Magma Box Set

A must for Magma fanatics, fans and freaks everywhere. An opportunity not to be missed. For the first time ever, the full set of 9 incredible studio albums - from Kobaia to K.A - in deluxe digipack form. Each volume has its own 32 to 48 page booklets, containing photos and previously unpublished documents re-telling the story of Magma in 9 detailed chapters. Also includes a bonus double CD of archive documents: the first demo recorded by the band in 1970, the original sound track from the film 24 heures seulement recorded that same year by the line-up playing on the first album, a demo version of MDK with just rhythm section and a vocal guide track, and a version of Eliphas Levi with drums.

One Shot was created in 1999 by keyboarder Emmanuel Borghi and guitarist James McGaw, both Ex-Magma musicians. The original duo was completed by bassist Philippe Bussonnet and drummer Daniel Jeand'heur for their first self-titled record, released in 1999…

French avant-prog unit Art Zoyd formed in 1969 around the core of bassist Thierry Zaboitzeff, percussionist Jean-Pierre Soarez, and violin player Gérard Hourbette, with guitarist Rocco Fernandez, pianist Patricia Dallio, percussionist Daniel Denis (who later formed Univers Zero), and a changing lineup of half-a-dozen additional instrumentalists. In 1975, Zaboitzeff took over the group and changed its musical direction. The personnel would be narrowed to include two violins, electric bass, and trumpet, as evidenced by their debut full-length, Symphonie Pour le Jour Ou Bruleront les Cités, self-released in 1976. Its reception won them an opening slot on a tour with Magma.

Improvisation x Prog-Improvisation capital letters, the 4th album for the first time in 14 years since 2006 mixes a large amount of unorganized live recordings during the self-restraint period, and summarizes the selected sound sources in a set of 3 A blockbuster! Guitar Natsuki Kido participates in one song (30-minute masterpiece) as a guest. This trio of keyboard, bass and drums sets their own rules, delivering a hard and enthusiastic product that is totally improvised. Like some kind of super-powered prog engine, their music is a collection of moods that burst into challenging sequences of zeuhl-flavored jazz. The band consists of keyboard player and vocalist Hoppy Kamiyama (of Japanese pop band PINK), drummer Tatsuya Yoshida (from RUINS) and bassist Nasuno Mitsuni (from ALTERED STATES and KOREKYOJIN). Absolutely recommended to fans of RUINS and MAGMA; in fact, to anyone looking for some challenging and exciting fusion.

Köhnzert Zünd puts together is a sumptuous box set, all the band's official live shows, recorded between 1975 and 2000. On top of which are two extra records made of excerpts from shows given between 2005 and 2011, as well as two unreleased records of the unforgettable 2009 concert given at the Alhambra in Paris. Also comes with an 80 page booklet.

The first 10 years of Magma were celebrated with the music written by Christian Vander on three memorable evenings in June 1980 at the Olympia theatre in Paris. This retrospective, reuniting most of the musicians who had performed in the group, was issued as two albums, Retrospektïẁ 1/2 (Double) and Retrospektïẁ 3 (Single). Issued first, Retrospektïẁ 3 comprises 3 titles, Retrovision, a long piece in the style of the album Attahk, in which the vocalists Stella Vander, Guy Khalifa and Maria Popkiewicz turn in a blazing performance over a driving rhythm section, followed by a supercharged version of Hhai, in which the trio Lockwood/Paganotti/Widemann works miracles. And finally La Dawotsin, where, in a more muted register, Christian Vander’s voice triumphs through its mastery and profound sensibility.

Weidorje, formed in 1977 by two ex-Magma members, Bernard Paganotti and Patrick Gauthier (also keyboardist for Heldon, a group that featured Richard Pinhas) is one of Zheul's children, probably the most faithful and the closest musically and spiritually to Magma. One can find a mythology close to Magma's one: "the wait of a flying saucer that would come one morning take us with its new values, sane and safe".
Weidorje means "celestial wheel". This word appears for the very first time in Magma's album "Üdü Wüdü" in the form of a short track (4:30) composed by Paganotti and Blasquiz, the latter being the second master brain in Magma, along with Vander (Blasquiz achieved by the way Weidorje's cover art)…