Magma, the group that got here from the planet Kobaïa | Culture | EUROtoday

In the invisible inventory market of musical genres, there may be absolutely no motion extra devalued than progressive rock (properly, sure: New Age). And it isn’t honest, because it pays for the conceitedness of its primitive defenders, who believed themselves to be sybarites in aesthetics and even in morals. But you already know that the worst factor for any music is often the excesses of its militants.

That devaluation is a nasty factor: progressive encompassed distinctive sound approaches and, at instances, formidable conceptual audacity. I’m pondering particularly of the audacity of the French group Magma, a late product of May ’68 (maybe that is why they acknowledged violence as a mandatory… creative ingredient). They had a altering lineup, which may vary from the unique trio to a dozen musicians and singers. It could be illusory to attempt to define his profession, with tons of of individuals and several other parallel teams, though there are panoramic books and documentaries that emphasize the obsession of the founder, drummer Christian Vander (and to a lesser extent that of his spouse, Stella, former singer ye yé).

The prehistory of Magma corresponds to the evolution from mimetic approaches (initially they referred to as themselves, gulp, Carnaby Street Swingers) in direction of the idea of a creative radicality very typical of the technology. sixty eight. It occurred in lots of corners of Europe, however few insurgents reached Vander’s audacity. Steeped in science fiction, he imagined a legendary origin on the planet Kobaïa, the place colonies of earthlings had taken refuge, usually in battle with one another. There they spoke guinea pigthe bogus language they used of their songs, though over time Vander additionally turned to French and English. Their clothes and graphics made them upset, with observers seeing a Nazi sect there, to the dismay of some musicians who proclaimed that their roots have been on the left. Intimidating titles, similar to Mekanïk Destruktïẁ Kommandöhhis important LP.

The music was equally slippery. To simplify it: a base of cussed jazz-rock, faint echoes of soul, some choruses probably impressed by the Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, solo voices that appeared to return from some Amazon jungle. They even named her zeuhlwhich was equal to “heavenly” in guinea pig. As background, they invoked the sacred identify of John Coltrane, though they have been extra just like the exoticism of a Pharoah Sanders. It says lots in regards to the drive of Vander and firm that such an uncommon recipe unfold within the seventies all through a lot of the world, with exceptions similar to Spain, the place they earned the suspicions of Franco’s authorities. Amazingly, it was music generally launched by multinationals because of the proselytization of supervisor Giorgio Gomelsky, even with a presence within the cinema.

The impulse guinea pig It took them till the mid-eighties, once they have been characterised as little greater than nutcases, victims of ideological drunkenness, though few would dispute the instrumental stage of violinist Didier Lockwood or bassist Jannick Top. However, that they had sown their seeds, particularly within the circuit of the MJC (Maisons des Jeunes et de la Culture), inspired by the Gaullist minister François Missoffe. Universality, however sure. The seductive energy of the Magma Universe has gained them complicity in surprising locations: Steve Davis, London grasp of snookerinvested a part of his income within the resurrection of the group within the late eighties. The kobaïanos They are nonetheless amongst us.