MAGMA

Magma are the founders of the zeuhl genre. Over the span of their 50-year career, they've been remarkably consistent in both their strange character and high quality of output. Strongly rooted in jazz and heavy on hypnotic jamming, their studio recordings were often taken to new heights in live settings, such as the version of "Köhntarkösz" on their album Live/Hhaï. Live performances have also seen epics be debuted and developed before reaching a studio album. Their 2009 album Ëmëhntëtt-Ré began life in the 1970s at live shows, and "?lag Tanz" was debuted live several years before it was recorded.  "Theusz Hamtaahk" as yet remains unrecorded in the studio. Zëss similarly began as a live-only epic in the '70s.

"Zëss" struck me as an odd choice for Magma to record. The live recordings I'd heard came off as long-winded, meandering, and repetitious, and this was a critique I'd seen elsewhere online. I think the band may have been aware of this criticism, so they enlisted the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra to add some texture and dynamism. Distinct to Zëss, band founder Christian Vander takes lead vocals over the span of the entire album. There are the usual female vocals in the background, but Vander remains at the forefront. He also does not play drums here, another first for the band.

The 37 minutes of Zëss are presented as one huge song, though there are seven distinct movements therein. It's also a big improvement over the archival live versions I'd heard. Magma have never been a particularly guitar-forward band, but the guitar is nearly muted on this album. Piano and the orchestra take center stage beneath Vander's vocals. Hearing just how naturally strings fit in with Magma's sound, I'm shocked the band had never attempted such an integration before.

Vocals on Zëss are presented both in French and Kobaïan, Christian Vander's invented language which has featured on every one of the band's albums (except Merci, but there's a reason no one talks about that album). The music flows smoothly over the course of the album. The orchestra lends a certain fluidity, and the jazzy percussion, while not Vander's, is befitting of the band.

As big of an improvement over the early recordings of this song as it may be, "Zëss" does still retain some weaknesses. It isn't able to fully escape all the tedium of those old recordings. Certain points on this massive epic begin to feel superfluous or needlessly extended. The barely-noticeable guitar hampered the band's ability to put some oomph behind the moments that were meant to be menacing. The orchestra certainly could add a creepy, spooky vibe, but a splash of something distorted may have helped drive the point home.

Zëss ties up some of the loose ends in the Kobaïa storyline that's run through band's music since their 1969 debut. (Or so I've been told. I'm not exactly fluent in Kobaïan.) I'd consider this to be Magma's second-weakest album, but their discography has been so incredibly strong (aside from the aforementioned Merci) that it's still good. There are some moments of monotony, and the lush strings may reduce some impact, but Christian Vander has demonstrated that he's still able to conjure up something weird and interesting half a century after his band debuted.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/08/19/album-review-magma-zess/

Its hard to believe that it's been well over a half century since Christian Vander launched his MAGMA project which not only put France on the progressive rock map but also succeeded in forging an entirely new subgenre of prog called zeuhl. Add to that the mythos that has been embedded in each release that reveals the akashic records of the (supposedly) fictional planet called Kobaia. It's fair to say that MAGMA is more of a collective project of Christian Vander with dozens of talented musicians and vocalists coming and going throughout the decades but one thing is for sure and that is that MAGMA is a living legend with no signs of packing up and calling it quits anytime soon.

KÃRTËHL is the latest release out by this unique musical collaborative following the rather interesting developments of 2019's "Zess" which solicited the symphonic majesty of the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. "Zess" was an interesting experiment indeed but not the kind many of the fans were hoping to be repeated. Luckily that is the case with KÃRTËHL and MAGMA picks up its true and tried musicality which more or less has taken form albeit with myriad improvisations since the early 1970s. On board are the usual suspects of Christian and Stella Vander as well as the longtime vocalist Isabelle Feuillebois and on again / off again keyboardist Simon Goubert but for the most part this is a new cast of talented musicians and vocalists delivering a new era of what the MAGMA experience is all about.

While MAGMA's discography varies greatly in how each album is presented, generally speaking the formula is pretty much the same. Stentorian choral sections heralding a new chapter of Kobaian history in undecipherable linguistic performances accompanied by circular grooves, thundering bass lines and subtle hypnotic underpinnings. Well in that regard nothing has really changed in camp MAGMA with all of the suspected musical accoutrements well established long ago firmly in place to make this like many before, a bonafide MAGMA experience however this particular album takes things a bit more into the accessible areas of jazz-funk and soul jazz which basically means that the usual alienating effects of the MAGMA universe have been tamed for a lighter even happier approach.

Basically KÃRTËHL features six new tracks and two bonus tracks mined from the 1978 recording sessions which would put the timeline firmly in the era of "Attahk" which is about the time Vander eschewed the hardcore Kobaian alienation for a somewhat more accessible sound that incorporated an easy on the ears funk groove, an idea that was carried to full fruition with 1985's nadir of the band's career "Merci." The two final bonus tracks "Hakëhn Deïs" and "Dëhndë" may be represented as mere demos but after multiple spins it's more apparent that they serve as the primary inspiration for KÃRTËHL which determined the direction of this album's mood setting. It goes without saying that this album is much more like "Merci" and other more accessible MAGMA moments than pretty much all of the other albums of the band's canon and for those of us who love the alienating darkness of albums like "Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh" or "K.A." then we are left finding KÃRTËHL being a little too tame for its own good.

In addition to a lighter vibe there's an impending sense of been-there done-that going on with KÃRTËHL as well which is a bit off-putting. The first three tracks are competent and even pleasant but a bit too happy for their own good. For my ears the album only becomes interesting with the fourth track "Ẁalömëhndʌëm Ẁarreï" where the melodies are more sophisticated, the hypnotic alienation is revisited and the band seems firing on all pistons therefore half the album is excellent and half a bit watered down. Granted there are no unpleasant moments on KÃRTËHL but the disjointed nature of the first three tracks and the following is a bit of a let down.

It goes without saying that MAGMA are masters in the prog world and seem utterly incapable of releasing an absolutely awful album but i also have to say that this is my least likable album since 1985's "Merci." The quality control is simply off on this one and it sounds more like a compilation of various tracks rather than a bonafide album experience which unfortunately for better or for worse is what we have come to expect from a fully-fledged MAGMA studio album experience. For any true fans this is certainly not an album to avoid as it features all those beautiful MAGMA-fied melodies in full splendor however it also fails to take the MAGMA saga into a new chapter of Kobaian mythology which is where true MAGMA fans really want to go. Yeah a tad disappointed and i doubt this will be anyone's favorite album from the band but as far as bumps in the road go, even a mediocre MAGMA album is lightyears ahead of what many bands can muster up.

3.5 stars but given MAGMA is a cornerstone of zeuhl i cannot in good conscious round up for this pillar bamd of classic prog

Kãrtëhl is a new 14th Magma release. For those who don't know or are new to the music of this legendary band, Magma is a french group, whose leader(drummer/vocalist and the main composer behind the music of Magma) Christian Vander is regarded as the creator of Zeuhl genre. Zeuhl music is characterised by marching themes, throbbing bass, an ethereal piano or Rhodes piano, and brass instruments. The singing in Magma is in Kobaian - constructed language as the lyrical medium. Magma experienced a lot of lineup changes. The main differences between the previous record (Zess) and this one include an addition of Thierry Eliez on keys, piano and Jimmy Top (a son of another bassist Jannick Top) on bass instead of Philippe Bussonnet. Now we get to the music. The overall depicted feel of Kãrtëhl seems lighter, brighter and more jazzy in comparison to previous Magma works. Not to all though, - there are some similarities with Merci and Félicité Thösz in general atmosphere on these compositions, I would say. The structural complexity in writing is present (although it isn't as prominent as in K.A. or Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré, for example) but I do think this record is more accessible and easy to get into for Zeuhl newbies in comparison to several previous releases. Production feels great.

1. Hakëhn Deïs (7:12) starts off this album in a whirly melodic fashion. The happiness is present in some sections. The vocal melody reminds of the one in 'The Night We Died'. A good start.

2. Do Rïn Ïlï Üss (4:38) begins very quietly, like the percussion here. Chime is a great touch. This composition has multiple vocal lines: the lead one and back vox, both are very interesting sounding. Like vocal-keys interplay. This track also contains some darker sounding passage after 3:30, very cool.

3. Irena Balladina (5:13) starts like 'Kobaia' from the debut album, has a jazzy feel to it, with lead vocal (by Stella Vander) and guitar lead melody. Quite exalted sounding, happy zeuhl.

4. Walömëhnd Ëm Warreï (7:37) is a contrast. Enigmatic intro. Mysterious sounding is present in the vocals and the instrumental sections, which repeat multiple times. An epic composition.

5. Wïï Mëlëhn Tü (8:56) Weird vocal expressions in the beginning. Mild instrumentation with somewhat strict vocal deliverance by Herve follows. Then we get tender vocal section by Stella. Sparse instrumentation with different vocal lines (including Christian's). Some of the sections are quite catchy.

6. Dëhndë (6:55) is very happy and seems more jazz then zeuhl to me. Christian does the main singing here with an occasional melodic b/vox by Stella Vander, Hervé Aknin, Isabelle Feuillebois, Sylvie Fisichella, Caroline Indjein and Laura Guarrato. We get a laid back instrumentation here. The sections are repeated several times. A nice happy ending to this album.

The bonus material contains early takes, stripped-down versions of the first and the last tracks of the main album. This is more of a historical document, really. Very fun vocal parts by Christian and Rene Garber.

Kãrtëhl showcases great melodic vocal work by all of the vocalists here, melodic guitar passages and keyboard/piano-rich compositions with a strong rhythm section, very tight musicianship. Even if I am not really a fan of the happy side of zeuhl (I just love Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré- and 'De futura'-like dark sounding), I do feel this is an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection. Well done, Magma!

One would be hard-pressed to find another band pursuing a musical path as lonely as Magma, but for more than 50 years that is exactly what they have been doing. Formed by Christian Vander in 1969, there have been comings and goings over the years, but he is still very much at the helm. From the beginning Vander created a language he called Kobaïan and most of their material is sung in that, while the music they have developed has its own styling, Zeuhl, which according to Vander means celestial. A few other bands have followed in their footprints and have also played Zeuhl, while Vander says this is what "you'd expect an alien rock opera to sound like: massed, chanted choral motifs, martial, repetitive percussion, sudden bursts of explosive improv and just as unexpected lapses into eerie, minimalist trance- rock."

There is no doubt that the band are an acquired taste, as it is quite strange, and with a large series of both studio and live albums over the last 50+ years (they did disband for 12 years at one point), it can be hard to know where to start. Personally, I must say that this is a musical area I have not explored, and this is the first Magma album I have actually played, but having done so a few times now, I can certainly see why they are a band who are either loved or hated. There is no middle ground here, as either you will understand the complexity and experimentation which is bringing together so many different styles, or you will hate it as there is nothing here in terms of normal time signatures or song structures.

This double CD set does include one song which is only five minutes long, but they average above 10, while the closing number of disc one is "Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh (Fragment)" which is above 20. That is of course from the 1973 album of the same name, the one which has gained the most critical acclaim throughout their career (even though their original recording was rejected by their label at the time). This is not something to be played in the background, as this demands close attention. As an introduction to their work this is a great place to start, so don't be frightened of their back catalogue but instead dive straight into the live set taken from concerts they managed to undertake in 2020 before touring was stopped.

Magma lay dormant for a few years after their hit and miss albums of the early 80s before popping back up with a version of the classic that put them on the map.

This isn't the "proper" Mekanïk Destruktiw Kommandöh, nor is it the same as the live versions, nor is it the bonus track found on some MDK re-releases. It is however the original recording, with a smaller ensemble, that was rejected by the record company at the time in favour of the grander version split into smaller tracks, finally released 16 years later. Magma being confusing as always.

It's therefore stripped back a bit, with the drumming even more to the fore, and missing some key personnel, notably Teddy Lasry's brass instruments, Jannick Top on bass and Claude Olmos on guitar. It does feature though a chilling introductory speech from Christian Vander, in Kobaian.

Actually can't decide whether or not I prefer this version to the more bombastic MDK. It would probably be blasphemous.

People generally tend to like Magma, firts, for their darkness and complexity. But, we, Magma fanboys, tend to appreciate the transcendence (if I can call it) even in their popiest moments. I know its a contradiction. But they made it! A hipnotic and uplifiting album, that starts with a song called "Call from the Dark (Ooh Ooh Baby)" - so I dont have to say nothing more. Just listening the album with that perspective and you wont listen it as proghead, but as a person with the feeling of transcendence. Magma can let you fly above! So lets dance, ALSO, with Magma!

Its not necessary mention that the suite Otis is a masterpiece of vocal jazz and a superb homage to the great Otis Reding. If this album, as in the general rating its not a Prog essential album, please give it a chance as a great orquestral jazz album. Five stars. And I keep feeling inside me the bass compass tha starts Otis... bHUMMMM Otis!

So Magma, one of Prog's most daring bands ever with their use of more classical sort of sounding rock music with that weird and powerful sound and performance that really gives them this whole new identity separate from what one might expect. They are definitely one of my favorite bands of all time next to stuff like Genesis, King Crimson, The Flower Kings, and or Haken.

Magma made some incredible albums, like their main staple Mekanik Destructiw Kommandoh, and other works like Udu Wudu, K.A, and Kobaia. They created a legacy for themselves in the Prog sphere with their genre being that of Zeuhl and inspiring many artists to take the Zeuhl torch like Koenjihyakkei, Weidorje, Universal Totem Orchestra, and or Zao, heck they even inspire non Zeuhl bands or musicians like Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, Johnny Rotten of Sex Pistols and Public Image LTD, and Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth. They definitely shouldn't be discredited for their importance in Prog as a whole. With that, when I saw their release of a live album that happened in 2020, I was very intrigued and excited to hear more of this very amazing and wonderful band.

This is a 2 CD album with the first CD being the Theusz Hamtaahk trilogie of suites, starting with the classic Theusz Hamtaahk, however in a fragmented and more excerpted form than the usual 30+ minute song. This time it's 16 minutes, making it a bit more digestible. With that it removes some parts of the suites, but keeps the important ones intact like Malawelekaahm, and Se Lah Maahri Donsai. I won't deny that I do miss the full version, and I guess that is the problem with this first CD. Due to these songs not being the full versions, it leads to me feeling like something is missing with these songs. It's not that big of a deal really, but if anything it can feel a bit weird listening to what should be nearly 40 minute suites tucked down to merely 16 and 20 minutes.

Wurdah Itah is similar to Theusz Hamtaahk being 16 minutes and being a smaller version of the suite, however it starts off with Waïsaht instead of Malawëlëkaahm, making it start half way through the suite. One thing I like about this suite is that Christian Vander, despite his old age, can clearly drum with amazing proficiency. His drumming aged like a fine wine and it seems to have gotten better over the years, so his drumming definitely really does shine with this album, and this song as a whole. Wurdah Itah isn't really my favorite, but it gets the job done for great Zeuhl music.

And with that, one of the best song on the album plays, which is the second half of Mekanik Destructiw Kommandoh starting with my favorite Magma song, Da Zeuhl Wortz Mekanik. This song takes a back seat on the crazy of the original and goes for a more contemporary feel, and I am all for it. While I love the original, it definitely was very crazy and could get kinda annoying admittedly, so with this more laxed and focused version of the song it really shines the whole entire focus of the song, and that beginning where the guitar lead goes into the song, it's just super cool and I love it. But after that, it goes into a more ambient sorta quiet version of Nëbëhr Gudahtt. Usually in live settings it's very bassy and haunting, however here it's a very tranquil and almost beautiful experience. Not my favorite and not what I come for, but certainly an interesting experience. But everything comes back around when Mekanik Kommandoh plays and wraps a nice bow on this entire 3 segment suite. It's kinda magical, and really adds a ton of flavor with how the band can come together and play their hearts out for one last song. Absolutely incredible.

Now do not touch that dial since there is a second CD that has various songs from other albums, the first of which is the fan favorite Kobaïa. I have a soft spot for this song, so hearing it again certainly is a great time. Still gives out that fun, more jazzy side of Magma and I love it, and they add some extra stuff in the song like a guitar solo and some weird bits and pieces to really modernize and revolutionize this already amazing song. I think this may be the best version of the song with how it adds and gives, bringing life to the 50+ minute suite. It's very awesome, definitely the best song on the album.

With that, we travel to somewhere into the 80s or with a more pop-like side to Magma's sound with For Tomorrow. This is a very interesting song in the fact that it feels and flows like a more traditional jazz or fusion song which I enjoy, with a more popular music flair. It's enjoyable, not my favorite but certainly enjoyable. Though what I don't like is the lack of weirdness and complexities most of the songs on this album have, which is what I come to Magma for, that weird yet complex and smart music. It leaves a bit of a weird taste in me, that's all.

Well, this is interesting. After For Tomorrow we got Auroville. I'll say, I like this style of music, it's nice and calming, I do not like Magma making this type of music. I am not saying they are selling out for their typical sound, it's just very jarring how we went from something crazy like Kobaia and Theusz Hamtaahk to Auroville and For Tomorrow. It's weirder than Magma's music really. That is certainly the main issue I have with the second CD. If the first CDs problem was that the suites were very shortened down and fragmented, then the problem with the second CD is the fact that half of the CD is composed of very weirdly less weird songs if that makes sense. I cannot say I hate it, it's certainly good, I just can't really like it due to the fact it doesn't feel weird.

However, not all is lost. We got Tröller Tanz. Now we are getting very weird with this song, coming back to a time where Magma was on the hold of a strange time for the band where they seem to not really knew what to do, but they still knew that they at least needed to be weird, and weird they got. This song has some odd bass playing, singing, keyboard playing, and everything and far between. It's certainly not their best work, and certainly not their oddest sounding work, it is very welcomed after those two, more lesser songs of Auroville and For Tomorrow, wrapping a nice bow around the second CD, making it an odd but worthwhile experience.

So all in all, I really like this album. Sure some parts are a little hit and miss but those things aren't really bad, just sorta ok. You get that with a Magma album most of the time so this isn't really much to worry about. So yeah, this is certainly a good album to hear if you are a Magma fan and love their music. I Highly recommend it.

I had a bad first step with Magma, about a year ago I listened to the first album of theirs (M.K.M) and was not impressed, I don't know if the day I listen to it I was not in the mood or just need more time to appreciate other music forms that would lead me to like this band, anyway; I gave them a second chance and listen to this album. What I received was a true masterpiece.

The album is composed of essentially 3 songs which sound like one great long piece, right at the start of "KA I" you could already see the epic feel of the music, it's very grandiloquent with chorals and orchestral sonority, this feeling is only broke by some jazz fusion moments, I must note that the guitars are probably the most impressive instrument in these sections with solos that are equally beautiful and that fit well at the moment.

The drums are the most important element for this mix of jazz and orchestral work, always switching from one style to another without losing any of the pace and still making it technically impressive. Christian Vander certainly is of the greatest prog-rock drummers.

It's important to note that although the lyrics are sung in a made-up language is very clear that the sounds are all very planned to fit the songs. It's like the chorals and the instruments are all layers in the music that are constantly being used together to give a spectacular form to the songs. An example of this can be seen in the first song where the female and male vocals sing separated sections that individually are incredible by themselves, but the greatest moment comes when the two chants overlap each other, creating a third and unique sound.

This is a simply perfect album, every single note sounds like was mean to be in that way being very clear the perfectionism put in the composition, something that gave great fruits with an album that can be considered an essential progressive rock masterpiece, something that must be listened by everyone who likes the genre. And even if you listen to this and didn't like it at the first moment, it's okay, everyone has its taste, but I certainly recommend giving it another try, because you can be truly astonished by its quality, as I was.

This double album was originally released as part of the box set collection Studio Zund and later released by Seventh Records on its digital store as an autonomous work. As you can guess from the title, it's a mixed bag of material taken from the band's archives and the quality of the sources is not always impeccable (to say the least). According to the liner notes, the first seven tracks had been originally composed for the soundtrack of the film "24 heures seulement" (a film about the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world's oldest active endurance racing event). The pieces were recorded in July 1970 at the Europa Sonor Studio and soon forgotten... An alternative version of "Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh" closes the first CD. It was recorded in April 1973 at the Manor Studios (England) and previously released as bonus track on the 1988 CD re-release of the "Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh" album. In this case the sound quality is good... Unfortunately I can't say the same for the first eight tracks of the second CD, demo versions of Magma's debut album, "Kobaia", recorded by the band in April 1970 and that can be considered just an interesting document of the band's creativity. An alternative version of "Eliphas Levi", taken from the recording sessions of the 1983 album "Merci", closes this album that I can recommend only to collectors and die-hard fans...

The first time I listen to this album i did not understood anything, but then, with a lot of jazz, jazz rock and Canterbury scene on my own universe I tried but first with an album that is more accesible but still a classic piece of this rare form of Rock music: ÜDÜ ẀÜDÜ. Once I understand this album I went to listen to the album in reference. MEKANÏK DESTRUKTÏW KOMMANDÖH is a totally 5/5 album, essential without a doubt. This album have polyrhythmyths, complex elements of Jazz, epicness, avant-garde and a new musical approach of rock with some gospel, contemporary classical music, RIO; all mixed in a consistent and eclectic form. First, MEKANÏK DESTRUKTÏW KOMMANDÖH was designed to be a one album song, but the idea was rejected and the song was divided on 7 parts with titles each one with titles that refer to the respective part of the song, each one of them have an awesome use of the repetition, avant-garde elements and the particular freak and shock vocals, there some with an excellent use of the guitar in a jazz (but not your typical jazz), Christian Vander on the percussion and drums with a perfect execution, the bassist demonstrating that this genre has bass lines out of this world and possibly the part where a lot of people dislike Zeuhl: the vocals, for me, are awesome, but it's not so easy to understand it. This album it's indisputably an essential piece for the progressive music in the full sense of the word. It's despicable for me seeing some "PROG EXPERTS" rating this album with 1 or 2 stars and rating it with 0 stars if possible, because they cannot understand how magnificent this is, they only expect for prog rock the same 7-25 min songs with sudden changes (not all consistent) from acoustic to electric or viceversa and a moog abuse; uh and probably think that prog music died in the 70s, they ignore the most important part of the genre: TO BE PROGRESSIVE.