The number thirteen is unlucky for some, but the latest version of Soft Machine obviously don’t think so. In some cultures, the number is considered a symbol of change, regeneration or growth. Thirteen is the title of the band’s thirteenth album. The record has thirteen tracks, the longest of which is thirteen minutes. The band was co-founded by Daevid Allen, who was born on 13 January and died on 13 March. And the record is due out on Friday 13 March (what could be luckier than that?)
Reviews
The Soft Machine’s music has stand, despite various line-up changes, the test of time. There’s no denying that their music has kept the ebb and flow within their reach by seeing the directions they’re about to go. Throughout their legacy between the Canterbury scene, progressive rock, jazz rock, and fusion, the Machine’s music is always there, and also, where the next generation will take them.
That and their new album Thirteen, which follows-up to 2023’s Other Doors, sees the power between Theo Travis, John Etheridge, Fred Thelonoius Baker (replacing Roy Babbington on Bass), and Asaf Sirkis are paving the way to carry the torch for this great influential wonder that is on Thirteen.
Theo Travis (flute, saxes, Rhodes, electronics); John Etheridge (guitar); Fred Thelonious Baker (bass guitar); Asaf Sirkis (drums, percussion)
It’s a strange and beautiful thing to witness a band with sixty years of history sounding not just alive, but newly awakened. Soft Machine - the psychedelic adventurers who once shared stages with Hendrix, the Canterbury visionaries who helped define jazz fusion before the term even existed - return with Thirteen, an album of thirteen new tracks that feels both deeply rooted and unexpectedly fresh.