Canterbury, City of Canterbury, Kent, England, United Kingdom (1966 - 1984)
Bio
Soft Machine was a pioneering psychedelic, progressive rock and jazz band from Canterbury, United Kingdom, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs.
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Artist Website
Critic Concert Reviews
Jazzwise (UK)
July 14, 2017
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“He's not just a roaring, swinging jazz saxophonist, he's actually got the prog credentials as well!” shouts John Etheridge introducing bandmate and reeds player Theo Travis, who has played with Gong and King Crimson, to an audience eager to experience, or re-live, the legend.
The story of Soft Machine is complex, involving multiple incarnations. Formed in 1966 by Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt, Daevid Allen and Mike Ratledge, the band was a centripetal force on the Canterbury scene.
Back in the late 1960s, Soft Machine would regularly share the stage with Pink Floyd. While the latter never looked back from the superstardom that soon found them, Soft Machine trundled on deep in the underground, releasing a string of jazz fusion masterpieces.
