Soft Machine

Live At Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971 [2 CDs + CD-ROM]

Label: Reel Recordings Country: Canada

"That the recordings made of Britain's Soft Machine remain as rewarding and inspirational today as the moment of their making, qualifies the groups international stature as the most expressively intelligent of rock music's progressive epoch. Born of the Beat Generation & Beat music, sacrificed on the clichéd tracks of jazz-fusion, the music in between by the classic quartet of keyboardist Mike Ratledge, saxophonist Elton Dean (1945-2005), bass guitarist Hugh Hopper (1945-2009) and drummer Robert Wyatt is mercurial genius manifest.

Still and all, a creative apex where the music attained a 'whole greater than its sum parts', occurred on the evening of February 28th, 1971 at the Henie Onstad Art Centre in Oslo, Norway. Here, the group was afforded a rare crucible for their collective creativity by virtue of an intimate concert space, accurate amplification, and an appreciative audience. Also in Henie Onstad for his own Art Exhibition was Soft Machine's friend Mark Boyle (1926-2005), who projected his sensory films during this concert. Thankfully, the performance was professionally recorded using classical ambient technique, and safely archived until the Henie Onstad Art Centre, and the musicians, granted Reel Recordings the honor and responsibility to present this magnificent recording for CD release.

The results sound for itself as demonstrably the finest stereo recording of Soft Machine ever captured on tape. To celebrate and contextualize this two CD release a CD ROM including extensive notes and concert photographs is included. Live at Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971 is not simply another fascinating addition to a series of archival Soft Machine releases; it stands as nothing less than a gift for all."-Reel Recordings

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