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Soft Machine

Musical Group
Forfans of progressive rock, jazz fusion, canterbury scene explorers, and adventurous listeners seeking classic experimental albums.
30 Reviews 19 Definitions 76 Charts
Progressive Jazz Fusion Jazz

The Profile

Soft Machine are an English band central to the Canterbury scene, formed in 1966 by Robert Wyatt, Mike Ratledge, Kevin Ayers and Daevid Allen. They fused psychedelia, avant‑garde ideas and jazz into progressive landmarks like Third (1970), then moved toward jazz‑fusion under Karl Jenkins, with notable guitar work by Allan Holdsworth on Bundles. The name was revived in 2015 by veterans from Soft Machine Legacy.

Founding members included Robert Wyatt, Mike Ratledge, Kevin Ayers and Daevid Allen; the group toured with Jimi Hendrix in 1968. Wyatt left in 1971 and later sustained a spinal injury that ended his drumming career. Core ’70s contributors included Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Karl Jenkins, John Marshall, Roy Babbington and Allan Holdsworth.

DeBaser’s reviews chart Soft Machine’s evolution from late-’60s Canterbury psychedelia and pataphysical pop to expansive free-jazz and, later, sleek jazz-fusion. Third is repeatedly praised—especially Moon in June—while Volume Two and the debut get love for wit and invention. The Jenkins-led era (Seven, Bundles, Softs) highlights rhythmic rigor and guitar fireworks, with debate around accessibility. BBC-era live sets are hailed as essential snapshots of the Wyatt years.

Notable Quotes

❝ Thus "Third" is born, a superb monument of experimental music and the entire art of the Twentieth century, a swan herald of a sudden dawn, a rainbow framing an autumn sunset, a blazing comet in boundless skies.
❝ "Playing now is lovely here in the BBC"
❝ What is the best album by Soft Machine? Third by almost unanimous consensus, OK I agree.
❝ Unjustly overshadowed by the two subsequent works, the first album by Soft Machine contains some of the best pop ideas of the entire Canterbury scene, and remarkable more experimental tracks, typical of that avant-garde-that-doesn't-take-itself-seriously of which the band would become one of the major exponents.
❝ The idea was to createa deadly, hypnotic riff, perfect in its repetition, and build upon it melodies sometimes barely palpable, at other times richer, but always emotional and evocative.
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