Song By Song #46: Luke Machin - Soulshine

 Originally posted to Facebook on September 22, 2025

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Welcome to issue #46 of Scott’s Song By Song (#scottssongbysong).For more information about this series, click here: https://www.facebook.com/share/Gc2VkwHQWGLdeaDd/?mibextid=oFDknk

Today I’ll be reviewing Luke Machin’s debut solo album “Soulshine”.  If you don’t know his name, if you have listened to contemporary prog music over the past 15 years or so, it’s likely that you have heard his playing.  His discography is very impressive, having played with (among others) his own band Maschine, Francis Dunnery and FD’s It Bites, Andy Tillison/The Tangent, Karnataka, Cyan, and making guest appearances on many other albums, including an album I reviewed earlier this year: Karmakanic’s “Transmutation”.  I’ll post a link to his Wikipedia discography below the review.  When Luke posted about the upcoming release recently, I reached out to him and he was kind enough to send me a download link.  As always, I am not compensated in any other way, and am free to “call it as I hear it”.  According to his Wikipedia page, this album was first announced in 2021, so this release was 4 years in the making.  Furthermore, the album’s guest list is as impressive as his resume’! It seems that nearly all of the artists he’s played with over the years wanted to return the favor.

Soulshine Special Guests

Guthrie Govan

Francis Dunnery

Marco Minnemann

Daniel Gildenlow

Donavan Hepburn

Jonas Reingold

Morgan Agren

Peter Jones

Sh’kye

Anastasia Pshokina

Andy Tillison

Lalle Larson

Robert Reed

Mirron Webb

Anita Dondorff

Marek Arnold

Carl Machin

Daniel Mashal

Chris Morgan

Dylan Thompson

To clarify, I will post who plays on each track unless it is only Luke himself.

So, without any more fanfare, let's get into this epic debut!

Track 1 - Frequency (:51)

It begins with synth sounds followed soon after with Manchin giving us some guitar licks.  It’s almost as if he’s warming up.  His playing reminds me of Steve Vai here.

Track 2 - Energy (4:11)

Sh’Kye - Lead Vocals (Full Track)

Anastasia Pshokina - Backing Vocals (Full Track)

Carl Machin - Backing Vocals (Full Track)

Luke Machin - Guitars/Bass/Keys/Backing Vocals (Full Track)

Coming directly off of “Frequency”, a groove kicks in and Machin plays a melodic set of phrases.  Then Anastasia Pshokina’s vocals kick in with a funky backdrop. Sh’Kye’s vocals take over on the verse, with the other voices doing a call and response.  This track is surprisingly commercial, sort of an R&B/pop groove, but with Machin’s guitar playing.   Machin takes a solo with interesting effects around 2:40.  The chorus returns around the 3 minute mark. Sh’Kye’s vocals are wonderful!  At around 3:50, there are spoken voices having a conversation with a synth accompaniment which leads to the song's conclusion.

Track 3 - Soulshine (6:11)

Sh’Kye - Lead Vocals (Full Track)

Anastasia Pshokina - Backing Vocals (Full Track)

Daniel Mashal - Bass (Full Track)

Luke Machin - Guitars/Keys/Backing Vocals (Full Track)

We continue in the soul/R&B genre here.  Machin’s electric piano is jazzy. Sh’Kye and Anastasia blend well together. The groove changes part of the way through.  Daniel Mashal gives us a nice bass groove.  Maybe a bit of a fusion vibe to it as well. Luke takes a great clean jazz solo after the second chorus.  I like the ad-lib scat singing as the song reaches its conclusion.

Track 4 - Drive-In (4:03)

Sh’Kye - Lead Vocals (Full Track)

Anastasia Pshokina - Backing Vocals (Full Track)

Donavan Hepburn - Drums (Full Track)

Luke Machin - Guitars/Bass/Keys/Backing Vocals (Full Track)

This begins with sound effects and sounds like maybe we are outside of a party or dance club. While I admit that current soul/R&B is not my area of expertise, Sh’Kye’s vocals continue to impress. Donavan Hepburn’s live drums add a nice dimension. I like the bridge at around 2:30, as Luke lets loose on the guitar behind the vocals.  He takes a synth solo after that.   This one was probably my favorite thus far.

Track 5 - Rise Up (6:15) 

Anastasia Pshokina - Lead Vocals (Full Track)

Luke Machin - Guitars/Bass/Keys/Backing Vocals (Full Track)

Luke plays us a funky rhythm guitar riff to kick this one off.  This is an upbeat track and Anastasia Pshokina takes the vocal spotlight while Luke handles the rest of the track.  I like the synth washes on it. We remain in the soul/R&B vibe.  She has a nice soprano voice. At around 3:50 everything but voice and keys drops out.  When the rest of the parts kick back in, Luke’s funky riffs return. Cool run at 4:50.  There are some “Breakdowns” as the song reaches its end.

Track 6 - Parisian Rooftops (11:33)

Daniel Gildenlow - Lead Vocals (Full Track)

Anastasia Pshokina - Backing Vocals (Full Track)

Guthrie Govan - Lead Guitar Solo (2:33-3:51)

Francis Dunnery - Slide Guitar/Seat Vocals (6:16-7:22)

Donavan Hepburn - Drums (Full Track)

Luke Machin - Guitars/Bass/Keys/Backing Vocals (Full Track/Lead Guitar 10:01-10:58)

Looks like we might possibly be shifting gears at this point in the album. We shall see… but the proggers are here and the song length is promising.  A tom-tom pick-up leads us in. It sounds like fusion at the beginning. The groove is syncopated, but it still has an R&B vibe. Gildenlow sounds a bit different compared to his work with Pain of Salvation and stint with the Flower Kings, but it could be the context. Govan’s solo breaks though over the funky groove. Some refer to Guthrie Govan as the greatest guitarist in the world, and this solo doesn’t disappoint. After the solo, there is an electric piano part over which Gildenlow sings.  This is getting proggy, but in a different way.  When Dunnery’s slide part comes in, I understand what is meant by “seat vocals”.  While he plays the slide part, he is doubling it with his voice being picked up by an ambient mic; interesting effect.  This one is almost like something Zappa would have done, or Vai around his “Flex-able” era.  Around 8:40 there is a quiet part with Gildenlow singing with arpeggiated guitar parts and Anastasia providing a countermelody.  Very cool. Machin’s solo is big and sustained; it gives me the impression of a flower blooming in a time-lapse movie.  The gear ship happened, but it happened during the song.  A very unique and interesting track.

Track 7 - Blossom (5:07)

Peter Jones - Lead Vocals (Full Track)

Anastasia Pshokina - Lead Vocals (Full Track)

Robert Reed - Piano/Production Ensemble (Full Track)

Luke Machin - Guitars (Full Track)

Peter Jones starts this one off straight away with the vocals and minimal accompaniment.  The chords are dissonant as Jones sings of losing his mind. Reed’s piano and arrangements are a nice touch.  Of course Reed and Jones have a long history of working together.  Anastasia takes over the vocals at around the 2 minute point. At about 3:30, the two vocalists sing countermelodies against each other, before coming together in harmony by the time they sing “I finally found what I was looking for.  I’ll put this in the category of hauntingly beautiful art-rock ballad.  A very engaging track.

Track 8 - Wild Roses (12:12)

Anita Dondorff - Lead Vocals (Full Track)

Mirron Webb - Lead Vocals (7:04-9:40)

Morgan Agren - Drums (Full Track)

Lalle Larson - Piano/Synth Solo (3:54-6:28)

Andy Tillison - Organ Solo (7:58-9:17)

Jonas Reingold - Bass (3:54-6:28)

Marek Arnold - Soprano Sax (Full Track)

Luke Machin - Guitars/Moog Bass/Bass/Keys/Percussion/Backing Vocals (Entire Track)

This is the album’s longest track and chock full of notable proggers.  Let’s see what they do with it.  It starts off once again in the hauntingly beautiful vein with high pitched “oohhs” in the vocals and some quiet guitar accompaniment. But by 50 seconds things begin to build.  We have a big proggy introduction, followed quickly by a jazzy groove with Anita’s vocals.  I believe we are in 6-8 but it took me a moment to get a handle on it.  The piano and vocal are in unison. I believe there are occasional meter changes. Argen and Reingold handle the rhythms like the virtuosos they are.  This sounds like big band jazz, yet modern, with prog synths from time to time. Larson’s piano solo would make Chick Corea proud. Then he switches to synth but keeps it cookin’.  The rhythm section sounds like they are having a blast. Vocals return afterward as the instruments scale back, and some acoustic guitar joins in.  Then the music suddenly EXPLODES as Mirron Webb takes over on vocals! A proggy groove takes over following that. Tillison’s organ solo happens over that groove.  As we hit the 10 minute mark we’ve gotten a Latin jazz groove going, with very tight precision playing from all involved.   A long sustained chord at around 11:30 leads to a quiet part with Anita and Luke closing it out with only guitar and vocals.  Wow, that was an amazing composition!  It traversed numerous styles with ease in a way that felt natural.  So far this is the centerpiece of the album.

Track 9 - Turn Around (7:22)

Francis Dunnery - Vocals (Chorus/Bridge/Middle 8/Outro)

Dylan Thompson - Lead Vocals (Verses/Middle 8)

Chris Morgan - Drums (Full Track)

Anastasia Pshokina - Backing Vocals (Full Track)

Luke Machin - Guitars/Bass/Keys/Backing Vocals (Full Track)

This returns to the soul/R&B groove. The contrast between Thompson and Dunnery’s vocals is an interesting element.  The guitar parts are interesting. The backing beat drops out at around 3 minutes.  Machin starts adding a guitar countermelody, then takes a brief, Holdsworth style solo.  The vocals and guitar alternate for two rounds. Morgan has some nice drum fills peppered in. Machin lets it rip again for a few bars, before a nearly a cappella coda with just a little piano backing the vocals.

Track 10 - Final Boss (9:36)

Marco Minnemann - Drums (Full Track)

Jonas Reingold - Bass (Full Track)

Marek Arnold - Soprano Sax (Solo 7:13-8:00)

Luke Machin - Guitars/Keys (Full Track)

This is a formidable power trio, to be supplemented by a sax solo for the final track.  Minneman begins with a tight groove.  There are mu-tron sounding stabs and Luke plays lead.  This is funky fusion. It looks like all the players get a chance to shine here. Whoo! At around 1:55 they take on a King Crimson style precision riff.  Then they lay down a different groove before going mellow while Reingold takes a fretless bass solo. They start coming out of that , then there is a brief pause.  A syncopated synth sets the rhythm for the next section.   There is a little bit of rap for a few seconds the Machin shows he is equally adept on synth.  This is truly a smokin’ hot fusion jam.  They are making my head bob. At around 6 minutes they mellow out for another fretless bass solo.  They begin a slow build with possibly some mellotron “ahhs”  Then Arnold hits the fantastic soprano sax solo. The synth takes the spotlight again, but differently.  At around 8:45 Marco is all over the tom-toms.  A drum-roll brings us to the final chord.  Fusion fans will love this!

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

Well, that was not what I was expecting for a large part of the album, especially in the first half.  And again, Soul/R&B is not my strong suit, but I do recognize talented musicians playing quality music and it is all over this album.  My favorites are “Parisian Rooftops”, “Wild Roses” and “Final Boss” , but this album is a total journey from start to finish.  I give it an overall score of 4.25 out of 5 stars.  Well-done on your first solo outing.

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Prog On!

Scott

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LINKS FOR LISTENING AND BUYING:

The album is just out, so not much on YouTube…

Album preview:

https://youtu.be/XS3JzFXR1nQ?si=4KtKWy68fHsebj2z

Final Boss (official music video)

https://youtu.be/GxmaJmo1NHU?si=T9F_dg7p7q-V8Jm9

And a link to his website where you can order it:

https://www.lukemachin.com/soulshine