In support of their forthcoming new album, British music
legends Soft Machine will embark on their first North American tour since 1974
in October 2018, followed by the second North-American leg of the tour in
January and February 2019. In concert, their set list will include material from
all parts of the band's repertoire from 1970 onwards, but this is emphatically
not a nostalgia act resting on its laurels. Last weekend Soft Machine played
their first two shows in North America since 1974 (it was in 1974 they toured
USA and Canada during the Bundles/Allan Holdsworth era). Both shows, at the
Montreal Jazz Festival and Quebec City, were exceptionally well received by the
enthusiastic audience and local press.
Hidden Details is a new studio album of Soft Machine,
recorded at the late great Jon Hiseman's Temple Studio in Surrey, England, last
December 2017, and it will be released in September 2018 on MoonJune Records
(North America; on CD and HD Download), on John Etheridge's Dyan Records
(UK/Europe on CD, and iTunes), and on Vivid Records (Japan), exactly 50 years
since the release of the band's 1968 debut album The Soft Machine. Limited and
highly collectible vinyl edition of only 200 coloured vinyl (orange, blue and
tour edition orange & blue marbled) will be released on the Dutch label
Tonefloat, on September 8, 2018.
“'Hidden Details' is very much the product of an active,
contemporary sounding outfit striking out with its own agenda. Though informed
by the past, the music here is neither weighed down nor beholden to it.
Animated with the same ineffable and inquisitive spirit that has always made
this group throughout its fifty years such a compelling experience, it’' good
to have a new Soft Machine with us in 2018. The yearning tenderness of 'Heart
Off Guard' and the come-down reveries of 'Broken Hill' and 'Drifting White'
showcase the more intimate aspects of Soft Machine's personality while in
contrast, 'One Glove' gives the more pugilistic side of John Etheridge's
playing an outing. The terse angularities of the title track and 'Life on
Bridges' highlight a fearless disposition, as does the buzzsaw interplay heard
during 'Ground Lift' and 'Flight of the Jett,' both featuring Roy Babbington's
decisive interventions. The surging lyricism of 'Fourteen Hour Dream' flirts
with an almost popish sensibility, underscoring the sense that this is a
quartet that is fundamentally at ease with itself. The return of what some
older fans of the band have called 'cosmic tinkles’'– the appearance of layers
of cyclical electric piano motifs – is especially welcome. Their brief
manifestation on 'The Man Who Waved at Trains' and Third-era,
'Out-Bloody-Rageous,' both stone-cold Mike Ratledge-composed classics, adds an extra
spacey dimension to the overall sound. Travis' use of looping technology with
his flutes creates its own beguiling world and can be heard to powerful effect
on the beautiful and enigmatic 'Breathe,' where his hovering notes are
underpinned by Marshall's oblique yet atmospheric percussion.” - Sid Smith
Soft Machine:
JOHN ETHERIDGE - guitar
THEO TRAVIS - sax, flute, Fender Rhodes
ROY BABBINGTON - bass guitar
JOHN MARSHALL - drums
with special guest GARY HUSBAND drums on selected dates
2018 North American Tour Dates:
October 6 - Orion Studios - Baltimore, MD, USA [John
Marshall on drums]
October 7 - Theater Of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA, USA
October 9 - Roxy's & Duke - Dunellen, NJ, USA
October 10 - Darryl's House - Pawling, NY, USA
October 12 - The Iridium - NYC, NY, USA
October 13 - The Iridium - NYC, NY, USA
October 14 - The Iridium - NYC, NY, USA
October 16 - Mod's Club - Toronto, ON, Canada [Gary Husband
on drums]
October 17 - The Tralf - Buffalo, NY, USA [Gary Husband on
drums]
October 18 - Beachland Music Hall - Cleveland, OH, USA [Gary
Husband on drums]
October 19 - The Irving Theater - Indianapolis, IN, USA [Gary Husband on drums]
October 21 - Progtober Festival - Reggie's - Chicago, IL,
USA [Gary Husband on drums]
October 22 - Shank Hall - Milwaukee, WI, USA [Gary Husband
on drums]
2019 North American Tour Dates:
January 24 - Freight & Salvage - Berkeley, CA, USA
January 25 - Flynn's - Santa Cruz, CA, USA
January 27 - Alberta Rose Theater - Portland, OR, USA
January 28 - Triple Door - Seattle, WA, USA
January 29 - Triple Door - Seattle, WA, USA
January 31 - The Baked Potato (2 shows) - Los Angeles, CA,
USA
February 1 - The Baked Potato (2 shows) - Los Angeles, CA,
USA
February 2 - Scottsdale Performing Arts Center - Scottsdale,
AZ, USA
February 4-9 - Cruise To The Edge - Key West, FL / Cozumel,
Mexico
2018 confirmed shows in Japan & Europe:
July 7 - Montreal Jazz Festival - Monument National - Ludger
Duvernay - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
July 8 - Salle Jean-Paul Tardif - Quebec City, Quebec,
Canada
July 28 - Billboard Live Tokyo - Tokyo, Japan (2 shows)
[special guest Gary Husband, keyboards]
July 29 - Billboard Live Tokyo - Tokyo, Japan (2 shows)
[special guest Gary Husband, keyboards]
July 30 - Billboard Live Osaka - Osaka, Japan (2 shows)
[special guest Gary Husband, keyboards]
September 6 - Cosmopolite - Oslo, Norway
September 8 - De Boerderij - Zoetemeer, The Netherlands
September 9 - Musikbunker - Aachen, Germany
September 10 - Franzis - Wetzlar, Germany
September 12 - Muhle Hunziken - Rubigen, Switzerland
September 13 - La Casa Di Alex - Milano, Italy
September 14 - Club Il Giardino - Verona, Italy
September 16 - Porgy & Bess - Vienna, Austria
September 17 - Museum - Bratislava, Slovakia
September 18 - Akropolis - Prague, Czech Republic
September 19 - Kulturbanhof - Jena, Germany
November 3 - Marlow Theater - Canterbury, UK
November 6 - Sage - Gateshead, UK
November 8 - Green Hotel - Kinross, Scotland, UK
November 9 - Hebden Bridge Townhall - Hebden, UK
November 10 - The Trade's Club - Howden, UK
November 16 - Borderline - London, UK
November 17 - West End Center - Aldershot, UK
November 18 - Lews Con Club - Lewes, UK
November 20 - Epic Studios - Norwich, UK
November 22 - Trading Boundaries - Fletching, UK
November 25 - Talking Heads - Southampton, UK
December 15 - Peppel - Zeist, The Netherlands
December 16 - Harmonie - Bonn, Germany
Soft Machine is a legend and an institution of British
music, a band who included Robert Wyatt, Daevid Allen, Mike Ratledge, Kevin
Ayers, Andy Summers (later of The Police), Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Roy
Babbington, John Marshall, Karl Jenkins, Allan Holdsworth, John Etheridge,
Percy Jones, Rick Sanders, Dave McRae and Jack Bruce among others (Jimi Hendrix
briefly jammed with the band in 1968!). Since its creation in 1966, this band
pioneered Psychedelic and Progressive Rock, led the 'Canterbury' trend, pioneered
jazz-rock, and then guitar-led fusion (launching the guitar god Allan
Holdsworth in 1974), influenced generations of musicians. Disbanded in 1978,
recreated in few occasions in 1981 and 1984, the band resurfaces in 1999 under
the name of Soft Ware. Much was said about this band with a very complex
intriguing history of constant personal changes during the 1966-1978 period.
The band resurrected in 1999 under the name of Soft Ware, then as Soft Works
2002-2004 and Soft Machine Legacy 2004-2015. 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 – guitarist John Etheridge, drummer John
Marshall and bassist Roy Babbington (from the seminal 1976's album Softs), in
addition to flute and sax player Theo Travis – returning to the original name
from 2015, and performing numerous concerts all around Europe, South America
and Japan.
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