Soft Machine are the fountainhead of the entire Canterbury Scene — one of the most important and influential British bands of all, and arguably the single most important group to emerge from the birth of progressive rock and British jazz-rock fusion. Formed in Canterbury in 1966, they began as psychedelic pioneers and journeyed, across a famously ever-changing line-up, all the way to sophisticated jazz-fusion. Almost every band in this scene traces its roots, in some way, back to them.

The short version

Formed in 1966, Soft Machine were the founding band of the Canterbury Scene and pioneers of both progressive rock and British jazz-fusion — their music a remarkable journey from psychedelia to jazz. Across the ten albums gathered here, from “The Soft Machine” (1968) to “Land of Cockayne” (1981), and a constantly shifting cast of brilliant musicians, they reinvented themselves again and again. Theirs is some of the most influential music in all of British rock.

The fountainhead of Canterbury

Soft Machine formed in Canterbury in 1966, emerging from the seminal Wilde Flowers and taking their name from a William Burroughs novel. The founding line-up — drummer and singer Robert Wyatt, keyboardist Mike Ratledge, bassist Kevin Ayers and guitarist Daevid Allen — became pioneers of the British psychedelic underground, even touring America with Jimi Hendrix. Allen soon left to form Gong and Ayers to pursue a solo career, the first of countless line-up changes. From this single band would grow the entire Canterbury Scene, from Caravan to Gong, Hatfield and the North to National Health.

Psychedelia to jazz-fusion

Soft Machine’s music is defined by its restless journey. They began with witty, surreal psychedelic rock — Robert Wyatt’s scatting vocals and drumming, Mike Ratledge’s buzzing fuzz organ and Hugh Hopper’s fuzz bass — before moving, with the arrival of saxophonist Elton Dean, into bold instrumental jazz-rock on landmark albums like “Third.” By the mid-1970s, under Karl Jenkins, they had become a sophisticated jazz-fusion outfit, adding fluid electric guitar. Ever-evolving and endlessly influential, theirs is a body of work that helped define both progressive rock and British fusion.

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Ten albums of restless reinvention

The ten albums gathered here trace Soft Machine’s remarkable evolution. The psychedelic debut “The Soft Machine” (1968) and “Volume Two” (1969) gave way to their acknowledged masterpiece, the genre-defining double album “Third” (1970), home to Wyatt’s side-long “Moon in June.” The fully instrumental “Fourth” (1971) and “Fifth” (1972) deepened the jazz, before “Six” (1973) and “Seven” (1973) embraced fusion under Karl Jenkins. The guitar-driven “Bundles” (1975) and “Softs” (1976) brought in Allan Holdsworth and John Etheridge, before the latter-day “Land of Cockayne” (1981) closed the studio story.

Album by album

Ten albums charting the journey from psychedelia to jazz-fusion. Tap any title for its guide.

The players

Soft Machine’s history reads like a who’s-who of British music. The founding four were drummer and singer Robert Wyatt, who left to form Matching Mole and then a celebrated solo career; keyboardist Mike Ratledge, the band’s sole constant through its classic era; bassist Kevin Ayers, who went solo; and guitarist Daevid Allen, who founded Gong. Later came such gifted players as bassist Hugh Hopper, saxophonist Elton Dean, drummer John Marshall, bassist Roy Babbington, guitarists Allan Holdsworth and John Etheridge, and keyboardist Karl Jenkins, who eventually led the band. The band’s story carries much loss: Elton Dean died in 2006, Hugh Hopper in 2009, Kevin Ayers in 2013, Daevid Allen in 2015, and Mike Ratledge in 2025, while Robert Wyatt stepped away from music in 2014.

Where to start

Begin with “Third” (1970), Soft Machine’s masterpiece and one of the defining albums of both progressive rock and jazz-rock — ambitious, hypnotic and utterly singular. From there, “Volume Two” (1969) captures their witty psychedelic side, while the instrumental “Fourth” (1971) shows the jazz-rock in full flow. Three albums that reveal one of the most important and adventurous bands Britain ever produced.

Why they still matter

Soft Machine matter as the very source of the Canterbury Scene — the band from which an entire movement grew, and one of the most influential groups in the history of progressive rock and jazz-fusion alike. Through their fearless reinvention, from psychedelia to the furthest reaches of jazz, and through the extraordinary musicians who passed through their ranks, they changed what rock music could be. For anyone exploring the Canterbury Scene, or the roots of progressive and fusion music, Soft Machine are the essential beginning.

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