Pop at the Proms There will be two Promenade concerts at the Albert Hall to- night. The first will include Bach's Cantata No. 116 and fourth Brandenburg Concerto. The second will include "Esth- er's Nose Job" and " Out- bloody-rageous ". The first wil be performed by the Academy of St. Martin- in-the-Fields anld the B.B.C. Chorus; the second by The Soft Machine pop group, a not-so- pop group called Intermodula- tion, and the BB.C. Symphony Orchestra wearing " anything from polo necks to sports coats Interest in the first has been what one has come to expect in Bach for the past 300 years. Interest in the second is monu- mental. "Sir Henry Wood would certainly have Lpproved", the composer Mal- colm Arnold said on the 'radio this week. "He was an for the relaxed atmosphere of the Proms...." Yesterday The Soft Machine, with sweaters, jeans and plenty of hair but no musical instru- ments, were looking apprehen- sive as they squatted on the steps of the Albert Memorial for pictures. Their manager, Sean Murphy, was at Heathrow Air- port trying to sort out the problem of the group's missing musical instruments which. midway through rehearsal time, had still not arrived from their last engagement in Spain. " We're worried about getting enough rehearsal time in the acoustics of the Albert Hall ". said Mike Ratledge, Oxford graduate and electronic organ- ist. " If the instruments don't turn up in time for the concert we'll have to hire some, but I'm sure they will. The other members of 'the group are Hugh Hopper (bass guitar), Robert Wyatt (drums) and Elton Dean (alto-sax and saxello). Except for Dean, they were all at school in Canter- bury together. In some ways they have had a curious history, winning more fame abroad than in England. They have become the heroes of French intellectuals, have been idolized by Dutchmen, but are only nowv beginning to make headway in Britain. Their music has been des- cribed as a blend of jazz, pop. and classical styles. -iWe use the same volume attack as pop groups ", Ratledge says. They were back in the Albert Hall bar now, stili waiting anxiously. Musical interest at tonight's experimental late-night prom will doubtless centre on Tim Souster's new Triple Music 11 piece specialiy commissioned by the B.B.C., which will be played by the B.B.C. Symphony Orchestra in their unaccus- tomed mufti. Historical interest is centred on The Soft Machine. Henry Stanhope Pop at the Proms After Bach, The Soft Machine