Soft Machine was formed in 1966 by Robert Wyatt, Mike Ratledge, Kevin Ayers and Daevid Allen. Wyatt had already worked with Allen in the Daevid Allen Trio (which Ratledge occasionally jammed with) in ...

Soft Machine founding member and keyboard player Mike Ratledge died on Wednesday, February 5 after a brief illness, according to his former bandmate and guitarist John Etheridge. “Mike was the ...

Soft Machine are an enigma and an anomaly. With an ever-changing lineup and stylistic shifts, musically, fans often debate about what is the “best” Soft Machine. There are the early years — Kevin ...

Floating World Live album review by Glenn Astarita, published on September 18, 2025. Find thousands jazz reviews at All About ...

Pat Metheny and former Police members Andy Summers and Sting are just a few of the celebrated musicians to sing the praises of English guitar master John Etheridge, who performs in San Diego Thursday ...

Surrealist, satirist and beat generation figure William Burroughs has been an inspirational source of ideas for musicians over the years. But the first time his work was used as a wellspring by a band ...

The 1970s was a golden age for British jazz rock. Soft Machine and Nucleus were among the bands leading the way, and Brand X and Bruford enjoyed high profiles. But there’s much more to discover from ...

This is a 1974 image of British musician Kevin Ayers, made available by Max Films Limited on Thursday Feb. 21, 2013. Kevin Ayers, an influential singer-songwriter who co-founded the band Soft Machine, ...

Soft Machine will take to the stage at Huntingdon Hall on Saturday, March 15 at 7.30pm. The band, which formed in the 1960s, is known for its "spirit of musical adventure" and has toured with Jimi ...

Mike Ratledge, founding keyboardist for influential English group Soft Machine, died on Wednesday following a brief illness. He was 81. The news came via current Soft Machine guitarist John Etheridge, ...