Magma

Biography

Magma is a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by self-taught drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. The style of progressive rock that Vander developed with Magma is termed "Zeuhl" and has been applied to other bands in France operating in the same period, and to some recent Japanese bands.
Vander created a fictional 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, "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." 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. Subsequently, conflict arises when the Kobaïans - descendants of the original colonists - encounter other Earth refugees. 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 to republish 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.

Early years (1967–1972)

In early 1967, drummer Christian Vander played in the Wurdalaks and Cruciferius Lobonz, two rhythm and blues bands. With these groups, he wrote his first compositions, "Nogma" and "Atumba". The death of John Coltrane saddened Vander, who left the groups and traveled to Italy. He returned to France in 1969 and met saxophonist René Garber and bassist and conductor Laurent Thibault. Together with singer Lucien Zabuski and organist Francis Moze, they created the group Univeria Zekt Magma Composedra Arguezdra, shortened to Magma.
After their first tour, Magma experienced significant lineup turnover. Vocalist Lucien Zabuski was replaced with Klaus Blasquiz, and pianist Eddie Rabin, double bassist Jacky Vidal, and guitarist Claude Engel also joined the group. The group worked on material for three months in a house in the Chevreuse Valley. Eddie Rabin was replaced by François Cahen on keyboards, and Laurent Thibault abandoned bass to devote himself to production. Francis Moze became the new bassist. The band also expanded with a brass section, consisting of Teddy Lasry on saxophone and clarinet, Richard Raux on saxophone and flute, and Paco Charlery on trumpet. The group's first album, Kobaïa×Kobaïa1970 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks · 2 discsDisc 1A1Kobaïa10:09A2Aïna6:16A3Malaria4:22B1Sohïa7:42B2Sckxyss2:47B3Auraë10:53Disc 2C1Thaud Zaïa7:01C2Naü Ektila12:57D1Stöah8:09D2Mûh11:17, was released in the spring of 1970 by Philips Records. The group caused a sensation but audience reactions were mixed.
After the album was released, Claude Engel, Richard Raux, and Paco Charlery left the group. Jeff Seffer replaced Raux on saxophone, and Louis Toesca replaced Charlery on trumpet. Their second album, 1001° Centigrades, was released in April 1971. The album won the band more exposure, including a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
In January 1972, Magma released the album The Unnamables under the alias Univeria Zekt. Intended as an introduction to Magma's sound, the album featured less contributions from Vander and was detached from storylines featured in earlier albums. It would sell only 1,500 copies. This incarnation of the band would tour relentlessly throughout 1972, recording their last original song in September 1972 for Jean Yanne's 1973 film Moi y'en a vouloir des sous, which remains unreleased. Many musicians would leave the band towards the end of the year, including François Cahen, Louis Toesca, Jeff Seffer, and Francis Moze.

Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh, to Üdü Wüdü (1973–1977)

In 1973, Vander formed a new lineup of the band, adding Stella Vander as a second vocalist, Claude Olmos on guitar, Jannick Top replacing Francis Moze on bass, René Garber on saxophone and clarinet, and Jean-Luc Manderlier on keyboards, among others. This new version of the band would release their most famous work Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh, which would later become their most acclaimed album, and gave them international fame, including a spot at the prestigious Newport Jazz Festival, their first American performance.
A lineup of Vander, Blasquiz, Jean-Pierre Lembert and René Garber would perform a demo of their piece "Ẁurdah Ïtah×Ẁurdah Ïtah1974 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Malawelekaahm (Incantation)3:37A2Bradia Da Zi Mehn Iegah (L’initié a parlé)2:17A3Maneh Fur Da Zess (Ensemble pour le maître)1:37A4Fur Di Hel Kobaia (Pour la vie éternelle)4:55A5Blüm Tendiwa (L’Âme du peuple)3:25A6Wohldünt M^ë M Deweless (Message dans l’étendue)3:31B1Wainsaht ! ! ! (En avant)2:29B2Wlasik Steuhn Kobaia (Ascension vers l’éternel)2:47B3Sehnnteht Dros Wurdah Süms (La mort n’est rien)3:25B4C’est la vie qui les a menés là !5:00B5Ek Sun Da Zess ? (Qui est le maître ?)2:16B6De Zeuhl Undazir (Vision de la musique céleste)2:41" on January 3, 1972. This recording was bootlegged and used as the soundtrack for Yvan Lagrange's 1972 film Tristan et Iseult without Magma's knowledge or permission. In 1974, after learning of Lagrange's film, Vander would approach him with an ultimatum to finance a re-recording or face legal action, to which Lagrange agreed, and under Vander's name, the band begrudgingly released Ẁurdah Ïtah under the name of Tristan et Iseult; the album has been re-released in its intended format as Magma's fourth studio album since 1989.
Magma were already in the midst of preparation for their next album, Köhntarkösz×KöhntarköszJune 1974 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksA1Köhntarkösz, Part 115:24A2Ork Alarm5:27B1Köhntarkösz, Part 215:59B2Coltrane Sündïa4:11, which was recorded less than a month later and released in September of that year. It was successful among fans, but not received as well among the public as Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh. The band would then go on a long, year-and-a-half long tour of France, and after another member shakeup (Bernard Paganotti replacing Jannick Top on bass, Didier Lockwood added as a violinist, Jean-Pol Asseline and Benoît Widemann replacing Gérard Bikialo on keyboards, and Gabriel Federow replacing Claude Olmos on guitar), released their first live album, Live / Hhaï, in December 1975, recorded at the Taverne de l'Olympia in Paris.
In 1976, Top would be sought by Vander to rejoin the band as a co-leader; he would accept and split recording duties for Üdü Ẁüdü. He would continue with the band until the end of the year, due to wanting to move on from the band. Most musicians who had worked with Vander from 1972 left the band throughout the same time - the band would briefly disband before reforming in spring 1977. Jean DeAntoni would replace Gabriel Federow on guitar, Guy Delacroix replacing Bernard Paganotti on bass, and Clement Bailly was hired as a second drummer.

Attahk, Merci, and changing sound (1978–1984)

In 1978, Magma released the album Attahk×Attahk1978 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracksA1The Last Seven Minutes (1970–77, Phase I)7:00A2Spiritual (Negro Song)3:17A3Rindë (Eastern Song)3:07A4Liriïk Necronomicus Kant (In Which Our Heroes Ürgon & Ğorğo Meet)4:59B1Maahnt (The Wizard’s Fight Versus the Devil)5:29B2Dondaï (To an Eternal Love)7:59B3Nono (1978, Phase II)6:17. Vying for more commercial success, the album included elements of soul, rhythm & blues, and funk music.
Celebrating 10 years as a band, in 1980, Magma performed three nights at L'Olympia in Paris, with guest appearances from many of the group's past musicians. These were recorded and released as Retrospektïẁ (Parts I+II) and Retrospektïẁ (Part III).
In early 1980, the band had attempted to record a new studio album, but failed. In 1981, Magma would play a number of shows around France, including a three-week residency at Paris's Bobino in 1981, which was recorded and filmed, and later released as Concert Bobino 1981; this concert would feature some discarded material, including "Retrovision", which Vander has gone at length to say he will never record again.
In 1982, Vander started work on a passion project to celebrate jazz and John Coltrane's life. This would result in Merci. Essentially a Vander solo album, it would take two years of continuous recording sessions before a provisional unmixed version was released in late 1984, with a finalised version released in May 1985.

Transition into Offering (1983–1996)

By 1983, Magma had metamorphosised into a more improvised and unstructured style. This new incarnation of the band would become known as Offering, the "improvised side of Magma"; the band did not breakup and the current lineup was kept the same through projects. Offering would continue to perform both new material and old, and when performing live, often the band was still referred to as Magma. An example of this was in 1988, when professional snooker champion Steve Davis would convince Vander to perform three shows at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London as Magma; most material performed was from Offering.
Offering would release three albums, Offering I-II (1986), Offering III-IV (1990), and A Fiïèh (1993). The first and third albums were positively received, while the second received mixed reception. The piece Les cygnes et les corbeaux, regularly played live by the band, was teased as a fourth studio album. This would later be released as a Christian Vander solo album in 2002.

Reformation (1996–present)

In 1995, Offering would stop regularly performing. The following year, friend Bernard Ivan asked Vander if he was considering reviving Magma, as he was confident he could get Vander concert dates. Vander agreed, but confessed that he didn't think there would be any remaining interest in the band. Ivan came back to Vander to tell him he fully booked a number of gigs for Magma and Vander, surprised, quickly gathered friends in the music scene and the lineup from Offering to create a new 14-piece Magma.
Vander decided to revive some sections of tracks he had written back in 1972-1973 while working on Köhntarkösz on this new tour. Eventually, these merged into one big composition K.A (Köhntarkösz Anteria), which released in 2004 to acclaim and surprise at their comeback. K.A is conceptually the prequel to Köhntarkösz, which was then followed up by a sequel Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré in 2009, ending a narrative trilogy between the three albums.
In 2012, Magma released Félicité Thösz. Two years later the band released Rïah Sahïltaahk, a complete re-recording of the side-long suite from 1971's 1001° Centigrades, which Vander never felt satisfied with the arrangement of. This was followed by Šlaǧ Tanƶ in 2015.
In 2019, the band released Zëss, a live piece performed since the late 1970s that was never recorded in studio. This version featured the City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the first Magma album to feature an orchestra.
On 30 September 2022 Magma released their fifteenth album Kartëhl. The album is a collective work of the band members. The copyright proceeds of the track Dëhndë were donated to a charity for people with autism.
By end of 2025, bassist Jimmy Top, son of Jannick Top, left the band and was replaced by Charles Lucas.
In late May 2026, the band announced a new 2026-2027 tour titled the Zeuhl Kommandöh Tour, revealing a new stripped down lineup with six members.

Kobaïan

Kobaïan is a lyrical language created by Christian Vander for Magma. It is the language of Kobaïa, a fictional planet invented by Vander and the setting for a musical "space opera" sung in Kobaïan by Magma on fifteen concept albums.

Development

French drummer and composer Christian Vander formed Magma in late 1969 after the death of American jazz musician and composer John Coltrane. Vander said the saxophonist was his single greatest inspiration and he believed “music had to start over” after Coltrane’s death. Magma's first album, Magma (later reissued as Kobaïa×Kobaïa1970 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks · 2 discsDisc 1A1Kobaïa10:09A2Aïna6:16A3Malaria4:22B1Sohïa7:42B2Sckxyss2:47B3Auraë10:53Disc 2C1Thaud Zaïa7:01C2Naü Ektila12:57D1Stöah8:09D2Mûh11:17), told a story of refugees fleeing a future Earth and settling on a fictional planet called Kobaïa. The lyrics were all in Kobaïan (except the title track, sung mostly in English), a language Vander constructed for the album, some sung by soloists and others by "massive quasi-operatic choruses". Over the next three decades, Magma have made fifteen albums that continues the mythology of Kobaïa, all sung in Kobaïan.
Vander (his Kobaïan name is Zëbëhn Straïn dë Ğeuštaah) said in an interview that he invented Kobaïan for Magma because "French just wasn't expressive enough. Either for the story or for the sound of the music". He said that the language developed in parallel with the music, that sounds appeared as he was composing on a piano. Vander based Kobaïan in part on elements of Slavic and Germanic languages and in part on the scat-yodeling vocal style of American avant-garde jazz singer Leon Thomas. The subsequent expansion of the language became a group effort, and as Magma's personnel changed, so new ideas were incorporated into the language (and the music).
British music critic Ian MacDonald said that Kobaïan is "phonetic, not semantic", and that it is based on "sonorities, not on applied meanings". One of Magma's singers, Klaus Blasquiz, described Kobaïan as "a language of the heart" whose words are "inseparable from the music". Magma expert Michael Draine said "the abstraction provided by the Kobaïan verse seems to inspire Magma's singers to heights of emotional abandon rarely permitted by conventional lyrics".
The Kobaïan lyrics on Magma's albums were generally not translated (though both Kobaïan lyrics and an English translation were provided for the first UK release on A&M of Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh), but clues to the unfolding story of Kobaïa were given in French in the albums' liner notes. While the original intent of the language was to avoid over-scrutiny, unofficial Kobaïan online lexicons were created by Magma fans, and Vander himself has since translated many of the words.

Influence

Christian Vander called Magma's music "Zeuhl" (Kobaïan for "celestial"), and it influenced a number of other (mostly French) bands, including Zao (France), Art Zoyd (France) and Univers Zero (Belgium). Zeuhl later became a music genre which was used to describe music similar to that of Magma. Several Japanese Zeuhl bands also sprang up, including Ruins and Kōenji Hyakkei, whose lyrics are also sung in a constructed language similar to Kobaïan.

Style and influences

Christian Vander has described the style of progressive rock that he developed with Magma in France from 1969 onwards as "zeuhl". Dominique Leone, writing for Pitchfork, says the style is "about 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." The term comes from Kobaïan, the fictional language created by Vander for Magma. He has said that it means celestial; that "Zeuhl music means 'vibratory music'" and that zeuhl is "L'esprit au travers de la matière. That is Zeuhl. Zeuhl is also the sound which you can feel vibrating in your belly. Pronounce the word Zeuhl very slowly, and stress the letter 'z' at the beginning, and you will feel your body vibrating."
Originally applied solely to the music of Magma, the term "zeuhl" was eventually used to describe the similar music produced by French bands beginning in the 1970s. In addition to Magma, bands who are associated with the term include: Happy Family, Kōenji Hyakkei, and Ruins from Japan, and French band Zao.
The Chicago Reader wrote that Magma's music "could arguably be labeled modern classical, progressive rock, free jazz, or even psychedelia, but it's too big for any of those boxes".
Vander was musically influenced by John Coltrane and Carl Orff.
The mythology of Kobaïa seems to be strongly influenced by the esoteric The Urantia Book, a kind of pseudo-bible that combines religious elements of various origins with scientific findings and science fiction. Furthermore, the motifs surrounding the myth of Kobaïa, particularly in the first three albums, have similarities with Johannes Kepler's novel Somnium from 1634, Francis Godwin's novel The Man in the Moone from 1638 and Cyrano de Bergerac's The Other World (Orig. L'autre monde), whose works gained new popularity in France in the 1970s. With the album Theusz Hamthaak, the motifs increasingly approach modern science fiction literature of the 20th century such as H. G. Wells' The Time Machine, Olaf Stapledon's The Last and the First Men and The Star Maker of 1930 or Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End from 1953. However, Vander has not yet commented directly on the sources of his inspirations.

Legacy

The band is widely considered to be musically adventurous and imaginative among music critics. Magma uses choirs extensively in a way reminiscent of the 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".
Many of the musicians who have played with Magma have also formed solo projects or spinoff acts. 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.

Fandom

The band has a number of high-profile fans. Punk rock singer Johnny Rotten, metal musician Kristoffer Rygg, Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree, Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, Cattle Decapitation vocalist Travis Ryan, magician Penn Jillette, 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.
In 2017, documentary filmmaker Laurent Goldstein directed To Life, Death and Beyond – The Music of Magma. Interviewees include Christian Vander, Stella Vander, James MacGaw, Trey Gunn, Robert Trujillo, and Jello Biafra.

Members

Violinist: Didier Lockwood
Guitarists: Claude Engel, Claude Olmos, Gabriel Federow, Marc Fosset, James Mac Gaw, Jean-Luc Chevalier (currently guitarist with Tri Yann ), Jim Grandcamp, Rudy Blas, Brian Godding
Bassists: Jannick Top, Bernard Paganotti, Guy Delacroix, Francis Moze, Laurent Thibault, Michel Hervé, Dominique Bertram, Marc Éliard (currently bassist with Indochine), Philippe Bussonnet, Jimmy Top, Charles Lucas
Keyboardists: Benoît Widemann, Michel Graillier, Gérard Bikialo, Jean Luc Manderlier, François "Faton" Cahen (former leader of the group Zao), Guy Khalifa, Sofia Domancich, Patrick Gauthier, Simon Goubert, Pierre-Michel Sivadier, Jean Pol Asseline, Jean Pierre Fouquey, Frédéric D'Oelsnitz, Benoît Alziari (plus vibraphone and theremin), Emmanuel Borghi, Bruno Ruder, Thierry Eliez
Saxophonists: Teddy Lasry, Richard Raux, Alain Guillard, René Garber and Jeff "Yochk’o" Seffer
Trumpeters: Louis Toesca and Yvon Guillard
Male vocalists: Klaus Blasquiz, Christian Vander, Guy Khalifa, Antoine Paganotti and Hervé Aknin
Female vocalists: Stella Vander, Isabelle Feuillebois, Maria Popkiewicz, Liza de Luxe, Himiko Paganotti, Sandrine Fougère, Sandrine Destefanis, Sylvie Fisichella, Laura Guarrato
Drummers and percussionists: Christian Vander, Michel Garrec, Doudou Weiss, Simon Goubert, Clément Bailly, Claude Salmiéri, François Laizeau

Reading list

Blasquiz, Klaus (2013). Au coeur de Magma (in French and English). Gémenos: Le Mot et le Reste. ISBN 978-2-36054-106-5.
Ferry (aka. Mephisto), Didier (2022). MAGMA 1975–2018. Montmorency: Seventh Records. (Didier Ferry's photographic retrospective of 40 years band history)
Macan, Edward (1997). Rocking the classics: English progressive rock and the counterculture. Oxford University Press US. p. 1976. ISBN 0-19-509888-9.
Bradley, Reuben (2018). From Coltrane to Magma and beyond: Interpreting musical meaning through composition (Master of Musical Arts thesis). Victoria University of Wellington.
Holm-Hudson, Kevin (2003). "Apocalyptic Otherness: Black Music and Extraterrestrial Identity in the Music of Magma". Popular Music and Society. 26 (4). Abingdon: Routledge: 481–495. doi:10.1080/0300776032000144931. ISSN 0300-7766. (Analysis of the musical style of Magma)
Buckley, Peter (2003). The rough guide to rock. Rough Guides. pp. 629–630. ISBN 1-84353-105-4.
Gonin, Philippe (2010). Magma - Décryptage d'un mythe et d'une musique (in French). Marseille: Le Mot et le Reste. ISBN 978-2-36054-000-6.