Soft Machine, the founding band of the Canterbury scene and a pioneer of rock–jazz fusion in the United Kingdom.
Profile
- Origin
- Canterbury, United Kingdom
- Formed
- 1966
- Founding members
- Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen, Mike Ratledge
- Current status
- Active as Soft Machine (since 2015); touring Europe with the album Thirteen (2026)
- Official website
- www.softmachine.org
Current lineup
- John Etheridge — guitar (1975–1978, 1984, 2015–present)
- Theo Travis — saxophone, flute, keyboards (2015–present)
- Fred Thelonious Baker — bass (2020–present)
- Asaf Sirkis — drums (2022–present)
Former members
- Robert Wyatt — drums, vocals (1966–1971)
- Kevin Ayers — bass, vocals (1966–1968; died in 2013)
- Daevid Allen — guitar (1966–1967; died in 2015)
- Mike Ratledge — keyboards (1966–1976; died in 2025)
- Andy Summers — guitar (1968)
- Hugh Hopper — bass (1968–1973; died in 2009)
- Elton Dean — saxophone (1969–1972; died in 2006)
- Phil Howard — drums (1971–1972)
- John Marshall — drums (1972–1978, 1980–1981, 1984, 2015–2022; died in 2023)
- Karl Jenkins — keyboards, saxophone (1972–1978, 1980–1981, 1984)
- Roy Babbington — bass (1973–1976)
- Allan Holdsworth — guitar (1973–1975; died in 2017)
- Ric Sanders — violin (1976–1978)
Discography
| Year | Release |
|---|---|
| 1968 | The Soft Machine |
| 1969 | Volume Two |
| 1970 | Third |
| 1971 | Fourth |
| 1972 | Fifth |
| 1973 | SixLive |
| 1973 | Seven |
| 1975 | Bundles |
| 1976 | Softs |
| 1978 | Alive & Well: Recorded in ParisLive |
| 1981 | Land of Cockayne |
| 2018 | Hidden Details |
| 2022 | Facelift France and HollandLive |
| 2023 | Other Doors |
| 2026 | Thirteen |
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