MAGMA is a progressive group led by drummer/composer/vocalist Christian VANDER that has been active in the 'classic period' and in the 21st century. The music of MAGMA is often categorized as 'Zeuhl' (which means 'celestial' or 'heavenly' in Kobaïan, MAGMA's own language). The band doesn't clearly fit in any other progressive subgenre, although avant-prog would qualify, and it has a significant vein of jazz-rock fusion running through the discography. Additionally, Magma has played the RIO (Rock in Opposition) fests which gives it certain RIO credentials.

Swirling riffs in odd time signatures, theatrical choir arrangements, heavy and distorted pulsing bass guitar, bombastic and minimalistic (sometimes both at the same time), dark and brooding, adventurous and angelic, jazzy or classical, but always with the highly innovative and original drums of founder and main composer Christian VANDER, those are just some of the ways to describe the music of Magma. While the music of MAGMA is adopted by the progressive rock movement, even for progressive standards it can be very hard to get into because of its 'other worldly sound' and its extended compositions of often more then thirty minutes. Reputedly the band had had almost no connection whatsoever with other bands of the Prog genre, although in France it would prove to be a big inspiration for other Fusion and Zeuhl bands. It is often thought that the modern classical music of Carl ORFF (for instance Carmina Burana) must have been a big influence on MAGMA. VANDER himself has claimed on several occasions that his main influence was the jazz saxophone player John COLTRANE, and listening to COLTRANE's version of 'My favorite things' we do find finds of what was to become the Zeuhl genre. Legend goes that MAGMA was formed after Christian VANDER experienced a dream involving the vision of a spiritual and ecological future for mankind. This vision would influence the three different multi-part saga's, namely the Kobaïan saga (debut and 1001 Centigrates), the Köhntarkösz triology (Kohntarkosz Anteria or K.A., Köhntarkösz and Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré) and the Theusz Hamtaahk triology (Theusz Hamtaahk, Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh or M.D.K and Wurdah Ïtah). The third studio-album of MAGMA, M.D.K., is often seen as the genre defining Zeuhl album, whereas the first two MAGMA albums have stronger jazzrock/fusion leanings and less Orffian choir arrangements.

Being heavily disturbed by his vision, classically trained drummer and composer Christian VANDER formed the first version of MAGMA in 1969 in Paris as a means to give musical expression to his fears for humanity. With a small list of fusion and rhythm and blues musicians, among them some wind-players and one of MAGMA's main vocalists; Klaus BLASQUIZ, the band created a double concept album heavenly drenched in fusion, avant-prog and modern classical music. In order to be fully capable of expressing the artistic vision of the band all lyrics were written in Kobaïan. Vander would later state that "when I wrote, the sounds [of Kobaïan] came naturally with it - I didn't intellectualize 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.


Live, released in 1977

Songs / Tracks Listing
1. Sowiloï + KMX - E XII - (Opus 3) 00:00
2. KMX - BXII - (Opus 7) 06:31
3. Om Zanka 12:09
4. Gamma 16:19
5. Terrien si je t'ai convoqué 20:23
6. Gamma Anteria 24:33

Total Time: 41:23

Line-up / Musicians
- Gerard Bikialko / keyboards (1,2,4,6)
- Micky Grailler / keyboards (1,2,4)
- Benoit Widemann / keyboards (3)
- Francois Cahen / keyboards (5)
- Jean Luc Manderlier / keyboards (5,6)
- Francis Moze / bass (5)
- Jean-Pierre Lambert / bass (6)
- Janik Top / bass (1,2,4)
- Bernard Paganotti / bass (3)
- Claude Olmos / guitar (1,4)
- Marc Fosset / guitar (6)
- Gabriel Federow / guitar (3)
- Didier Lockwood / violin (3)
- Klaus Basquiz / vocals & percussion
- Rene Garber / vocals, bass clarinet (5,6)
- Teddy Lasry / saxes (5)
- Jeff Seffer / saxes (5)
- Louis Toesca / trumpet (5)
- Christian Vander / drums

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