The Intergalactic Sound of Magma
By Matt Howarth
Special to SPACE.com
posted: 03:08 pm ET
26 July 2000
Attend! If you are unfamiliar with the music of Magma, you are about to receive information to correct that deficiency.
Few bands achieve an intensity to rival Magma’s ferocious sound and clenched-teeth emotionalism. Although technically a jazz ensemble, this band’s style eludes classification as stubbornly as their music assaults you. Imagine a jazz collective in somber tribal-black robes, wearing amulets in the shape of Magma’s “Uniweria Zekt” symbol (the top arc of a circle whose bottom is defined by curved teeth, not unlike a geometric claw); they lurk at their instruments, creating music that is passionate and brutal and dedicated to telling an epic that spans galaxies and eons with its cosmic scope. Imagine a sound that explodes with a progressive fusion of jazz and rock, with touches of East European folk and mystic chanting, harnessed into a style that is akin to Carl Orff, evoking the imagery of entire species marching across the vacuum in celebration and quest for spiritual mastery. These are tales of a race searching for freedom and harmony with both their environment and their soul. Voyages spanning interstellar distance and conflicts between alien cultures are the hallmarks of this epic saga.
As if all that wasn’t enough deep-space science fiction for you, these tales are sung in Kobaian, the elaborate and evocative made-up language of an imaginary distant planet. Kobaian is a guttural tongue, fierce and imposing. The lyrics may be beyond your comprehension, but their ebullience and fanaticism are not.
The genius behind this decade-spanning concept is French percussionist Christian Vander, whose absolute dedication to the music of John Coltrane flavors his music with heightened spiritualism and intense sonic fervor.
http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/sonic_space_magma_two_000802.html