Soft Machine is one of the greatest UK avant-jazz-rock bands of all time. There are bands who follow the evolution of music… and then there are bands who create entirely new directions for it to travel. Soft Machine belong firmly in the latter. Emerging from the fertile, rule-breaking underground of late-1960s Britain, they did not simply ride the psychedelic wave — they fractured it, reassembled it, and pointed it toward something far more exploratory, intellectual, and boundless. In those formative years, sharing stages with Pink Floyd and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Soft Machine stood apart even among pioneers. Where others sought transcendence through atmosphere or volume, Soft Machine pursued structure, abstraction, interplay and risk. Their 2026 release, „Thirteen“, is a testament to this ongoing creative vitality. Far from a retrospective statement, it is a bold continuation — a work rich in harmonic depth, rhythmic sophistication, and exploratory spirit. It captures a band that refuses to stand still, still asking questions, still pushing forward into uncharted territory.

Link to audio sample