Soft Machine are still active six decades after their formation, and their latest lineup showed little interest in simply revisiting past glories at the closing concert of its European tour in Rüsselsheim. The quartet delivered a set that moved between the band’s history and fresh explorations of fusion music.
The group’s story began with a rough reception in Hamburg in September 1966. Booked at the Star Club as an underground act, Soft Machine proved far removed from a conventional beat band. The performance ended after three songs, amid boos and rising tension in the crowd. The band, an early force in the Canterbury sound, was never officially disbanded, despite decades of lineup changes and related projects.
More than 30 musicians have played in over 20 versions of Soft Machine. The current quartet brings together guitarist John Etheridge, who joined the band’s musical world in 1975; keyboardist and saxophonist Theo Travis, associated with the group for around 20 years; bassist Fred Baker; and drummer Asaf Sirkis, both of whom joined three years ago. The band released its thirteenth studio album, “Thirteen,” in March.
In Rüsselsheim, the set reached across the band’s six-decade history. It included a rock-oriented reworking of the 1968 US debut single “Joy of Toy,” interpretations of music from “Third” and “Softs,” and recent compositions including “Seven Hours” and “Open Road.” A new version of “Hazard Profile,” from the guitar-led album “Bundles,” highlighted Etheridge’s rapid, flowing playing.
The music also drew on Soft Machine’s characteristic blend of repetition and improvisation. Travis moved between saxophone, flute and keyboards, while Sirkis brought precision and quick reactions to the drums. His “Waltz For Robert,” a tribute to founding member Robert Wyatt, carried a mood of what the concert account described as jubilant melancholy. Baker’s melodic fretless bass provided a flexible foundation for the group’s instrumental jazz-rock.
The performance made the case for a band that continues to reshape its sound rather than merely preserve it: a route from the repetitive organ patterns of its early years to a more exploratory form of avant-garde rock, built around riffs and bass figures and opened up by expressive solos.
Sources: FAZ.