Editing Soft Machine (section)

{{Short description|British rock band}}
{{About|the rock band|the band's debut album|The Soft Machine (Soft Machine album)|the William Burroughs novel|The Soft Machine|other uses|The Soft Machine (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name = Soft Machine
| image = Soft Machine Fourth lineup.jpg
| caption = Soft Machine in 1970:<br />l-r: [[Elton Dean]], [[Mike Ratledge]], [[Robert Wyatt]], [[Hugh Hopper]]
| landscape = Yes
| background = group_or_band
| origin = [[Canterbury]], England
| genre = {{flat list|
* [[Canterbury scene]]
* [[jazz rock]]
* [[psychedelic rock]]
* [[progressive rock]]
* [[instrumental rock]]
}}
| discography = [[Soft Machine discography]]
| years_active = '''Soft Machine:'''<br />1966–1978<br />1980–1981<br />1984<br />2015–present<br />'''Spin-off bands:'''<br />1978–1988<ref name="calyx-canterbury.fr Elton Dean chronology">{{cite web |url=http://www.calyx-canterbury.fr/bands/chrono/dean.html |title=Elton Dean chronology (Soft Head / Soft Heap concerts) |website=calyx-canterbury.fr |access-date=26 March 2020}}</ref> (as [[Soft Heap (band)|Soft Heap / Soft Head]]), <br /> 1999–2002 (as Soft Ware), <br /> 2002–2004 (as Soft Works), <br /> 2003 (as Soft Mountain), <br /> 2004 (as Soft Bounds), <br /> 2004–2015 (as Soft Machine Legacy)
| label = [[ABC Records|ABC]] [[Probe Records|Probe]], [[Columbia Records|Columbia]], [[Harvest Records|Harvest]], [[EMI]], [[Major League Productions (MLP)]]
| spinoffs = {{hlist|Planet Earth|[[Soft Heap (band)|Soft Heap / Soft Head]]|Soft Ware|Rubba|2nd Vision|Rollercoaster|Soft Works|Soft Mountain|Soft Bounds|Soft Machine Legacy}}
| website = {{URL|SoftMachine.org}}
| spinoff_of = {{hlist|[[The Wilde Flowers]]}}
| current_members = * [[John Etheridge]]
* [[Theo Travis]]
* [[Fred Thelonious Baker|Fred Baker]]
* [[Asaf Sirkis]]
| past_members = *[[Mike Ratledge]]
*[[Robert Wyatt]]
*[[Kevin Ayers]]
*[[Daevid Allen]]
*Larry Nowlin
*[[Andy Summers]]
*[[Hugh Hopper]]
*[[Brian Hopper]]
*[[Elton Dean]]
*[[Lyn Dobson]]
*[[Mark Charig]]
*[[Nick Evans (trombonist)|Nick Evans]]
*[[Phil Howard (musician)|Phil Howard]]
*[[John Marshall (drummer)|John Marshall]]
*[[Karl Jenkins]]
*[[Roy Babbington]]
*[[Allan Holdsworth]]
*[[Alan Wakeman]]
*[[Ray Warleigh]]
*[[Ric Sanders]]
*[[Percy Jones (musician)|Percy Jones]]
*Steve Cook
*[[Jack Bruce]]
*[[Stu Calver]]
*[[Dick Morrissey]]
*[[Alan Parker (musician)|Alan Parker]]
*John Perry
*[[Tony Rivers]]
*[[John Taylor (jazz)|John Taylor]]
*[[Paul Carmichael]]
*[[Dave MacRae]]
}}

'''Soft Machine''' are <!-- This article is written in British English, which commonly treats collective nouns as plural. Please do NOT change "ARE" to "IS". Thank you. --> an English [[Rock music|rock]] band from [[Canterbury]], Kent. The band were formed in 1966 by [[Mike Ratledge]], [[Robert Wyatt]], [[Kevin Ayers]], [[Daevid Allen]] and Larry Nowlin. Soft Machine were central in the [[Canterbury scene]]; they became one of the first British [[psychedelic music|psychedelic]] acts, and later moved into [[progressive rock|progressive]] and [[jazz rock]]. In 1971, Soft Machine became a purely instrumental band.<ref name="Lynch2"/> Soft Machine's lineup has undergone many changes, and has included [[Andy Summers]], [[Hugh Hopper]], [[Elton Dean]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Sutcliffe|first=Phil|date=5 March 1991|title=Where are they Now? Soft Machine|journal=Q Magazine|volume=55|pages=33}}</ref> [[John Stanley Marshall|John Marshall]], [[Karl Jenkins]], [[Roy Babbington]] and [[Allan Holdsworth]]. {{As of|2025}}, the current lineup consists of [[John Etheridge]], [[Theo Travis]], [[Fred Thelonious Baker]] and [[Asaf Sirkis]].

Though they achieved little commercial success, critics consider Soft Machine to have been influential in rock music.<ref name="Jones">{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Mikey IQ |title=A beginner's guide to Daevid Allen |url=http://www.factmag.com/2015/03/24/beginners-guide-daevid-allen/ |website=FACT |access-date=26 August 2018 |date=24 March 2015}}</ref><ref name="Keepnews">{{cite web | last1=Keepnews |first1=Peter |title=Daevid Allen, Guitarist and Singer in Progressive Rock, Dies at 77 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/17/arts/music/daevid-allen-guitarist-and-leader-of-gong-and-soft-machine-dies-at-77.html?_r=0 |website=The New York Times |access-date=26 August 2018 |date=16 March 2015}}</ref><ref name="Lynch">{{cite magazine |last1=Lynch |first1=Joe |title=Soft Machine & Gong Co-Founder Daevid Allen Dead at 77 |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6502120/soft-machine-daevid-allen-dead |magazine=Billboard |access-date=26 August 2018 |date=13 March 2015 }}</ref> Dave Lynch at [[AllMusic]] called them "one of the most influential underground bands of their era".<ref name="Lynch2">{{cite web |last1=Lynch |first1=Dave |title=Soft Machine |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/soft-machine-mn0000753685/biography |website=AllMusic |access-date=26 August 2018 }}</ref> The band's name originates from [[William S. Burroughs]]'s novel ''[[The Soft Machine]]''.
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