Soft Machine

Soft Machine
Group circa 1970: l-r: Elton Dean, Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Hugh Hopper
Background information
Origin	Canterbury, England
Genres	Canterbury scene jazz rock psychedelic rock progressive rock instrumental rock
Discography	Soft Machine discography
Years active	Soft Machine: 1966–1978 1980–1981 1984 2015–present Spin-off bands: 1978–1988[1] (as Soft Heap / Soft Head), 1999–2002 (as Soft Ware), 2002–2004 (as Soft Works), 2003 (as Soft Mountain), 2004 (as Soft Bounds), 2004–2015 (as Soft Machine Legacy)
Labels	ABC Probe, Columbia, Harvest, EMI, Major League Productions (MLP)
Spinoffs	Planet Earth Soft Heap / Soft Head Soft Ware Rubba 2nd Vision Rollercoaster Soft Works Soft Mountain Soft Bounds Soft Machine Legacy
Spinoff of	The Wilde Flowers
Members	John Etheridge Theo Travis Fred Baker Asaf Sirkis
Past members	Mike Ratledge Robert Wyatt Kevin Ayers Daevid Allen Larry Nowlin Andy Summers Hugh Hopper Brian Hopper Elton Dean Lyn Dobson Mark Charig Nick Evans Phil Howard John Marshall Karl Jenkins Roy Babbington Allan Holdsworth Alan Wakeman Ray Warleigh Ric Sanders Percy Jones Steve Cook Jack Bruce Stu Calver Dick Morrissey Alan Parker John Perry Tony Rivers John Taylor Paul Carmichael Dave MacRae
Website	softmachine.org

Soft Machine are an English rock and jazz band from Canterbury, Kent. The band were formed in 1966 by Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Larry Nowlin. Soft Machine were central in the Canterbury scene; they became one of the first British psychedelic acts, and later moved into progressive and jazz rock. In 1971, Soft Machine became a purely instrumental band.^[2] Soft Machine's lineup has undergone many changes, and has included Andy Summers, Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean,^[3] John Marshall, Karl Jenkins, Roy Babbington and Allan Holdsworth. As of 2024^[update], the current line-up consists of John Etheridge, Theo Travis, Fred Thelonious Baker and Asaf Sirkis.

Though they achieved little commercial success, critics consider Soft Machine to have been influential in rock music.^[4][5][6] Dave Lynch at AllMusic called them "one of the most influential underground bands of their era".^[2] The band's name originates from William S. Burroughs's novel The Soft Machine.