Canterbury Scene

The Canterbury Scene (or Canterbury Sound) is a term used to loosely describe the group of progressive rock musicians that were based around the town of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Table of contents

1 Roots 2 Bands and Musicians 3 Record Labels 4 External link

Roots

The musicians were not tied by very strong musical similarities, but a certain whimsicalness, touches of psychedelia, rather obtuse lyrics, and a use of improvisation derived from jazz are common elements in their work.

The scene had its roots in the Wilde Flowers, a band formed in 1964 which, at various times, was home to the founding musicians of both the Soft Machine and Caravan, bands which in turn provided the musicians of several later bands.

The genesis of the Canterbury Sound may, in part, be traced back to 1960, when Australian beatnik Daevid Allen lodged at Robert Wyatt's parents' guest-house in Lydden, ten miles to the south of Canterbury. Allen brought with him an extensive collection of jazz records, a different lifestyle, and the jazz drummer George Niedorf who later taught Wyatt the drums.

In 1963, Wyatt, Allen and Hugh Hopper formed the Daevid Allen Trio (in London) which metamorphasised into the Wilde Flowers when Allen left for France.

Bands and Musicians

include:

• Kevin Ayers
• Camel
• Caravan
• Comus
• Egg
• Gilgamesh
• Gong
• Hatfield and the North
• Henry Cow
  • Lindsay Cooper
  • Chris Cutler
  • Fred Frith
  • John Greaves
  • Tim Hodgkinson
• Steve Hillage
• Matching Mole
• National Health
• Soft Machine
  • Hugh Hopper
• Wilde Flowers
• Robert Wyatt

Record Labels

...with notable Canturbury Scene releases

• Cuneiform Records
• Virgin Records
  • Caroline Records
• Harvest Records (imprint of EMI Records)
• Vertigo Records
• Voiceprint Records

External link

• Calyx: The Canterbury Website