Soft Releases 2007
Update March 23th 2007
Here's a list of new & coming releases of The Soft Machine, Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Robert Wyatt, a.o.
Just released
This list contains albums by Soft Machine members or featuring them, archival Soft Machine releases, and other albums that might interest fans. I'll archive release more than a year old.
Brotherhood of Breath - Brotherhood (Fledg'ling)
First CD release of the second Brotherhood of Breath album, featuring a.o. Chris McGregor, Nick Evans, Gary Windo, Mongezi Feza, Dudu Pukwana and Alan Skidmore.
Update 17/03/07:Out now, added link to record company.
Update 24/03/07:They also re-issued the first album which has previously been available on CD.
Steve Hillage - Fish Rising/L/Motivation Radio/Rainbow Dome Musick (Virgin Records)
Not much to do with The Soft Machine but several interesting releases from the Planet Gong which might be of interest to whoever reads this. All Hillage albums will be reissues with bonustracks etc.
Update 09/12/06: Hillage CDs will be out on January 15th 2007, a second batch will follow on February 18th.
Update 17/03/07:Second batch contains Green/Live Herald/Open/For To Next.
Hugh Hopper - Hoppertunity Box (Cuneiform)
Remastered re-issue of one of Hopper's best solo-albums from the seventies.
Update 23/12/06: Released as part of the January release batch of Cuneiform.
Matching Mole - On the Radio (Hux)
All essential (?) Matching Mole BBC sessions collected on one single disc. This will include the complete Peel Sessions CD, now long out of print and several tracks released on Smoke Signals. Two unreleased tracks are included. Release date set at January 31th 2007.
Soft Machine - Third/Fourth/5/Six Album/Seven (Sony BMG)
Sony BMG just confirmed the release of remasters of five Soft Machine albums with bonustracks (!) - Third, Fourth, 5, Six Album and Seven. I'll be adding the press release shortly. Release date set in February 2007. See frontpage for the press release etc.
Update 17/03/07:All remastered although some discussion is ongoing on the What's Rattlin' mailinglist on the improvements; Third contains a bonusdisc with the complete "Live at the Proms" concert; Fifth contains an alternate take of All White.
Soft Mountain - Soft Mountain (Hux)
Hux will release an improvisation session of Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper, Hoppy Kamiyama and Yoshida Tatsuya from 2003. Release date set January 30th 2007.
Coming soon
More or less confirmed coming releases involving ex-Softies.
Kevin Ayers - Unfairground (unknown)
I still don't have a clue what this is, but I got an email from Market Square stating that they "are indeed working on a new album with Kevin which we aim for release in late summer". Release date at several online stores set 7 July 2003.
Update: Release will most likely be autumn 2003.
Update 31/07/2003: In a press release Market Square confirmed the album to be released this autumn. Guests include Lol Coxhill, Richard Tandy and Wilf Gibson.
Update 19/12/03: Still awaiting release. New release date unknown.
Update 23/02/04: Kevin is still recording and the release has been delayed, but it will definitely see the light of day.
Update 19/11/05: Kevin has been recovering successfully from a serious illness and will start mixing his album in November in the UK. Hugh Hopper will guest on the album (session recorded 29/09/05). (Information from the "Why are we sleeping" website and Hopper's archive site - see Links section.)
Update 18/12/05: Kevin Ayers is being backed by a band called "Ladybug", album planned for release in january 2006.
Update 25/02/06: A new Kevin Ayers website www.kevin-ayers.com has been set up to promote the new album. Unfortunately, no release date and details on display.
Update 23/07/06: I've received a kind email from Kevin's management which stated among other things that (1) Market Square is not going to release the new album; (2) The core backing band will be Ladybug Transistor; (3) The album is a long time coming and a tentative release date has been provided of early spring 2007.
Update 11/11/06: Release date set for May 2007 (see www.kevin-ayers.com for details).
Update 09/12/06: Steve Hillage will guest on this album.
Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath - Live Berliner Jazztage, November, 1971 (unknown)
New archival release of the Brotherhood of Breath, planned.
Lol Coxhill & Steve Miller - Miller/Coxhill & The Story So Far ... Oh, Really (unknown)
Both albums by Coxhill/Miller finally on CD, including load of bonustracks and featuring everyone from Hatfield and the North (and Roy Babbington), a.o. Release date unknown.
Elton Dean - Happy Daze/Oh, For The Edge! (Ogun)
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Ogun will release the two classic Ninesense albums on CD this year, probably as a twoofer.
Hatfield and the North - Hatfield and the North / Rotters' Club (Eclectic)
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Eclectic is currently working on re-issues of both classic Hatfield albums (one with guest appearance of Robert Wyatt - as you all know of course). Bonustracks to be announced.
Steve Hillage - Live at Rockpalast & Rock Goes to College (DVD) (Voiceprint)
This upcoming Steve Hillage DVD contains two TV performances from the late seventies.
Hugh Hopper/Simon Picard/Steve Franklin/Charles Hayward - Numero d'Vol (Moonjune)
New release planned for 2007 with Hugh Hopper, Charles Hayward (ex-Quiet Sun, ex-This Heat), Steve Franklin (ex-In Cahoots) and Simon Picard. No details yet.
Ovary Lodge - Ovary Lodge (Ogun)
Ogun will release the second Ovary Lodge album on CD later this year. No Soft Machine alumni on this album but if Ogun re-issues one of their old albums, it deserves a mention... ;-)
Update 23/03/3007: Release date in April.
Soft Machine - DVD (Eclectic)
Rumour has it a Soft Machine DVD is in the making by Eclectic.
Update 20/07/2005: This has been confirmed as a possible release but in a preliminar state so don't hold your breath.
Soft Machine Legacy - new studio CD (MoonJune Records)
A new studio album will be recorded at the end of the year and released worldwide sometime in May 2007. As stated in the What's Rattlin' mailinglist: "This is to announce the recording of the new studio album of Soft Machine Legacy (Etheridge, Hopper, Travis, Marshall). The recording to be made on December 28/29/30/31 at Jon Hiseman's Temple Studios, South of London, and to be released in Japan sometime around March/April and the rest of the world in May. Hugh Hopper, John Etheridge and Theo Travis contributing 2 new pieces, then we will do an usual Ratledge¹s cover tune, to be slightly modified, all the time, and one collective improvisation. Expect also a DVD sometimes in the second half of 2007. Amazing Theo Travis has brought a lot of great and positive energy in the band."
Soft Works - Live In Japan 2003 (Moonjune)
August 2003 live recording of Dean/Hopper/Holdsworth/Marshall band.
Pam & Gary Windo - Primal Steam (unknown)
No details known but might be the thrid installment of Gary Windo archival recordings from Cuneiform.
Wrong Object - Elton Dean Meets The Wrong Object - Live In Paris (Moonjune)
From the Wrong Object newsletter: "A remastered version of our Paris gig with Elton will be released by Moonjune Records, with a July-August release looking likely.."
Update 23/12/2006: Release date set for January 2007.
Update 17/03/07:Moved to April 2007.
Robert Wyatt - new album (unknown)
Robert Wyatt is currently in the studio working on a new album planned for release this year.
Rumoured releases
These releases are gathered from the WWW and several mailinglists, newsgroups etc. Some of these might never see the light of day.
Bone - Live in New York 2006 (unknown)
The first Bone live concert early in December 2006 has been professionally recorded and might turn up on CD in the near future. Bone features Nick Didkowsky, Hugh Hopper and John Roulat.
Delta Saxophone quartet - unknown (FMR)
Upcoming CD by sax quartet with music from the Soft Machine. No release date set.
Gong - Live Etc. boxset (EMI)
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Rumour goes that Mark Powell - who brought us the excellent Caravan re-issues last year - is preparing above releases.
Update 15/02/2003: Gong re-issues including bonustracks expected May 2003.
Update 05/05/2003: Release is delayed because of contractual issues regarding Flying Teapot. Bonustracks that you can expect: this will be reissued later this year as a boxed
set which will include the entirety of the London/Marquee concert from
September 1975 (thanks to Aymeric Leroy for this information).
Update 31/07/2003: Delayed till end of the year;
Update 19/12/2003: Live Etc. will also contain the 1974 Bremen radio broadcast that is famous among Gong tapetraders.
Update 19/06/2004: Releases set for September to co-incide with the Gong tour in Europe.
Update 25/07/2004: Release date set to 06/09/2004.
Update 28/08/2004: Live Etc. not yet released. No information on how much delay to be expected.
Henry Cow - Live boxset (ReR)
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Back on this list, Chris Cutler is still planning on releasing a Henry Cow liveset. I've got an email from Michel Ramond who quotes Chris stating: "i am working on a collection of unreleased cow materials, hoping to get
agreement from the rest of the band; until now there have been reservations
here and there but i'm hoping for progress in the in ear future. this group (i.e. Yahoo ReR Megacorp list /Hulloder)
will be the first to know. Anyone with suggestions or any indispensable
material or memorabilia, please do get in touch
best
chris cutler
"
Hughscore - Hu4 (Cuneiform)
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Back on this page, the fourth Hughscore album has been confirmed to be still in progress.
As stated on the Cuneiform website: "Although the next Hughscore (Hu4)cd is slow moving, it IS moving. Again Hugh Hopper has sent the music, we have it, and by the end of the summer the americans in the band(Fred Chalenor, Elaine diFalco and Henry Franzoni) will be living in the same city (Portland Oregon) so we can actually get cracking on the tracks. Originally we were going to record it with Tucker Martine on
drums but he became really busy in Seattle so what we have again is the original Caveman Shoestore trio plus Hugh."
Songs from the Beginning - (unknown title) (unknown)
Project of Alain Blesing featuring Hopper and John Greaves (a.o.), playing songs like "1983" by Jimi Hendrix, "Going To California" by Led Zeppelin, "Fracture" by King Crimson, "Slightly All The Time" by the Softs, "Mumps" by Hatfield and the North, "Beautiful As The Moon and Terrible As An Army With Banners" by Henry Cow (for you French enabled readers, I got this information from this article by Aymeric Leroy). Recordings take place in September. Release date as of yet unknown.
Soft Machine - Live at Montreux July 1974 (DVD) (Moonjune)
Late incarnation of The Soft Machine playing at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Setlist (from the Calyx Website): "Hazard Profile", "The Floating World" / "Ealing Comedy" (bass solo) / "Bundles" / "Joint" / "The Man Who Waved At Trains" / "L.B.O." (drum solo) / "Riff II" // "Lefty", "Penny Hitch". This is not a confirmed release!
David Willey & Hugh Hopper - Music for the Tin Box Papers (unknown)
Hugh is working on a CD project with Hamster Theatre's David Willey based on poems by David's father (info from Hopper website).
Update 01/09/2005: On a Bob Drake weblog I found mention of this project which involves Bob Drake singing on some of the tracks and several Hamster Theatre members involved as well.
Update 09/12/2006: From the Cuneiform Website: "Dave Willey just dropped off Deborah Perry at the airport after recording her singing two songs for his project "Music for the Tin Box Papers", which features composing contributions from Mike Johnson, Hugh Hopper, Deborah Perry, and Jeanne Christensen as well as himself, and performances by the aforementioned as well as Bob Drake, Dave Kerman, Beth Welch, Mark Fuller and Farrell Lowe. Much different than Hamster Theatre, somehow more diverse!"
