Founded in 1966 by keyboardist Mike Ratledge, drummer/vocalist Robert Wyatt, bassist/vocalist Kevin Ayers and guitarists Daevid Allen and Larry Nowlin, Soft Machine were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene and had been staples of the London underground, playing the UFO Club with Pink Floyd.

Eventually, they recorded this self-titled debut album in New York City during a spring 1968 tour of the USA with The Jimi Hendrix Experience,[3] produced by Chas Chandler and Tom Wilson.

With Allen's departure, Mike Ratledge took over the group's solos on a Lowrey organ, attempting to beef up its sound with a fuzz box and Wah-wah pedal at the suggestion of Hendrix.

[2] The original artwork featured a circular die-cut sleeve, revealing a rotating wheel card insert with gears through which the band members could be viewed underneath (a similar gimmick would later be tried for Led Zeppelin III).

The 2009 Remastered Edition includes "Love Makes Sweet Music" and "Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin'" (bonus tracks), which were-respectively-Side A and Side B of their first single, issued in 1967.