New Soft Machine Legacy live release out tomorrow

On their rousing new live disc for MoonJune (recorded during the European tour in October of 2009), Live Adventures, Soft Machine Legacy covers more vintage Soft Machine repertoire than on previous releases, yet reinvigorates the tunes by means of fresh arrangements and expansive, protean improvisation. Soft Machine partisans will rejoice at the inclusion of such repertory gems as “Gesolreut”, in which the band lays bare the funky heart of its signature elliptical ostinato with steaming soli and propulsive grooves; “As If”, an oblique rereading of the Mike Ratledge piece marked by spectral guitar shadings and Travis’s shakuhachi-like flute etchings; and the stirring, elegiac “Song of Aeolus”. And fittingly, the band pays heartfelt tribute to the dearly departed Hugh Hopper with a rendition of his iconic “Facelift”, artfully investigating the intricate twists and turns of its singular long-form melody. This is no potted history of Soft Machine, but a living, breathing music.

With Live Adventures, Soft Machine Legacy makes a forceful case that the music of Soft Machine is as relevant and ripe with possibility today as it was in the band’s heyday. Longtime fans and new converts alike can take heart in the knowledge that the Soft Machine family tree, with its deep roots in the musical revolution of the ‘60s, continues to sprout new limbs in the new century and shows no signs of slowing. The legacy is in very good hands indeed.

The beauty of Soft Machine’s legacy – and of Soft Machine Legacy the band – is that nearly a half-century after the original group’s inception, that legacy is far from stagnant but continues to evolve to this day. Ever since Soft Machine Legacy was first formed (as Soft Works) in 2002 at the instigation of Leonardo Pavkovic, the group has amply demonstrated that it is no mere exercise in nostalgia, lazily mining the Soft Machine back catalog; instead, SML has admirably carried the parent group’s spirit of inquiry and exceptional standard of musical excellence forward into the present. Just as the original Soft Machine was in a state of continual metamorphosis in terms of both personnel and musical approach – shape-shifting over time from a psychedelic pop band to a proto–prog rock outfit to pioneers of adventurous jazz-rock fusion, and ranging from trio to septet configurations – Soft Machine Legacy has been in constant flux as members have come and gone, each new arrival placing his distinctive stamp on this musical work in progress. It is a tribute to the open-ended nature of Soft Machine’s ingenious compositional frameworks that they can accommodate such a wide range of strong musical personalities.

With the untimely passing in June 2009 of the brilliant and widely mourned bassist/composer Hugh Hopper, Soft Machine Legacy lost its last link to the formative 1960s incarnations of Soft Machine. Happily – and in a fitting case of déjà vu – his place has been taken by the only other bassist capable of filling the role, Roy Babbington, who after having made cameo appearances on Soft Machine’s 4 and 5 went on to replace Hopper as the group’s regular bassist from 1973-76, notably on the unfairly overlooked Seven. A prodigious player and improviser whose impressive curriculum vitae includes stints with such groundbreaking units as Nucleus, the Keith Tippett Group, Ovary Lodge and Delivery, Babbington injects fresh energy and musical intelligence into a lineup that already boasts such formidable instrumentalists as drum statesman John Marshall, guitar sorcerer John Etheridge, and woodwind player extraordinaire Theo Travis, who, while the only Soft Machine Legacy member that is not a Soft Machine alumnus, clearly has fully internalized the SM ethos.

1. Has Riff 8:31
2. Grapehound 8:38
3. Nodder 7:04
4. In The Back Room 9:41
5. Song Of Aeolus 6:58
6. Relegation Of Pluto / Transit 3:02
7. Gesolreut 5:52
8. Facelift 3:28
9. Last Day 5:01

JOHN ETHERIDGE electric guitar
THEO TRAVIS tenor & soprano sax, flute
ROY BABBINGTON bass guitar
JOHN MARSHALL drums.

Recorded at Posthof, Linz, Austria on 22 October 2009 (3, 5, 8, 9) and at The Village, Habach, Germany on 23 October 2009 (1, 2, 4, 6, 7)

Produced by Soft Machine Legacy.
Executive producer Leonardo Pavkovic.

http://www.moonjune.com/MJR036.htm

Theo Travis to guest on new Syn album

It has been announced that Theo Travis will be recording material for the forthcoming Big Sky album by The Syn.

From http://www.myspace.com/theotravis

"I have had the privilege of playing and recording with some amazingmusicians including Palle Mikkelborg who guested on my 2001 CD Heartof the Sun; Anja Garbarek (2001 album and tour); David Sylvian (Nine Horses CD); Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree CDs , No Man, Bass Communion); John Etheridge, Soft Machine Legacy; Richard Sinclair and Hatfield and the North; Dick Heckstall-Smith; Bill Bruford; Tony Coe; Pierre Moerlin, and the late Slim Gaillard. In 1999 I became a new member of Daevid Allen's Gong touring the USA, Europe, Japan,
Scandinavia, and the UK and co-writing most of the group's album Zero to Infinity released in Feb 2000. I subsequently produced their live album Live to Infinitea, released in October 2000 and to date have played over 120 dates with them all over the world.

I am also a member of the new Progressive band - the Tangent (http://thetangent.org) which is doing great things at the moment. My website is at http://www.theotravis.com and I do try and keep it up to date with gigs, recordings etc."

Hugh Hopper benefit show announced

Hugh has been suffering ill health for some time and MoonJune Records have arranged for a Benefit Concert to raise funds to help make life for comfortable for Hugh. The idea was generated by Hugh's colleagues in Soft Machine Legacy and made possible thanks to John Etheridge and The 100 Club. All profit from the evening will go to Hugh and his family along with percentages of the profits from albums on sale from the evening.

Hugh Hopper Benefit Concert
14th December 2008
The 100 Club, London

SOFT MACHINE LEGACY (filling for Hugh: FRED BAKER on bass)
DELTA SAXOPHONE QUARTET
PHIL MILLER IN CAHOOTS
BASH QUARTET feat. ALEX MAGUIRE, PATRICE MEYER, FRED BAKER & LIAM GENOCKEY
SOPHIA DOMANCHIC & SIMON GOUBERT DUO
YUMI HARA-CAWKWELL

Hugh Hopper news update

Another older article, but again, just found out today.

From his website:

Well, the back pain disappeared, but in June I was diagnosed with leukemia.

I am having ongoing treatment and it's going well. Chemotherapy has advanced a lot recently and it's not the horrible ordeal it used to be. I had no real problems with the chemo. Had some minor infections after the course finished, but that's because the body has no defences for a couple of weeks.

The team at Canterbury Hospital are brilliant - really supportive, and the hospital is part of a national Clinical Trial, so they always have the state of the art medication and no funding problems.

I have to start another course of chemo soon which means I can't travel to do gigs, but I am feeling positive about my life. My dear love Christine has been a miracle worker, making sure I have all the best food and supplements. It's actually harder for the people around than it is for me - I just have to relax in hospital, being cared for.

Fred Baker and Roy Babbington have been doing the Soft Machine Legacy gigs in my place. Roy of course was a guest already on Soft Machine albums and took over from me when I quit the group in 1973. And Fred from Phil Miller's In Cahoots is a wonderful player - much better than me technically!

Onwards and upwards!