Magma is in a musical category all by themselves though they are easily included into the progressive rock genre. Magma's music is ambitions and the band went as far as to invent their own lyrical and musical language in order to bring their unique vision to life.
Led by classically-trained drummer Christian Vander- the son of a jazz pianist, Vander initially followed in his father's footsteps, modeling his technique on the work of John Coltrane alumni- Elvin Jones and starting his career with a number of jazz and R&B outfits. In Paris, during 1969, he was struck by a vision of earth's spiritual and ecological future which so disturbed him that he decided to explore his fears by musical means, assembling Magma with the aid of his wife and vocalist- Stella, singer Klaus Blasquiz, fusion bassists Francis Moze and Jannick Top.
Magma's first album was an ambitious double-album debut (`Kobaia'), released in 1970; Vander's tale- projected to be told over the course of ten LPs, pitted earth against a rival planet named Kobaia. Vander then created Magma and the 'Zeuhl Wortz' (music of the universal might).
1971's `1001 Centigrade,' and 1973's `Mekanïk Destructïw Kommandoh,' (recorded with a choir), the story -- much of it told in native Kobaian -- unfolded to depict an earth so uninhabitable that its citizens must flee to the nearby planet, where years of conflict culminated in the achievement of cosmic harmony and a reconciliation with the deity- Ptäh.
With little chart success as a result of their original musicality and vision and after a few early tours of the U.S. and Britain, Magma spent the middle years of the decade almost exclusively in France, where they launched 1974's Kohntarkosz- were the Kobaiaian story gets a bit more cryptic, as by this time Magma's music was taking on a more spiritual and purely musical nature.
In 1975, the band released a double live album- `Live/Hhai,' to mixed reviews (as the band was beginning to change their sound)- similar to albums- `Udu Wudu' (1976) and `Attahk' (1977). After the commercial failure of 1976's Udu Wadu, Magma disbanded for a time, only to reconvene a year later under a slightly different direction than before. While drummer Christian Vander had maintained general leadership of the band since the early 70s, his interest in funk, R-n-B, gospel, and pop would come to the fore and would mold the band's sound into something closer to "popular."
After disbanding for several years, Magma held a series of concerts in June of 1980 at the Olympia in Paris. Though recorded in 1981, the double live album- Retrospektiw I-II was released in 1994 to good reviews The live release reunited nearly everybody who appears on Magma's Live/Hhai album of five years before.
In the early 80's, Magma essentially disbanded, although the group lived on in various forms, as alumni founded a number of loosely-affiliated splinter groups to carry on Vander's work in subsequent years, including Art Zoyd, Univers Zero, Ensemble Nimbus, Happy Family and Ruins.
In 1983, Vander himself resurfaced with the acoustic project- Offering, but later returned to more grandiose designs with Les Voix de Magma, an attempt to resurrect his early material for a new generation of listeners.
1984 would give the fans Magma's final studio album (to date)- `MERCI,' which is sung in French and English, with a couple obligatory tracks in Kobaian. With this last album, it seemed that the whole seventies concept of Magma is something the band was trying hard to put behind them.
Within months, Christian Vander's new band- Offering was born, moving further and deeper into the more acoustic Coltrane-inspired Jazz directions. Vander was free to explore new avenues that were unsuited to the seventies Magma style. Christian's Jazz Trio was also born in this period also, plus numerous solo projects.
Magma highlighted the closing act at the first day of Nearfest 2003,
Magma also performed music from 35 years of the band’s history during a four-week residency at the Le Triton club in Paris during May of 2005; the Le Triton concerts were documented on the four-volume Mythes et Légendes DVD series released between 2006 and 2008.
Magma Discography
Studio albums
1970: Magma (reissued as Kobaïa)
1971: 1001° Centigrades
1973: Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh initial copies of the CD included a vinyl rip of the album with a different version of the album as a bonus track
1974: Ẁurdah Ïtah (originally released as 'Tristan & Iseult' by Christian Vander)
1974: Köhntarkösz initial copies of the CD included a vinyl rip of the album with a different version of the album as a bonus track
1976: Üdü Ẁüdü
1978: Attahk
1984: Merci
2004: K.A. (Köhntarkösz Anteria)
2009: Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré (CD + DVD)
2012: Félicité Thösz
2014: Rïah Sahïltaahk
2015: Šlaǧ Tanƶ
Live albums
1975: Live/Hhaï
1977: Inédits
1981: Retrospektïẁ (Parts I+II)
1981: Retrospektïẁ (Part III)
1989: Akt X: Mekanïk Kommandöh (earlier studio recording of Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh from 1973) [different from the bonus track mentioned above]
1992: Akt I: Les Voix de Magma (from August 2, 1992 at Douarnenez)
1994: Akt IV: Theatre Du Taur Concert, 1975 (from September 27, 1975)
1995: Akt V: Concert Bobino 1981 (from May 16, 1981)
1996: Akt VIII: Bruxelles 1971 (from November 12, 1971 at Theatre 140)
1996: Akt IX: Opéra De Reims, 1976 (from March 2, 1976)
1999: Akt XIII: BBC 1974 Londres (from March 14, 1974 at the London BBC studios)
2001: Trilogie Theusz Hamtaahk (Concert du Trianon), CD + DVD
2008: Akt XV: Bourges, 1979 (from April 17, 1979)
2009: Live in Tokyo 2005
2014: Zühn Wöhl Ünsai - Live 1974 (2 CD; Radio Bremen recordings)
EPs
1998: Floë Ëssi/Ëktah
2014: Rïah Sahïltaahk
2015: Šlaǧ Tanƶ
Compilations/Boxsets/Other material
1972: The Unnamables (studio album released under the alias 'Univeria Zekt')
1986: Mythes et Légendes Vol. I (compilation)
1992: Akt II: Sons: Document 1973 (recorded in 1973 at Le Manor, featuring a scaled-back line-up of Christian Vander, Klaus Blasquiz, Jannick Top and René Garber)
1997: Kompila
1998: Simples
2008: Archiẁ I & II (included in the "Studio Zünd: 40 Ans d'Evolution" boxset)
2008: Studio Zünd: 40 Ans d'Evolution (12 disc box set, includes Kobaïa to K.A. plus Archiẁ I & II)
2015: Kohnzert Zund (12 CD; Live recordings, from 'Magma Live' to 'Trilogie Au Trianon' plus 'Triton Zund' and 'Alhambra 2009' )
2017: Retrospektïw (3 LP’s. Includes Retrospektïw I, II & III series. Limited edition of 1,500 numbered copies. Also includes the classic comic strip.)
Videos
1995: Akt VI: Concert Bobino 1981 (DVD) also released on VHS video cassette
2001: Trilogie Theusz Hamtaahk (Concert du Trianon), CD + DVD
2006: Mythes et Légendes Epok 1, DVD
2006: Mythes et Légendes Epok 2, DVD
2007: Mythes et Légendes Epok 3, DVD
2008: Mythes et Légendes Epok 4, DVD
2013: Mythes et Légendes Epok 5, DVD
2016: Nihao Hamtaï - Magma in China, DVD
2017: Ëmëhntëhtt-Rê Trilogy', DVD
