Magma - À la recherche de la musique suprême

Christian Vander (b. 1948, France) is undoubtedly one of the towering figures of the French music scene of the Seventies. Drummer, leader and mastermind of this ensemble (originally called Univeria Zekt Magma Composedra Arguezdra, later shortened to Magma), he couldn't have chosen a better name to describe "his" music: a magma that engulfs everything in its path. And that is indeed the effect each of their records has on the listener.

Magma can be considered the first "concept band" in the history of rock, well before David Allen created his saga about the planet Gong (early hints of which can be found on "Camambert Electrique" from 1971). Indeed, Christian, his wife Stella and all the other members of the band are none other than the protagonists of the adventures told on their records, the Kobaians, a group of earthlings who set off into space in search of a world less chaotic and false than our own, and find it on a planet they name Kobaia, a true "earthly" paradise.

These are the main adventures recounted on their self-titled debut double LP, sung entirely (like almost all the rest of their catalogue) in Kobaian, a language created from scratch by Vander himself, complete with its own syntax and grammar! But let's get to the music…

Magma (Philips, 1970) is a masterpiece: a perfect blend of the jazz of their beloved Coltrane, the least conventional Seventies prog-rock, minimalism (especially in Cahen's piano lines), Wagner and Orff. The songs run (almost) all between 7 and 12 minutes in length (for a total of 80 minutes), and each one is a genuinely menacing "journey". The structure of the tracks is decidedly complex, marked by frequent shifts in tone and mood.

The album opens with "Kobaia", a sparkling piece of jazz-rock with frequent forays into free jazz, a perfect gateway into the Kobaian universe. Klaus Blasquiz's vocals come across as both lyrical and schizoid, reaching peaks of pure "madness" (the screams and curses of "Stoah"). There's no shortage, however, of calmer moments, with gentle acoustic passages for guitar, flute and percussion ("Nau Ektila").

Magma2 (1001° centigrades) (Philips, 1971) finds its best moments in the suite that takes up the first side ("Riah Sahiltaahk"). The second side, meanwhile, consists of two shorter, less inspired pieces (around 8 and 12 minutes). It's slightly more conventional jazz-rock, though the "menace" resurfaces now and then. Overall, though, Magma2 doesn't add much to the debut's legacy and comes across mainly as a transitional record.

And so we arrive at the masterpiece… Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh (Phillips, 1973) is the creative peak of Vander and co., perhaps the group's most forbidding record, but definitely the most evocative and shocking. Although split into several tracks, the album is really one long suite, and it represents the third movement of the first cycle of the "Theusz Hamtaahk" saga (originally meant to comprise 3 cycles of 3 movements each, though the work was left unfinished; the first two movements of the first cycle can be found on Vander's solo "Tristan & Isolte" and on "Retrospektiwe 1&2"). This particular record carries a message for earthlings (from a kind of guru named Neber Gudahtt) on how to save themselves from their sinister fate, through purification and communion with the divine spirit, the supreme being Krehun Korman. But let's set aside the convoluted storyline and focus on the music. This is perhaps Vander's most "Wagnerian" record, above all in the way this composer crafts "aggressive" music full of warlike choruses, but especially in that sense of the "unfinished", the suspended, so typical of his work. It might not even be too much of a stretch to mention Verdi's Macbeth (at least as far as the choral fury goes). Jazz and all the other components of their sound now take a back seat to the chanting and the sheer grandeur of the whole.

The album's opening track, "Hortz fur dehn stekehn west", initially consists of a repeated, markedly minimalist piano phrase (courtesy of Renè Garber) and dark, demonic chants carried by the male choir, an integral part of the band. The music keeps building, an effect magically achieved by the entrance of the female choir and the horn section, which, second after second, tries in vain to reach a final peak; indeed, the structure of much of the album is circular, generally marked by a subdued opening, a crescendo thick with tension and a pseudo-climax, before looping back seamlessly to the starting point.
With "Ima suri dundai" the band arrives at a complex form of prog-rock and jazz-rock, propelled by Vander's powerful drumming and Top's driving bass; afterward the male and female vocals intertwine, making the track's structure ever more intricate. The second side of the record opens with the male choir intoning "Hortz fur dehn.", before giving way to the female choir, topped by Stella Vander's gorgeous soprano voice. Much of this side is defined by long minimalist piano phrases and schizophrenic guitar solos. Never before had rock pushed so far.

Köhntarkösz (Vertigo, 1974) is another gem in Magma's discography, Vander's own favorite, the only one that, in his view, truly carries "positive" undertones. The horn section that characterized the previous records is gone, but in its place we get the legendary contribution of a great guitarist, Brian Godding (Centipede).

This record represents the first movement of the second cycle of Theusz Hamtaahk; Konhtarkosz is a man who discovers the Egyptian tomb of Ementeht-Re, an ancient Egyptian master, murdered before he could reach his ultimate goal: the discovery of immortality. When Kohntarkosz enters the tomb, he has a vision of Ementhet-Re and all his secrets are revealed to him. The title suite (split into two long parts of around 15 minutes each) is marked by a slow, somber, sinister pace, underscored by Gerard Bikialo's organ and Janick Top's incredible bass, before spilling into a frenzied jazz-rock finale. The album also features two other tracks: "Ork Alarm", the first piece written entirely by Top, and "Coltrane Sundia", Vander's greatest tribute to his idol.

Magma Live (Magma Hhaï) (Utopia, 1975) ideally closes out the band's first phase and paves the way for the next. This double album is a landmark among live records, superbly played, bursting with energy and incredible previously unheard moments (such as Didier Lockwood's violin). Among the tracks on offer (the whole of "Konhtarkosz", "Kobaia" and others), one song stands out that had never before appeared on vinyl, "Haai", which contains part of the second movement of the second cycle.

The second phase of the band's career begins with Üdü Ẁüdü (Utopia, 1976), and for the first time an entire side (taken up by "De Futura") is composed by someone other than Vander: Janick Top, one of the greatest bassists of all time. Synthesizers appear for the first time in Magma's music, prominently featured on "Troller Tanz" and "Zombies" (both subtitled "Ghost Dance"), two tracks that already hint at the structure of the second side.

The "De futura" suite is made up of jagged, stripped-down music, even more aggressive than before, played entirely by just Vander and Top (who gives free rein to his incredible, idiosyncratic technique): music for (distorted) bass, drums, synthesizers and alien choirs. Les Claypool of Primus surely owes quite a debt to this piece (which, among other things, was covered and made even more "extreme" by the Flying Luttenbachers).

Inédits (Tapioca, 1977) is an official bootleg, collecting a handful of live recordings of unreleased pieces from a few years earlier. Attahk (Tomato, 1978) follows the style of the previous studio album, with nods to funk and pure fusion. Some of the old magic is lost, but it remains a beautiful record (great bass work).

Retrospektive 1&2, 3 (1980-81, RCA) contains three absolutely essential records, not only to get a complete picture of the "Theusz Hamtaahk" trilogy (including the first two previously unreleased movements of the first cycle), but also to grasp just how powerful Magma were live. On bass, taking turns, are Francis Moze, Bernard Paganotti and Dominic Bertram.

Merci (Jaro, 1984) is perhaps the only misstep in Magma's discography. With the "Kobaian" language gone and the band's trademark musical structure abandoned (although there is one excellent track, "Eliphas Levi"), this time gospel takes center stage (!).

After this record, Vander embarked on a solo career that, while respectable, was light years from the former glories. Magma have nonetheless reunited several times to revisit their old sound live. Highly recommended is the live cd/dvd Magma – Theusz Hamtaahk trilogie au Trianon 2000 on Seventh Records. All the vinyl albums have been reissued by Seventh Records.

In 2021 a new live album was released, Eskähl 2020 Bordeaux – Toulouse – Perpignan, the first and so far only recording of the current Magma lineup. The band now numbers six singers (soloists Stella Vander, Hervé Aknin and Isabelle Feuillebois, with Sandrine Destefanis, Sylvie Fisichella and Laura Guarrato on backing vocals), two keyboardists (Simon Goubert and Thierry Eliez, who also sings), bass (Jimmy Top), guitar (Rudy Blas) and drums (naturally Christian Vander, occasionally also on vocals), and they're in great shape on this double cd, drawing on tracks from three consecutive shows on a tour that was later cut short by the pandemic.

The story and background of the first three albums are laid out in English inside the "MDK" record, translated into Italian at this address:
http://www.rottersclub.net/musicalbox/riboxtraduzioni.html

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