SOFT MACHINE

Description

Soft Machine is a British rock band, a pioneer in psychedelia. Its name is inspired by the book by William S. Burroughs. Formed in 1966 in Canterbury (England) by Robert Wyatt (drums and vocals), Mike Ratledge (organ, piano), Daevid Allen (guitar) and Kevin Ayers (guitar, bass and vocals), Soft Machine, whose name is the title of a work by William Burroughs: The Soft Machine (Olympia Press-1961), would become a flagship band of progressive rock and what would later be called the Canterbury Scene. They recorded their first album in April 1968 in New York (without Daevid Allen who would form the band Gong two years later). In early 1969, Hugh Hopper replaced Kevin Ayers on bass. The second album was recorded in April, then alto saxophonist Elton Dean joined the band, who would record the double album Third in the first months of 1970. The fourth album was made with the lineup of Wyatt, Ratledge, Hopper, and Dean. Wyatt left the band in July 1971 to form Matching Mole, which means "the shortsighted mole" (the mole always wears glasses on the covers of the four available albums) but is especially the English pronunciation of "Machine molle," the literal translation of Soft Machine in French. Artistically, Soft Machine is at the crossroads of several genres: pioneers of psychedelia, they quickly turned to jazz; increasingly oriented towards complex rhythms, they verged on jazz-rock. The influence of pataphysics and Dadaism on their early productions (volume Two is a patchwork of Dadaist references, to which are added tributes to the creators of serial music) would increasingly give way to a musical volubility, sometimes poorly perceived. This evolution is felt with the departure of the original musicians: Daevid Allen then Kevin Ayers and finally Robert Wyatt, the last representative of the psychedelic branch, who would leave after the album Fourth. The magnificent Moon in June on Third is Robert Wyatt's last authorial contribution and testament to Soft Machine. The band continued to exist in various forms after the departure of its founders, notably under the direction of Karl Jenkins. The band released 18 albums between 1966 and 1984 (the end of its actual activity under that name). But 30 other albums have been released since then until today! The band continues to play and release albums to this day, but under the name SOFT MACHINE LEGACY. The latest album was released this year. The concert presented here was recorded in 1969 but was only released in 1995. It includes 6 bonus tracks (demos).