Record label Seventh Records | Labels Seventh | |
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Years active 1969–1983, 1996–present Website www.magmamusic.org/en/index.php Past members Francis MozeJannick "Janik" TopKlaus BlasquizDidier LockwoodBernard PaganottiBenoît WidemannTeddy LasryHimiko PaganottiAntoine PaganottiEmmanuel BorghiBruno RuderLaurent ThibaultJérémie TernoyJim GrandcampJames MacGaw Genres Zeuhl, Progressive rock, Experimental rock, Jazz fusion, Art rock Albums Mëkanïk Dëstruktï, Hhaï, Kobaïa, Köhntarkösz, Ëmëhntëhtt‑Ré Profiles | ||
Magma are a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. In the course of their first album, the band tells the story of a group of people fleeing a doomed Earth to settle on the planet Kobaïa. Later, conflict arises when the Kobaïans—descendants of the original colonists—encounter other Earth refugees.
Contents
- Legacy
- Critical reception
- Controversy
- Studio albums
- Live albums
- EPs
- CompilationsBoxsetsOther material
- Videos
- Members
- Songs
- References
Vander invented a constructed language, Kobaïan, in which most lyrics are sung. In a 1977 interview with Vander and long-time Magma vocalist Klaus Blasquiz, Blasquiz said that Kobaïan is a "phonetic language made by elements of the Slavonic and Germanic languages to be able to express some things musically. The language has of course a content, but not word by word." Vander himself has said that, "When I wrote, the sounds [of Kobaïan] came naturally with it—I didn’t intellectualise the process by saying 'Ok, now I’m going to write some words in a particular language', it was really sounds that were coming at the same time as the music." Later albums tell different stories set in more ancient times; however, the Kobaïan language remains an integral part of the music.
In 1986, the French label Seventh Records was founded in order to (re-)publish Magma's and Vander's work. Over the years, Seventh has also released albums by related artists such as Stella Vander, Patrick Gauthier and Collectif Mu.
Legacy
The band is widely considered to be musically adventurous and imaginative among music critics. Magma makes extensive use of the choral format, particularly reminiscent of the classical composer Carl Orff. Magma's music is also highly influenced by jazz saxophone player John Coltrane, and Vander has said that "it is still Coltrane who actually gives me the real material to work on, to be able to move on".
So many of the musicians who have played with Magma have formed their own solo projects and/or spinoff acts that the Kobaïan term Zeuhl has come to refer to the musical style of these bands and the French jazz fusion/symphonic rock scene that grew around them. Besides Christian Vander, other well-known Magma alumni include the violinist Didier Lockwood, bassist-composer Jannick "Janik" Top, and spinoff act Weidorje.
Critical reception
The band has a number of high-profile fans. Punk rock singer Johnny Rotten, prolific metal musician Kristoffer Rygg, Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, and Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth, and Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky have all stated their admiration of the band.
In the 1980s, British World champion snooker player Steve Davis declared himself a passionate follower of the band since his youth and used some of his winnings to promote a series of concerts by Magma in London.
Television journalist Antoine de Caunes wrote a biography of the band entitled Magma.
Controversy
Magma has been criticized for embracing fascist aesthetics and ideology in their art, accusations the band has called a "myth" and attributed to journalistic misrepresentations of their performance style. However, in an interview with Richie Unterberger, Gong's Daevid Allen remembered that Christian Vander "had swastika flags all over his bedroom and pictures of Hitler and would leap up and do kind of imitation Hitler speeches in the middle of his drum solo". Vander has also been under attack for a 1970 interview in which he had described the people of India and Africa as "degenerates". Likewise, a quote distributed on various Magma products and attributed to "J.G." was likened to lines from the Horst-Wessel-Lied and "J.G." interpreted as "Joseph Goebbels". Christian Vander claimed he had copied the quote from a friend's notebook.
Studio albums
Live albums
EPs
Compilations/Boxsets/Other material
Videos
Members
Magma has been the birthplace of many French jazz musicians. We can cite:
Songs
De FuturaÜdü Ẁüdü · 1976
The Last Seven MinutesAttahk · 1978
Da Zeuhl Ẁortz MëkanïkMëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh · 1973