BUNDLES OF NEWS FROM SOFT MACHINE!
Drummer John Marshall steps down but the band tour on, with new LP on the way.
Soft Machine are putting the finishing touches to their new album, which is scheduled for a summer release.
The title is yet to be revealed, but it will be the follow-up to 2018’s Hidden Details, and features guitarist John Etheridge,
Theo Travis (sax, flute, keys), new bassist Fred T Baker (who took over in 2021 following Roy Babbington’s departure) and the Softs’ stalwart drummer, John Marshall.
However, the new album marks the end of an era: having first joined the group in 1972, Marshall has decided that this recording will be his last, following his decision to retire at the age of 81.
Replacing him is Israeli-born drummer and composer, Asaf Sirkis, who Bill Bruford once described as “a master of creative surprise”. A longtime fan of the group, Sirkis recalls the first Soft Machine album he encountered was 1975’s Bundles: “I heard it around 1987 when I was 18. I was a big Allan Holdsworth fan, having followed him in Bruford’s band and with Tony Williams’ Lifetime, so it was fascinating to hear him in that context.”
Becoming a member of Soft Machine is an exciting opportunity, he tells Prog: “I played live with the group here and there over the years whenever John wasn’t able to appear. It always felt very natural for me to play the music I grew up listening to and joining the band full time is like the closing of a big, big circle.”
With Sirkis at the kit, Soft Machine are touring the UK this month, with US shows planned later in the year. For tour dates and updates on the album go to www.softmachine.org.