Soft Machine are a British

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 Wales ...

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 ...

(keyboards, 1966–1976),

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 ...

(drums, vocals, 1966–1971),

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 ...

(bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and

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) ...

(guitar, 1966–1967). 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 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 ...

and

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 ...

. Their varying line-ups have included former members 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 ...

(guitar, 1968),

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 ...

(bass, 1968–1973),

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 ...

(saxophone 1969–1972),

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 ...

(keyboards, saxophone, 1972–1978, 1980–1981, 1984) 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 ...

(guitar, 1973–1975), and currently consists of

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 ...

(drums, 1972–1978, 1980–1981, 1984 and since 2015),

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 ...

(guitar, 1975–1978, 1984 and since 2015),

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 ...

(saxophone, flutes, keyboards since 2015), and

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 ...

(bass since 2020). Though they achieved little commercial success, the 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 more influential bands of their era, and certainly 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 ( ...

ones". 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

1960s (1966–69)

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

(drums, vocals),

(bass, guitar, vocals),

(guitar) and

(organ). Allen, Wyatt and future bassist

first played together in the Daevid Allen Trio in 1963, occasionally accompanied by Ratledge. Wyatt, Ayers, and Hopper had been 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 ...

. This first Soft Machine line-up became involved in the early UK underground, performing 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 other London clubs like the

Speakeasy Club The Speakeasy Club, also known as The Speak, was a club situated at 48 Margaret Street, London, England, and served as a late-night meeting place for the music industry from 1966 to June 1978. The club took its name and theme from the speakeasie ...

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. Their first single, " Love Makes Sweet Music" (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 ...

), was released by

Polydor 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. ...

in February, backed with "Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin (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 ...

). 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 until 1971 in a dispute over studio costs. They 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 Jimi Hendrix, the band supported

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 ...

's North America tour throughout 1968. Soft Machine's first album was recorded in New York City in April at the end of the first leg of the tour. 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 following the breakup of

Dantalian's Chariot Dantalian's Chariot was a British psychedelic rock band formed in 1967, led by keyboardist and bandleader Zoot Money, and also featuring Andy Summers (later of The Police). They are best remembered for their single "Madman Running Through the Fi ...

. After a few weeks of rehearsals, the quartet began a tour of the U.S. with some solo shows before reuniting with Hendrix during August and September 1968. Summers was fired at the insistence of Ayers. Ayers 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 guitar. In December 1968, to fulfill contractual obligations, Soft Machine re-formed with former road manager and composer Hugh Hopper on bass added to Wyatt and Ratledge and recorded their second album, '' Volume Two'' (1969), which started a transition toward

. In May 1969 this line-up 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 ...

. In October 1969 the band became a septet with the addition of four horn players, 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.

1970s (1970–78)

The resulting Soft Machine quintet (Wyatt, Hopper, Ratledge, Dean and Dobson) continued until March 1970, when Dobson departed. The remaining quartet recorded ''

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, which also included a live track, "Facelift", recorded when Dobson was still with the band) and '' Fourth'' (1971). ''Fourth'' was the first of their fully instrumental albums and the last one featuring Wyatt. Their propensity for building extended suites from regular-sized compositions, both live and in the studio (already in the Ayers suite in their first album), reached its apogee in the 1970 album ''Third'', unusual for its time with each of the four sides featuring one suite. ''Third'' was also unusual for remaining in print for more than ten years in the U.S., and is the best-selling Soft Machine recording. They 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. The show was broadcast live on national TV and later appeared as a live album. After differences over the group's musical direction, Wyatt left (or was fired from)

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) the band 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 the end of 1971 (attested by the 2008 release, ''Drop'') and began the recording of their next album, but further musical disagreements led to Howard's dismissal after the recording of the first LP side of '' Fifth'' (1972) at the beginning of 1972, with the second LP side recorded with his replacement,

. Later in 1972, 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's Nucleus, and the band's next album, '' Six'' (1973), saw their sound develop even more towards jazz fusion. After the release of ''Six'' in 1973, Hopper left the band. He was replaced by

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 ...

, another former Nucleus member, who played 6-string bass guitar, while Karl Jenkins took over as bandleader and 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 ...

'' (1973), the band switched record labels from

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most lab ...

. On their 1975 album, '' Bundles'', a significant musical change occurred with

adding guitar as a prominent melody instrument to the band's sound, sometimes 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 ...

, setting the album apart from previous Soft Machine albums which had rarely featured guitars. Holdsworth was replaced by

, with 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 ...

added at the beginning of 1976 and Ratledge, the last remaining original member of the band, leaving shortly after. Wakeman's time was the band was brief, but did record with them on the next album '' Softs'' (1976, which featured Ratledge on two tracks recorded just before his departure). Other musicians in the band during the later period were 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, 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 ...

, and 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 ...

. Their 1977 performances and record (titled ''Alive and Well'', ironically) 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.

1980s reunions (1980–81; 1984)

Marshall and Jenkins resurrected the Soft Machine name for the 1981 record '' 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, John Etheridge, Ray Warleigh, 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 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 ...

(Hugh, Elton, Alan, Pip) 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 ...

. 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

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

an 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 France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

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 London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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, whose name translates as "God Mountain"), 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 passed at the age of sixty, 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 ...

(a suburb in the northeast of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

). 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 Fred Baker. 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 (made of guitarist John Etheridge, drummer John Marshall, bass player 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 had dropped the "Legacy" tag from their name, as the band featured three of the group's 1970s members – John Etheridge, John Marshall and Roy Babbington – joined by Theo Travis on sax, flute and keyboard. On 7 September 2018, Soft Machine released '' Hidden Details'', their first new studio album in five years (first album as Soft Machine since 1981). 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'' (on Tonefloat Records), their first original live album in decades. 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, CA 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.

Style

Soft Machine's music encompasses

,"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 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 ...

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

Current members *

– drums, percussion *

– guitar *

– saxophones, flutes, keyboards, piano *

– bass Former members *

– keyboards, piano, synthesizers, flute *

– drums, percussion, lead and backing vocals *

– bass, guitars, backing and lead vocals *

– guitar *

– bass, guitars, alto saxophone *

– alto saxophone, saxello, flute, keyboards *

– tenor and soprano saxophones, flute *

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

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

– bass *

– guitars, violin, backing vocals *

– tenor and soprano saxophones *

– alto saxophone, flute *

– violin * Percy Jones – bass *Steve Cook – bass *Paul Carmichael – bass *

– keyboards, piano

Discography

Studio 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 musicians

History

1960s (1966–69)

1970s (1970–78)

1980s 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

Discography

Studio albums

Related bands, projects & tributes discography

Discography

Filmography

Notes

References

Further reading

External links