Soft Machine's Wyatt Surfaces With New Set

Robert Wyatt's alchemical combination of pop sensibility and avant-garde daring may be relatively unknown in the States, but his U.S. label, Thirsty Ear, believes the electronica movement has primed listeners for the singer/songwriter's new disc, "Shleep." Brian Eno, free jazz saxophonist Evan Parker, and former Jam and Style Council front man Paul Weller are among the musicians joining Wyatt on the album, which streeted in the U.K. last year on Hannibal Records. Since Wyatt, one of the founders of jazz/rock act Soft Machine, has been confined to a wheelchair since 1973, he will not tour behind the disc; instead, he will promote it with audiotapes and videos that describes the songs in depth. "Shleep," due out Jan. 20, will be followed by a series of Wyatt reissues in the U.S. by Thirsty Ear.