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Thread: Magma 101

  1. #1
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    Magma 101

    I plan to see Magma at the New York City show during April 2015. Although, I saw them years ago at Nearfest, I really haven't thought much about them since. Can everyone recommend where to begin with them? Most essential albums? Best albums to listen to in an effort to get ready for the show? Thanks in advance.



    Library Jon

  2. #2
    I would start with
    Köhntarkösz
    K.A.
    Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré
    Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh

  3. #3
    To get primed for the show, you'd probably want to get the four most recent albums (as that's the sound that they're going with these days).

    As far as what to start with, my favorite Magma albums are 1001 Degrees, Attahk and Udu Wudu, though these would definitely NOT comprise a consensus top 3.

  4. #4
    Subterranean Tapir Hobo Chang Ba's Avatar
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    MDK is the album to start with.

    Kohntarkosz
    K.A.
    Emehntehtt-Re

    would be good continuing points.
    Please don't ask questions, just use google.

    Never let good music get in the way of making a profit.

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  5. #5
    Nope.

    Live Hhai w/ Kohntarkosz
    MDK
    ER
    I'm not lazy. I just work so fast I'm always done.

  6. #6
    I would definitely start with K.A., that's the one that's gotten my non-Magma listening friends into them. I would probably go Felicite Thosz/Slag Tanz after that to see how they are nowadays. But if you want to jump right in the deep end though, I'd do Restrospektiw I-II, that's strangely what hooked me, and it has never let go.

  7. #7
    Member nosebone's Avatar
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    Start with the first
    no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Dana5140 View Post
    Nope.

    Live Hhai w/ Kohntarkosz
    MDK
    ER
    Note that the live version of Köhntarkösz is very different from the live version that appears on Live/Hhaï. On the other hand Live/Hhaï also has the otherwise unavailable and completely wonderful Lïhns.

  9. #9
    I find the Live/Hhai album most listen-able... but always good to start with the newer stuff and work backward, Emehntehtt-Re and K.A.
    "Always ready with the ray of sunshine"

  10. #10
    I think the Epok Dvd's are the best starting point. The energy level is really high. I'd say either Epok III or V to begin with.

  11. #11
    My 2¢ on their output:

    • Magma (a.k.a. Kobaïa): Don’t start here. It’s a double album, the vocal parts are very harsh and inaccessible and the jazzy/fluty music doesn’t really give you a good idea of the Big Picture of Magma. That said, it’s a very worthy album, but not for the Magma novice.
    • 1001° Centigrades: Don’t start here, either. The A-side is similar to the debut, but perhaps a little closer to the “regular” Magma sound. As for the rest of the album, it’s closer to jazz fusion; except for a bit of Klaus Blasquiz doing a bit of his “Tibetan Monk chanting from Hell” shtick, it’s barely recognizable as Magma.
    • Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh: This might be rough-going for the first-time Magma listener (especially the extended vocal screeching from Christian Vander at the half-way point), but no other album is so quintessentially Magma. Bolstered by a brass section and a female choir, they do a run-through of essentially a single, extended piece (in spite of the banding) of great intensity.
    • Köhntarkösz: In general lower-key than MDK, almost ambient at times with bursts of great savagery. Probably more accessible, too, while still being recognizably Magma. A quite excellent album, dominated by the title-suite. Here’s as good a place to start with them as any.
    • Üdü Wüdü: Here’s where I started with Magma, simply because it was the first album of theirs I found. Half short songs, except for the uncommonly sing-song-y title track, all very much identifiably Magma. The flip side is “De Futura,” an extended instrumental based on intense bass riffing, a Magma trademark. Synthesizers enter the picture here, it’s rather surprising to me that they hadn’t used them before.
    • Attahk: I love this one, it’s so underrated! There’s no “epic” this time, just another set of Magma songs like those from the first side of the previous album. There seems to be a stronger fusion feel here, and definitely more funk/R&B/Southern gospel influence. My one complaint is that there seems to be a dearth of Klaus Blasquiz this time, for whatever reason. Vander himself sings the lion’s share of lead vocals this time.
    • Merci: For the love of Nebehr Gudhatt, don’t start here! Drum machines, bad 80s funk influence and English/French vocals, this is not your grandfather’s Magma, that’s for sure! I was so confused when I first heard this, wondering if there was a Kobaian phrase that sounded like “Oh baby.”



    There’s also Wurdah Itah, credited as a Christian Vander solo album (and, originally, as a soundtrack to the movie Tristan et Iseult). It’s essentially a stripped-down Magma album, though. I’m not sure if I’d recommend it as a first listen but it’s a worthy album just the same. There’s also a whole ton of live releases which can be confusing to navigate. The 1976 Magma Live (popularly known as Live Hhaï) is the only one I have and is a good intro to the band; a sort of “greatest hits” live since it includes an excellent live rendition of “Köhntarkösz” and an “edited highlights” version of MDK entitled “Mekanik Zain.” This is towards the accessible, fusion end of their sound and is (to my knowledge) the only document of violinist Didier Lockwood’s brief tenure with the band.

    They also have several reformation efforts but I have yet to hear any of them properly.
    Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...

  12. #12
    chalkpie
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    Ha - pretty much everybody has different opinions here - which is good IMO showing how strong the material is across the years.

    So here is another crazy recommendation: Felicite Thosz. Yeah its not a vintage/classic piece but IMO is the most accessible of the longer/extended compositions. My kids now like it, and they are 8 and 10, so there ya' go! I think once you get used to the 'sound' that constitutes this band, then pretty much everything becomes accessible and worthwhile. You'll never get a consensus on what is the best Magma (as per the FT thread), but its all pretty much amazing in its own right. Enjoy the ride man - I for one am jealous at the prospect of discovering this music for the first time. NF 2003 was a game-changer for me in a big way.

  13. #13
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    This thread has been a fun read - Magma have a lot of classic albums, you can't really go wrong with 'em (well, you can, but good luck finding a copy of Merci!)

    Still think either Live/Hhai or the Retrospectiw discs are the best way to go. BTW I started with 'em from the very beginning and did fine - 1001 Degrees in particular seems like a fine Magma "starter album"
    Critter Jams "album of the week" blog: http://critterjams.wordpress.com

  14. #14
    Are you confused yet Jon? As with most bands I like, I like their early stuff. MDK was my first Magma album. It was even released on A&M back in the day. Like more than 40 years ago. (Holy crap I'm old.)

    Bob

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    My 2¢ on their output
    Agree on much, but not all. 1001* Centigrades is very much a certified "Magma-sounding" album, and the epic side 1-track in particular. It merges chamber-jazz and fusion in a sense very few others had attempted at that point (except for Zappa/Mothers in pieces like "King Kong"), and continues the Bartok'ian strangeness of Vander's vision from the "Stöah" track (of the debut album), and as such opens a clear-cut Zeuhl channel. I also think the closing track from Centigrades has most elements of the Zeuhl formula pretty nailed. I'm probably a bit biased though, as this is definitely one of my fave Magma studio records.

    But you're right in that it isn't the best place to start with them. I'd say Retrospektïw 1 + 2 or Live/Hhaï for that. And I agree about Attahk being a damn solid record.

    The recent string of releases is absolute gold as well (and probably even closer to what he'll get to hear): I'd get K. A sooner than later.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
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  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by selfextraction View Post
    I think the Epok Dvd's are the best starting point. The energy level is really high. I'd say either Epok III or V to begin with.
    Seconded. The whole series of DVDs is superb. When I first got into Magma, I fell for them in a big way and got all of the studio albums and quite a few live ones over quite a short period of time, but it was these DVDs that really cemented it for me.

    The two mentioned here have the advantage that they cover much of the material that is likely to be played.

  17. #17
    Another theory is start with the latest, as that is the band you will see and hear live.
    "Always ready with the ray of sunshine"

  18. #18
    Member Burley Wright's Avatar
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    A few days ago I was going to rip the Studio Zund CDs to load into my ipod to take to the gym, I guess the prospect of that much Magma scared my computer - the DVD-ROM drive quit working!

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by strawberrybrick View Post
    Another theory is start with the latest, as that is the band you will see and hear live.
    That certainly works for Magma and is another argument for the Epok V DVD. And you can't go wrong with any of the recent albums.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    Agree on much, but not all. 1001* Centigrades is very much a certified "Magma-sounding" album, and the epic side 1-track in particular. It merges chamber-jazz and fusion in a sense very few others had attempted at that point (except for Zappa/Mothers in pieces like "King Kong"), and continues the Bartok'ian strangeness of Vander's vision from the "Stöah" track (of the debut album), and as such opens a clear-cut Zeuhl channel. I also think the closing track from Centigrades has most elements of the Zeuhl formula pretty nailed. I'm probably a bit biased though, as this is definitely one of my fave Magma studio records.
    For the reasons you stated, I think it's their best. It's definitely not their most quintessentially Zeuhl, but I've always thought that the band's Coltrane influences were more musically interesting than their Orff influences.

  21. #21
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    Let me put it this way. If I were only to own three Magma albums, what would they be?


    Library Jon

  22. #22
    Recently Resurrected zombywoof's Avatar
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    MDK and Kohntarkosz

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Library Jon View Post
    Let me put it this way. If I were only to own three Magma albums, what would they be?
    Well why didn't you say so?

    MDK
    Kohntarkosz
    Slag Tanz

  24. #24
    Recently Resurrected zombywoof's Avatar
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    I'd throw E-Re or Felicite Thosz in slot 3. Probably E-Re.

  25. #25
    Recently Resurrected zombywoof's Avatar
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    1.001 Degrees Centigrades was my intro to Magma. Not the best album to get into the 'Zeuhl' sound, but still an excellent record in its own right. Love it.

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