Five years after the release of their last studio album, legendary UK musical institution, Soft Machine, return with a brand new CD/LP,
Other Doors. Boasting new material and two numbers drawn from their extensive historical repertoire, Other Doors finds the band on their usual fiery form.
Featuring John Etheridge (guitars), Theo Travis, (saxes, flutes, Fender Rhodes piano, electronics), Fred Thelonious Baker (Fretless bass),
John Marshall (drums), Other Doors also features two guest appearances from long-serving bassist Roy Babbington, who retired from the band in 2021.
Other Doors was recorded at Temple Music Studios, a facility owned by the late Jon Hiseman during July and August 2022.
It’s a location of which the band is particularly fond, explains John Etheridge. “Working at Jon Hiseman’s studio was special,
especially with Ru Lemer who is a brilliant engineer. He’s fantastically quick and that’s very good as we record mainly live in the studio. It’s come out really well and I think it sounds great.”
On Other Doors they’ve revisited the very first album, originally released in 1968, to include Kevin Ayers ‘Joy Of A Toy. Fred Baker, makes his studio debut with Soft Machine.
A well-known figure on the Canterbury Scene not only is he the perfect choice for the group but he’s also is a long-term fan of the repertoire.
“The way I look at it is that this is all great music which we’re continuing to preserve and keep alive as we play it but also we’re adding to it all the time,” he explains.
The idea for revisiting the number was Theo Travis’ he says and has been part of the band’s live setlist for a while.
The album also contains Penny Hitch, a track originally heard on 1973’s Soft Machine Seven.
If the album ushers in a new member in the shape of Fred Baker, it also acts as a fond farewell to drummer John Marshall, who joined Soft Machine midway through the recording of 1972’s Fifth.
At the age of 81 Marshall has decided to retire making Other Doors his final studio album with the group. “I’ve known John since 1975 when I first joined Soft Machine and of course,
we’ve worked through the years together intermittently ever since. His drumming always meant a lot to me,” says Etheridge.
“We worked over three days in the studio and John played great. It sounds terrific.”
Indeed, Marshall is on whip-cracking form throughout the album bringing his trademark musicality and decisive presence.
With Other Doors, he brings his distinguished career to a rousing conclusion.
Intense, celebratory, and consistently impressive. Other Doors is the sound of a group determined to press forwards with an
integrity and sense of purpose that’s quintessentially and definitively Soft Machine.
