Magma

Led by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, the Paris-based Magma have been, in their way, perhaps the ultimate progressive rock group; while other artists have achieved greater commercial success and critical acclaim, Magma have typified the many ambitions and excesses of the genre that won them as many detractors as fans, even going so far as to invent their own lyrical and musical language in order to bring their unique vision to life…

his 2 CD set is from performances done by Magma in Japan in 2005. The first disc is a very good performance of K.a. - it is fairly true to the original recording, but as is usually the case with Magma there is a high energy level and the band's performance is tight, technically proficient, and spirited…

A varied double live set, where Magma speaks and sings in Kobaïan of course, but also in French and English ; so it can be a good introduction for those who are willing to discover them. The presence of a horn section make them sound much more funky and soulful than usual, and "Otis" is a tribute to Otis Redding…

Recorded by Radio Bremen, this double-CD document of a high sonic quality contains a slightly shorter than usual version of MEKANÏK DESTRUKTÏẀ KOMMANDÖH, and represents with the remaining tracks SOWILOI, DRUM SOLO and THEUSZ HAMTAAHK an indispensable supplement to MAGMA's other live albums…

This is a triple live album recorded in France in 1976. We get the same lineup as was on the "Live / Hhai" live album except that Patrick Gauthier is here instead of Jean-Paul Asseline on keyboards. Great lineup though with Benoit Widemann also on keys, Didier Lockwood on violin and Bernard Paganotti on bass besides the usual suspects.Three discs but only five tracks on this recording…

After 1978 and the Attahk album, Magma took a little break. It was actually not really a break, they just decided to focus more on live performances than on studio efforts. This is what prompted Vander to release the recordings under the name of »Retrospektiw« in the early 1980s…

Magma at their best period, they have never sounded tighter, stronger than this. Kohntarkosz is so much better than the studio version, hhai is an unique song, which features vander on lead vocal, Kobaia is really different from the orgiginal, sounds almost like another song, but its damn good…

This archival Magma double disc album represents a concert recorded on 12th of November, 1971 in Brussels, Belgium at Theatre 140. The septet known from 1001 Centigrades (that is, with the three man horn section and minus the guitarist Claude Engel from the first album) performs a set culling material from the first two albums, plus two later Magma standards that were new at the time…

These rehearsals have been a "public secret" among many die-hard Magma collectors in France for several years…