded at Eastcote Studios, London, on 5–7 June 2002. The album was toured in 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 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, wa ...

on keyboards, whom Hopper had met two years earlier, and

Yoshida Tatsuya (born 9 January 1961) 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 trios Korekyojinn and D ...

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. Soft Mountain named themselves after Hoppy Kamiyama, whose name translates as "God Mountain". Looking for a break from relatively fixed set lists and song forms, Hugh Hopper had contacted Kamiyama with the idea of using a studio for one day to see what might happen. Kamiyama brought in Tatsuya, and, with no discussion, the quartet played two 45-minute improvisations. In 2007, a year after Elton Dean died aged 60, Soft Mountain released the eponymous album they had recorded on 10 August 2003 in Tokyo, Japan. The two-part "Soft Mountain Suite" extracts the best thirty minutes from each improvisation. In June 2004, Elton Dean and Hugh Hopper formed the band Soft Bounds 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 the ...

on keyboards and Simon Goubert on drums); they played at the Festival "Les Tritonales" in

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

, Paris, France. This concert was partially released in 2005 as the Soft Bounds' album ''Live at Le Triton''.

Soft Machine Legacy (2004–15)

In October 2004, the members of Soft Works, with John Etheridge permanently replacing Holdsworth, took the name "Soft Machine Legacy" and performed two festival shows; one on 9 October in Turkey and the other on 15 October in the 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 replaced John Marshall who had ligament problems. The new band's line-up was Elton Dean, John Etheridge, Hugh Hopper and Liam Genockey. Soft Machine Legacy released three albums: ''Live in Zaandam'' (2005), the studio album ''Soft Machine Legacy'' (2006), which was recorded in September 2005 and features fresh material, and ''Live at the New Morning'' (2006). After Elton Dean died in February 2006, the band continued with the British saxophonist and flautist

, formerly of Gong and

The Tangent The Tangent is a progressive rock group formed in 2002, led by keyboardist and singer Andy Tillison. History Formation The band was formed in 2002 by Parallel or 90 Degrees keyboardists Andy Tillison and Sam Baine and multi-instrumentalist Gu ...

. 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, audio engineer, recording engineer, record producer, and Music publisher (popular music), music publisher. He played with the Graham Bond Organisation, wi ...

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

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

, so for live performances

deputising for Hopper. Following Hopper's death in 2009, the band announced they would continue with Roy Babbington again replacing Hopper on bass. Soft Machine Legacy released their fifth album in October 2010; the 58-minute record ''Live Adventures'' was recorded live in October 2009 in Austria and Germany during a European tour. Founding Soft Machine bassist Kevin Ayers died in February 2013 at aged 68, and 77-year-old Daevid Allen died in March 2015 following a short battle with cancer. On 18 March 2013, the Legacy band released a new studio album titled '' Burden of Proof''. Travis stated: "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 Soft Machine Legacy, which was composed of 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: they would perform two shows in the Netherlands and Belgium in early December 2015, and seven UK shows in March and April 2016. In December 2015, it was confirmed the band were dropping the word "Legacy" from their name, becoming known as Soft Machine for the first time since 1984. The former Soft Machine member Allan Holdsworth, aged 70, died from heart failure on 15 April 2017 at his home in

Vista, California Vista (; Spanish language, Spanish for "view") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is a medium-sized city within the San Diego-Carlsbad metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, V ...

.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'' and ...

''.

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'', t ...

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

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...

''. Retrieved 11 July 2017. On 7 September 2018, Soft Machine released '' Hidden Details'' on Dyad Records in the UK and Tonefloat Records in the US, their first new studio album since ''Land of Cockayne'' (1981). In late 2018 and until February 2019, they toured the world to mark their 50th anniversary and to support the new album. On 20 March 2020, Soft Machine released ''Live at The Baked Potato'', their first original live album since ''Alive & Well'' (1978). It was recorded live on 1 February 2019 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 year ...

, Los Angeles, and was initially only available as a twelve-track limited-edition double vinyl LP of 200 copies but it has since been released on Compact Disc (CD). The album documents their extensive 2018–2019 world tour. On 7 December 2021, Soft Machine announced Babbington was retiring from the band and would be replaced by Fred Thelonious Baker. In June 2023, Soft Machine released the new studio album ''Other Doors'', which was recorded with John Marshall before he retired from music. Marshall died on 16 September 2023. , the line-up of Soft Machine was Etheridge, Travis, Baker and drummer

. They embarked on a seven-date UK tour beginning on 3 February 2023 at the

New Cross Inn The New Cross Inn is a music venue and pub located at 323 New Cross Road, in the New Cross area of the London Borough of Lewisham, in south-east London. History A pub with that name has existed in that area since at least the late 1700s, thou ...

in London and ending on 26 May 2023 at City Varieties in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. The band began touring again in November 2023 with dates booked until November 2024. Co-founding member Mike Ratledge died on 5 February 2025. On 4 March 2025 in Manchester (at Band On The Wall), the band embarked on a 8-date UK Spring tour which concluded on 4 April in London (at The Vortex Jazz Club), celebrating on that occasion John Etheridge's 50 years with the band (since 12 April 1975). Soft Machine are due to tour Europe from 9 May in London (at Signature Brew) to 25 May 2025 in Zoetermeer, The Netherlands (at De Boerderij): the 10-date Spring tour should also include Sweden (four dates), Norway (one date), Finland (two dates) and Germany (one date). A show on 27 November 2025 in London at

Cadogan Hall Cadogan Hall is a 950-seat capacity concert hall in Sloane Terrace in Chelsea, London, Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. The resident music ensemble at Cadogan Hall is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ( ...

(with

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

) is already scheduled too.

Style

Soft Machine's music encompasses

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

,"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. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

'', 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 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 created in ...

'', 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, wit ...

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

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 tradi ...

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 ar ...

. The band are 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, keyboards, lead and backing vocals *

– bass, guitar, backing and lead vocals *

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

– guitar *

– bass, guitar, alto saxophone *

– 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 musician. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of Rock music, rock band Cream (band), Cream. After the group disbanded in 1968, he pursued a ...

– bass * Stu Calver – vocals *

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 emerged ...

– tenor saxophone *John Perry – vocals *

Tony Rivers Tony Rivers (born Douglas Anthony Thompson, 21 December 1940, Shildon, County Durham, England) is an English singer, best known for singing with the groups Tony Rivers and the Castaways and Harmony Grass. Additionally, Rivers sang on albums by S ...

– vocals *

Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English film director, screenwriter and producer. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After abo ...

– guitar *

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar is the name of: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 * John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) ...

– piano * Paul Carmichael – bass *

– keyboards, piano

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1968) * '' Volume Two'' (1969) * ''

'' (1970) * '' Fourth'' (1971) * '' Fifth'' (1972) * ''

'' (1973) * ''

'' (1973) * '' Bundles'' (1975) * ''

'' (1976) * '' Land of Cockayne'' (1981) * '' Hidden Details'' (2018) * '' Other Doors'' (2023)

Soft Machine Legacy studio albums

* ''Soft Machine Legacy'' (2006) * ''

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

'' (2007) * '' Burden of Proof'' (2013)

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 2007) * * {{Authority control Canterbury scene Columbia Records artists English progressive rock groups English psychedelic rock music 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), 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

Soft Machine Legacy studio albums

Filmography

Notes

References

Further reading

External links