Formed in Canterbury, England in 1966, Soft Machine never achieved great
commercial success, but they became one of the most influential bands from the
Canterbury scene and beyond. Initially playing their own brand of psychedelic
rock, the band was founded by Mike Ratledge (keyboards / flute), Kevin Ayers
(bass / guitar / vocals), Daevid Allen (guitar / vocals), Robert Wyatt (drums /
vocals), and Larry Nowlin (guitar). This line-up only lasted a short while with
Nowlin departing early followed by Daevid Allen, who went on to form Gong.
Moving towards a more progressive style of r...