Biography of Soft Machine

A group whose sound could best be described as a freewheeling mix of avant garde and jazz music with psychedelic rock, The Soft Machine was one of the main bands of England's "Canterbury Scene" of the late '60s and early '70s along with Caravan and Gong. The Soft Machine evolved from the wellspring of Canterbury bands, including The Wilde Flowers (a band remembered most for what its members accomplished after the band's demise). When The Flowers broke up in 1966, four members, Kevin Ayers (bass, vocals), Daevid Allen (guitar), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals), and Mike Ratledge (piano, organ) formed a band and named it The Soft Machine after William S. Burroughs' novel. (Other short-lived band names included Mr. Head, Dingo Virgin & The Foreskins, And Nova Express.) This line-up of the band recorded some demos for an album and a single, "Love Makes Sweet Music" b/w "Feelin' Reelin Squealin'" (featuring Jimi Hendrix on rhythm guitar) that went nowhere, but they became famous throughout Europe through their live performances. Allen was refused re-entry into England for a tour, so he and the band mutually parted ways. Daevid Allen would eventually form Gong. The Soft Machine recorded its self-titled debut album for ABC Records and toured with the Jimi Hendrix Experience.Kevin Ayers left the band soon after that and began a solo career that would feature many members of Gong and the Soft Machine on his albums. He was replaced by Hugh Hopper, another ex-Wilde Flower, for The Softs' second album Volume Two. The album continued in a similar vein to the first except that there was less emphasis on vocals this time around.Elton Dean joined on saxophone for the band's switch to Columbia Records for their double-LP Third. With one extended composition per side, the album was hailed by The Village Voice as the greatest album in pop history. The band toured briefly as a seven piece but this was not financially viable. The only recordings of this line-up exist on the Peel Sessions disc.Their next album Fourth, was even more influenced by modern jazz than the first three. Robert Wyatt left the band soon after for a solo career and the band devolved into a competent modern jazz outfit, marked by frequent turnovers in personnel. In their prime, The Soft Machine showed what a band with avant-garde sensibilities could do with a sense of humor. ~ Jim Powers