Soft Machine are an English rock and jazz band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene. Though they achieved little commercial success, they are widely considered by critics to have been very influential in rock music, with AllMusic describing them as "one of the more influential bands of their era, and certainly one of the most influential underground ones".
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History
Beginnings, psychedelic, jazz fusion (1966-68, 1969-71)
Soft Machine (billed as The Soft Machine up to 1969 or 1970) were formed in mid-1966 by Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals), Daevid Allen (guitar) and Mike Ratledge (organ) plus, for the first few gigs only, American guitarist Larry Nowlin. Allen, Wyatt and future bassist Hugh Hopper had 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, later incarnations of which would include future members of another Canterbury band, Caravan.
This first Soft Machine line-up became involved in the early UK underground, featuring prominently at the UFO Club, and subsequently other London clubs like the Speakeasy Club and Middle Earth. Their first single, 'Love Makes Sweet Music' (recorded 5 February 1967, produced by Chas Chandler), was released on Polydor Records in February, backed with 'Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin' (January 1967, produced by Kim Fowley--rumoured to have Jimi Hendrix, who was recording "Hey Joe" in the same studio, playing rhythm guitar). In April 1967 they recorded seven demo songs with producer Giorgio Gomelsky in De Lane Lea Studios 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 all 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's trendy "Nuit Psychédélique", performing a forty-minute rendering of "We Did It Again", singing the refrain over and over, achieving a trance-like quality. This made them instant darlings of the Parisian "in" crowd, resulting in invitations to appear on leading television shows and at the Paris Biennale in October 1967. Upon their return from their sojourn in 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.
Sharing the same management team as Jimi Hendrix, the band were rewarded with a support slot on the Jimi Hendrix Experience's North America tour throughout 1968. Soft Machine's first album - a psychedelic rock/proto-prog classic - was recorded in New York in April at the end of the first leg. Back in London, guitarist Andy Summers, later of The Police, joined the group following the breakup of Dantalian's Chariot (previously Zoot Money's Big Roll Band). After a few weeks of rehearsals, the new quartet began a tour of the USA with some solo shows before reuniting with Hendrix for a final string of dates in August-September 1968. Summers, however, had in the meantime been fired at the insistence of Ayers, who himself also departed amicably after the final tour date at the Hollywood Bowl in mid-September, and for the remainder of 1968, Soft Machine were no more. Wyatt stayed in the US 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, piano, drums and vocals) and featured Hendrix on bass guitar.
In December 1968, in order to fulfill contractual obligations, Soft Machine re-formed with former road manager and composer Hugh Hopper on bass added to Wyatt and Ratledge, and set about recording their second album, Volume Two, which launched a transition towards a purely instrumental sound resembling what would be later called jazz fusion. In May 1969 this line-up acted as the uncredited backing band on two tracks of Syd Barrett's solo debut album, The Madcap Laughs. The base trio was, later in 1969, expanded to a septet with the addition of four horn players, though only saxophonist Elton Dean remained beyond a few months, the resulting Soft Machine quartet (Wyatt, Hopper, Ratledge and Dean) running through Third (1970) and Fourth (1971), with various guests, mostly jazz players (Lyn Dobson, Nick Evans, Mark Charig, Jimmy Hastings, Roy Babbington, Rab Spall). 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 US, and is the best-selling Soft Machine recording.
This period saw them gaining unprecedented acclaim across Europe, and they made history by becoming the first 'rock band' invited to play at London's Proms in August 1970, a show which was broadcast live on national TV and later appeared as a live album.
Post-Wyatt era (1971-72)
After differences over the group's musical direction, Wyatt left (or was fired from) the band in August 1971 and formed Matching Mole (a pun on machine molle, French for soft machine; also said at the time to have been taken from some 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 "Drop" 2008 release) and attended 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 before the end of 1971 and, some months later, in 1972, to Dean's departure. They were replaced respectively in 1971 by John Marshall (drums) and in 1972 by Karl Jenkins (reeds, keyboards), both former members of Ian Carr's Nucleus, for the recording of Six (1973), and the band's sound developed even more towards jazz fusion.
Jenkins era part #1 (1972-78)
In 1973, after the release of Six, Hopper left and was replaced by Roy Babbington, another former Nucleus member, who had already contributed with double bass on Fourth and Fifth and took up (6-string) electric bass successfully, while Karl Jenkins progressively took over the role of band-leader and main composer. After they released Seven (1973) without additional musicians, the band switched record labels from Columbia to Harvest. On their 1975 album, Bundles, a significant musical change occurred with fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth adding guitar as a very prominent melody instrument to the band's sound, sometimes reminiscent of John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, setting the album apart from previous Soft Machine releases, which had rarely featured guitars. On the last official studio album Softs (1976), Holdsworth was replaced by John Etheridge. Ratledge, the last remaining original member of the band, had left during the early stages of recording. Other musicians in the band during the later period were bassists Percy Jones (of Brand X) and Steve Cook, saxophonists Alan Wakeman and Ray Warleigh, and violinist Ric Sanders. Their 1977 performances and record (titled Alive and Well, ironically) were among the last for Soft Machine as a working band, their very last performance (until the 1984 reformation) being the only Soft Machine concert of 1978.
Jenkins era part #2 (1980-81; 1984)
The Soft Machine name was used for the 1981 record Land of Cockayne (with Jack Bruce and, again, Allan Holdsworth, plus Ray Warleigh and Dick Morrissey on saxes and John Taylor on electric piano), and for a final series of dates at London's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in the summer of 1984, featuring Jenkins and Marshall leading an ad hoc lineup of Etheridge, Warleigh, pianist Dave MacRae and bassist Paul Carmichael.
Alternative bands: Soft Ware, Soft Works and Soft Machine Legacy (1999-2015)
Soft Machine having been a much loved band since their inception in the late 1960s and having always been at the cutting edge of many music genres (including the early progressive and psychedelic rock scene and then the burgeoning jazz rock and fusion scene), it was inevitable that former Soft Machine members would reconvene over the years, to continue on their legacy.
Soft Ware (1999-2002) and Soft Works (2002-04)
The first such conception in September 1999 was Soft Ware which featured Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper, John Marshall and long-time friend Keith Tippett. This line-up would only remain together briefly. Then in 2002, another former Soft Machine member, Allan Holdsworth, joins the remaining three members of Soft Ware who would rename themselves Soft Works in June 2002. They had changed their name to avoid confusion with Peter Mergener's band Software. As Soft Works, they made their world live debut on 17 August 2002 at the Progman Cometh 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-February 2004 and Mexico in March 2004.
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 & 15 October in Czech Republic), Liam Genockey 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 (2005), the studio album Soft Machine Legacy (2006) recorded in September 2005 and featuring fresh material and the double CD Live at the New Morning (2006). After Elton Dean died in February 2006, the band continued with British saxophonist and flautist Theo Travis, formerly of Gong and The Tangent.
In December 2006, the new Legacy line-up recorded the album Steam in Jon Hiseman's studio. Steam was eventually released by Moonjune Records in August 2007, before a European tour in autumn. In 2008, Hopper was sidelined by leukemia and the band continued live performances with Fred Baker.
Following Hopper's death in 2009, the band announced that they would continue with Babbington once again stepping into the role formerly held by Hopper.
On 4 October 2010, Soft Machine Legacy released their fifth album, a 58-minute new live album entitled Live Adventures recorded live on 22 October 2009 in Austria and Germany during a European tour.
In February 2013, founding Soft Machine bassist Kevin Ayers died, aged 68. On 13 March 2015, following a short battle with cancer, Ayers' fellow Soft Machine co-founder Daevid Allen died, aged 77.
On 18 March 2013, the Legacy band released a new studio album, titled Burden of Proof. In an early 2013 interview, Travis stated that, "legally we could actually be called Soft Machine but for various reasons it was decided to be one step removed."
On 11 February 2015, Soft Machine Legacy gave one show at The Y Theatre, Leicester, UK.
In March 2015, Gary Husband stepped in for drummer John Stanley Marshall performing with the Legacy for a short tour of Japan, along with guest artist and long-time friend Keith Tippett.
Later on, Soft Machine Legacy performed a few shows in Spring and Summer 2015.
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 era members - John Etheridge, John Marshall and Roy Babbington - joined by Theo Travis on sax, flute and keyboard.
At least at one Spring 2016 show (on 26 March in Sheffield Green, East Sussex, UK), Nic France (from Theo Travis's band Double Talk) deputised for John Marshall on drums and percussion.
On 4 September 2016, Soft Machine took part in the "2 Days Prog + 1" Prog Festival at Piazzetta della Musica in Veruno, Province of Novara, Italy.
In early 2016, a series of six other UK shows were scheduled for November 2016. Later on, two more UK shows were added for November 2016.
On 25 October 2017, Soft Machine announced a 10-date UK tour due to take place the next month in November 2017. The run of shows should start in Wavendon on 2 November and end in New Brighton on 26 November. Theo Travis reported that the band should be playing material from the 70s era - compositions by Hugh Hopper, Mike Ratledge and Karl Jenkins - as well as other pieces composed by John Etheridge or himself plus some band improvisations. The band (still) features John Etheridge on guitar, Roy Babbington on bass and John Marshall on drums and yours truly on sax, flute and keyboards.
Maps Soft Machine
Style
Soft Machine's music has been described by critics and journalists as progressive rock, experimental rock, jazz rock, jazz and psychedelic rock, as well as being a part of the Canterbury scene 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."
Personnel
Members
Soft Machine
- Former members
Soft Ware
- Hugh Hopper - bass, saxophone, guitar (1999-2002; died 2009)
- Elton Dean - saxophone, keyboards (1999-2002; died 2006)
- John Marshall - drums, percussion (1999-2002)
- Keith Tippett - keyboards (1999-2002)
Soft Works
- Hugh Hopper - bass, saxophone, guitar (2002-2004; died 2009)
- Elton Dean - saxophone, keyboards (2002-2004; died 2006)
- John Marshall - drums, percussion (2002-2004)
- Allan Holdsworth - guitar (2002-2004; died 2017)
Soft Machine Legacy
Timeline
Soft Machine line-ups
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Other minor releases
These albums were released by various small labels, and most of their content is available on the "main" albums listed above.
Singles
- 1967: "Love Makes Sweet Music / Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin'" [UK / NL]
- 1968: "Joy of a Toy / Why Are We Sleeping?" [US / JPN]
- 1978: "Soft Space (Part 1) / (Part 2)" [UK / Europe]
Live concerts not yet published
The following is an incomplete list of Soft Machine concerts appeared only unofficially in bootlegs, rarely with good quality sound, to serve as a guide for those wanting to officially expand the Soft Machine discography with restored live gigs that made history.
The 1960s
- 1968
- 1968, 08-11, Live at Davenport, Iowa (supporting The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
- 1968, 08-16, Live at the Merryweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland (supporting The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
- 1968, 09-13, Live at the Hollywood Bowl, California (supporting The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
- 1969
- 1969, 04-13, Live at the Country Club in London
- 1969, 06-25, Live at the Ba.Ta.Clan in Paris
- 1969, 08-09, Live at Plumpton Race Course - only "Moon in June" was performed.
- 1969, 10-05, Live at the Lyceum in London
- 1969, 10-28, Live at Actuel Festival in Amougies, Belgium - excerpt
- 1969, 10-6÷27, Live at the Liverpool University - excerpt
The 1970s
- 1970
- 1970, 01-04, Live at the Fairfield Halls, in Croydon - This concert was published as Noisette (Cuneiform 2000), but this official release lacks "Facelift", that was in part used for the Third album (1970), where it is joined by another version recorded January 11 and overdubbed; This concert is inserted here only because the version of "Facelift" herein contained (over 25 minutes long) is a very special version and the full song would deserve an official treatment.
- 1970, 01-17, Live at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam
- 1970, 04-04, Live at the Kolner Festival, Germany
- 1970, 09-01, BBC Radiophonic Workshop - Eamonn Andrews explained
- 1970, 09-17, Alan Black "Sound of the Seventies" (broadcast Sept. 25), recorded at the Camden Theatre in London
- 1970, 10-24, Live at DeDoelen, Rotterdam - excerpt
- 1971
- 1971, 02-07, Live at the Roundhouse, London, UK
- 1971, 03-21, Live in Het Turfschip, Breda, Netherlands
- 1971, 06-07, Live at the Cafe au Go Go (the Gaslight) in New York City
- 1971, 10-17, Donaueschinger Musiktage - this concert has appeared partially on Drop (Moonjune 2008)
- 1971, 11-07, Live at the Berlin Jazz Festival - there exist two versions of this concert: the live recording and the radio broadcast (with German DJ inserts) - this concert has appeared partially on Drop (Moonjune 2008).
- 1972
- 1972, 04-22, Live at Palazzo dello Sport in Bergamo, Italy
- 1972, 04-24, Live at the Piper Club in Rome - one of the last concerts with Elton Dean
- 1972, 06-07, Live at King's Cross Cinema - this concert is arguably the first with Karl Jenkins
- 1972, 12-03, Live at Fairfield Halls, Croydon, UK
- 1974
- 1974, 03-11, Radio Interview with Mike Ratledge and Alan Holdsworth for an American Radio broadcast
- 1974, 03-13, Live at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York
- 1974, 03-17, Live at "My Father's Place" in Roslyn, New York
- 1974, 03-23÷24, Live at the Howard Stein's Academy of Music in New York
- 1974, 08-10, Live at Le Naiadi, Pescara, Italy
- 1974, 09-20÷24, Villa Pamphili Festival in Rome
- 1975
- 1975, 01-16, Live in Stuttgart, Germany
- 1975, 08-17, Live at the Théâtre antique d'Orange, Orange Festival in France
- 1975, 08-24, Live at the Reading Festival, UK
- 1975, 08-29, Live in Vienna
- 1975, 11-26, Live at the Cinéma Variétés in Marseille, France
- 1976
- 1976, 02-18, Live at the Palasport in Reggio Emilia, Italy
- 1976, 08-08, Live in Trieste, Italy
- 1976, 10-09, Live in Roskilde, Copenhagen
- 1976, 12-03, Live at the Palais des Sports in Paris
Related bands, projects and tributes
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
Further reading
- Bennett, Graham. Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous; London: SAF Publishing; 2005; ISBN 0-946719-84-5; Revised and updated edition: 2014; ISBN 978-90-822792-0-7
External links
- Soft Machine section at the Canterbury Music website
- Une discographie de Robert Wyatt (in French)
- Soft Machine discography (archived)
- Facelift Magazine, "exploring the Canterbury scene and beyond"
- Softs in "The (almost) authorised Robert Wyatt website"
- Elton Dean interview in Facelift Magazine
- Noisette, "The ultimate Soft Machine experience, music, pictures, movies, facts"
- Soft Machine at The Prog Archives Project website
- Soft Machine at AllMusic
Source of article : Wikipedia
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