Story behind the record cover - Hidden Details (2018) - SOFT MACHINE
The soft machine. The human body is controlled by the unconscious mind. Or, if you're not careful with addictive substances, from outside. The cup of coffee you desperately need to get going in the morning. The alcohol, to loosen your tongue in the evening.
American author William S. Burroughs describes all of this in his 1960s books. The book 'The Soft Machine' is one of them. Burroughs is symbolically depicted on this cover by Danish artist Lasse Hoile. His life consisted mainly of using a multitude of psychedelic drugs. With that he descended to the depths of his mind where he encountered the most bizarre visions, which he then wrote down. Sex, drugs and violence were his favourite themes. And all this in America, where obtaining a car and a refrigerator was the highest ideal in the late 1950s. Middle-class America soon deemed him to be a junkie and a living dead. His books were banned. But he also became a cult hero, especially for musicians like Frank Zappa and Tom Waits. He also had a fanatical fan base in England. Drummer Robert Wyatt went as far as to name his band after Burroughs' book. Soft Machine.
Burroughs' cult status is not only about his outspokenness on, for example, his homosexuality, but also because of his special style of writing. He completely abandoned standard structures. He used an associative way of writing; he literally cut up and mixed up his lyrics. That's how the brain works, according to him, thus becoming his starting point. Musically Soft Machine adapted to this particular style. No fixed rhythm schemes, but free associations. At first, the music seems to go in all directions. But if you listen carefully, it will grab you and touch the deeper layers of your consciousness.
Soft Machine, deriving from the Canterbury scene, has become a legendary band that still performs regularly. For example, last October at De Boerderij. It is true that the band has had many personnel changes, but the basic principle remains the same. Experimental music that regularly steps outside the framework. It requires an open mind if you want to deviate from the trotted musical pathways. Only then you come across beautiful hidden details.
Saxophonist Theo Travis explained all of this after the show. He has been part of Soft Machine's line-up for fifteen years. Travis can also be heard on various albums from prog rock musician Steven Wilson. Hence the connection to the drawing on the album cover of "Hidden Details". Artist Lasse Hoile also creates the covers for Wilson's solo albums as well as his band Porcupine Tree. The cover art for both "Hand.Cannot.Erase." and "In Abstentia" have his signature. Travis asked him if he would also like to produce the album cover for Soft Machine's "Hidden Details".
I myself have never been that fond of magic mushrooms and/or space cake. Once upon a time, with some friends, we went to watch an exciting movie after having a cup of magic tea with ditto cake. Suddenly the images came at me in 3D and it seemed as if some thug grabbed me by the throat. I almost jumped out the window, but luckily someone stopped me. Since then I've stuck to Belgian beer, the occasional LP and love to get into higher realms.
By Gerrit-Jan Vrielink
Translation Alex Driessen
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