SOFT MACHINE
Touring UK, Europe, North & South America, Japan 2017/2018
RECORDING NEW STUDIO ALBUM IN DECEMBER 2017
AT JON HISEMAN'S TEMPLE STUDIO, SURREY, UK.
MOONJUNE MUSIC PRODUCTION.
JOHN ETHERIDGE, THEO TRAVIS,
ROY BABBINGTON, JOHN MARSHALL
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SOFT MACHINE - MoonJune Years
Soft Machine having been a much loved band since their inception in the late 1960s and having always been at the cutting edge of many music genres (including the early progressive and psychedelic rock scene and then the burgeoning jazz rock and fusion scene), it was inevitable that former Soft Machine members would reconvene over the years, to continue on their legacy. And it happened with the asteroidal appearance, coming from virtually nowhere, of the unusual figure of Leonardo Pavkovic, between 2000-2002. Soft Ware (1999–2002) and Soft Works (2002–04)
The
first such conception in September 1999 was Soft Ware which featured
Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper, John Marshall and long-time friend Keith
Tippett. This line-up would only remain together briefly. In 2002,
Leonardo Pavkovic of MoonJune Music, an old friend of Elton Dean and
Hugh Hopper, put together another former Soft Machine member, Allan
Holdsworth, who joined the three members of Soft Ware (thanks to
Pavkovic' friendship with Ken Kubernik), who would rename
themselves Soft Works in June 2002. They had changed their name to avoid
confusion with Peter Mergener's band Software. As Soft Works, they
made their world live debut on 17 August 2002 at the Progman
Cometh Festival (at the Moore Theater in Seattle, Washington), released
in 2003 their only (studio) album, Abracadabra, consisting of all new
material recorded at the Eastcote Studios in London on 5–7 June 2002,
and toured Japan in August 2003, Italy in January–
Soft Machine Legacy (2004–15) In October 2004, upon the persistence of Leonardo Pavkovic of MoonJune Music, a new variant of Soft Works, with John Etheridge permanently replacing Holdsworth, took the name of Soft Machine Legacy and performed their first two gigs (two Festival shows on 9 October in Turkey & 15 October in Czech Republic), Liam Genockey temporarily replacing John Marshall who had ligament problems (the first Soft Machine Legacy line-up being consequently: Elton Dean, John Etheridge, Hugh Hopper and Liam Genockey). Later on, Soft Machine Legacy released three albums: Live in Zaandam (2005), the studio album Soft Machine Legacy (2006) recorded in September 2005 and featuring fresh material and the double CD and DVD Live at the New Morning (2006). After Elton Dean died in February 2006, the band continued with British saxophonist and flautist Theo Travis, formerly of Gong and The Tangent (temporarily replaced by saxophonist Paul Dunmall at the jazz festival in Udine in the Spring of 2006). In December 2006, the new Legacy line-up recorded the album Steam in Jon Hiseman's studio, in Surrey, UK. Steam was eventually released by Moonjune Records in August 2007, before a European tour in autumn. In 2008, Hopper was sidelined by leukemia and the band continued live performances with Fred Baker. Following Hopper's death in 2009, the band announced that they would continue with Babbington once again stepping into the role formerly held by Hopper. On 4 October 2010, Soft Machine Legacy released their fifth album, a 58-minute new live album entitled Live Adventures recorded live on 22 October 2009 in Austria and Germany during a European tour. On 18 March 2013, the Legacy band released a new studio album, titled Burden of Proof, recorded in Italy in the late Summer of 2012 in a small village of San Sebastiano da Pó, in North-Western Italy. In an early 2013 interview, Travis stated that, "legally we could actually be called Soft Machine but for various reasons it was decided to be one step removed." In May 2014, veteran sax player Art Themen subbed for Theo Travis at the short Brazilian tour. In February 2014, Soft Machine Legacy performed at the Cruise To The Edge, in the Caribbean. In March 2015, Gary Husband stepped in for drummer John Stanley Marshall performing with the Legacy for a short tour of Japan, along with guest artist and long-time friend Keith Tippett. A return to the name "Soft Machine" (2015–present) In September and October 2015, it was announced that the band Soft Machine Legacy (John Etheridge, John Marshall, Roy Babbington and Theo Travis) would be performing under the name Soft Machine. In December 2015, it was confirmed that the band had dropped the "Legacy" tag from their name, as the band featured three of the group's 1970s era members – John Etheridge, John Marshall and Roy Babbington (from the seminal 1976's album "Softs"). Due to John Marshall's health issue, several drummers subbed for the veteran British drum legend in recent years: Asaf Sirkis, Nic France, Martin France. In November of 2017, MoonJune Music announced that Soft Machine will perform for the first time in the USA since 19785, at the Progtober Fest, a festival of progressive music to be held in Chicago on October 19/20/21, 2018. Other North-America dates might follow, as well another tours in Japan and Brazil.
SOFT MACHINE (MoonJune Years) - Discography
Soft Works
• Abracadabra (Universal Japan, 2003; Tone Center USA, 2003)
(Elton Dean, Allan Holdsworth, Hugh Hopper, John Marshall)
Soft Machine Legacy
• Live in Zaandam (Musea France, 2005; MoonJune USA, 2005)
(Elton Dean, John Etheridge, Hugh Hopper, John Marshall)
• Soft Machine Legacy (MoonJune USA, 2006; Strange Days Japan, 2006)
(Elton Dean, John Etheridge, Hugh Hopper, John Marshall)
• Live at the New Morning (2CD/DVD) (In-Akustic, Germany, 2006)
(Elton Dean, John Etheridge, Hugh Hopper, John Marshall)
• Steam (MoonJune USA, 2007; &Forest Japan, 2007)
(John Etheridge, Theo Travis, Hugh Hopper, John Marshall)
• Live Adventures (live album) (MoonJune USA, 2011)
(John Etheridge, Theo Travis, Roy Babbington, John Marshall)
• Burden of Proof (MoonJune USA, 2013; Esoteric Antenna UK, 2013)
(John Etheridge, Theo Travis, Roy Babbington, John Marshall)
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