UZ and Art Zoyd - Toulouse

Courtesy of Gerard Nguyen

Jannick Top - Utopic Sporadic Orchestra - nancy, 1975

Courtesy of Gerard Nguyen

New Magma-Related Comic from A Cup of Tim

Our friend Tim has created another short comic about his recent trip to see Magma.

He even drew Alzairy's mallet grip correctly!

Two Videos from Masal (Jean Paul Prat)

Masal "Viens des quatre vents" from Purple Sheep on Vimeo.

Masal "Nosani Lemo" from Purple Sheep on Vimeo.

Magma Live on French Radio on Nov 28 - Can Someone Record It?

Here is information about a radio show that will feature Magma. The show is at 2:00 PM EDT on Monday, November 29. Supposedly, this will be a live broadcast of a concert that they will be playing in Paris at Duc des Lombards.

Can anyone record this? and more importantly, share this on Soulseek or on DIME?

I just bought these posters from an old Magma collector in France

On DIME - Nov 5 2010, Les Abattoirs, Bourgoin-Jallieu, France

2010 november 5th, Les Abattoirs, Bourgoin-Jallieu, France

------------------------------------------------

Personnal audience recording master

Minidisk Sharp MT88 mono - Sony ECM-DS70P microphones
> Computer SoundbasterLive > Wav > Flac8

----------------------------------------------

01-Untitled new song
02-Felicite thosz
03-Ëmëhntëtt-Ré
04-Applause encore
05-Kobaïa

--------------------------------------------

Christian VANDER / drums, vocals
Stella LINON / vocals, percussions
Isabelle FEUILLEBOIS / vocals, percussions
Hervé AKNIN / vocals, percussions
Bruno RUDER / Fender Rhodes
Benoît ALZIARY / vibraphone
James MAC GAW / guitar
Philippe BUSSONNET / bass

DIME - Magma - June 23, 2010 - Le Triton (Master)

LDB Master Series #247

Hello, this is a collection of masters I would like to seed here. I've been taping shows for more than 20 years
and have an awful lot of masters. Most of them are in the old cassette format, some others are on MiniDisc and others are on CD. I've taped many shows of many artists over the years, so don't be surprised if you will find many different artists taped! Some shows are already circulating, some others have not circulated through collectors yet. But most of all, enjoy! They all come from my mastertapes!

Please DO NOT share this music on mp3, just convert it for your own use. Sharing mp3's is the right way to make  me stop sharing music here. PLEASE DO RESPECT THIS WISH and enjoy the music in lossless form.

MAGMA
Les Lilas, Le Triton
June 23, 2010

01.Ëmëhntëht-Rê & Long Encore Break
02.Kobaia

TT 82:55

Lineage: CA-14 (omnis) > CA-9100 > Edirol R-09 > HD (via USB) > Sony SoundForge 7.0 > CD Wave (FLAC plugin - level 6)

Christian Vander — Drums, Vocals, Percussion
Stella Vander — Vocals, Percussion
Isabelle Feuillebois — Vocals
Hervé Aknin — Vocals
Benoît Alziary — Vibraphone, Keyboards
James MacGraw — Guitar
Bruno Ruder — Fender Rhodes
Philippe Bussonnet — Bass

I was not supposed to seed this one but having read all the thread related to the recent Magma show and as an appreciation to those seeders that DO share their effort here at DIME, I thought I would please more than one magma fan over here. The show is not complete: I spent the first half sitting in the first row (could not really stay in front of the band taping!) then I moved backwards on the second half and taped it. Soundwise this is excellent, hope you like it.

Let me also spend a few words regarding those "fans" mentioned in thoses threads that do not explicitly share their recordings but do indeed download and take pleasure from somebody else's recordings. I've been long enough in this hobby to remember back in the 80's and 90's where you had those shitty 'not for trade' lists that you could see but could not listen what was in them, just like young kids that have their teddy bear and do not want their friends to touch it. These days are long gone. Now the internet brings in a few minutes a concert that has been just recorded to the other side of the world. Gems are unearthed and shared just for the pleasure of receiving a 'thank you' from an unknown folk living in Australia. There is no more 'rare' and 'common' recording, no more f***ing 'not for trade' lists. And honestly, if you own a rare Magma soundboard, can you really be considered 'privileged' or 'more important' or 'luckier' than the others? Thanks god, there are more important things for which and may gain respect from others...

People who still live with the myth of being the only ones to be able to listen to a bloody Magma recording in DC are just poor gents who probably just have no clue about what are the real priorities.

I will attend Magma show in Cergy on November 27th. If any of you are there, let's have a beer (or two) and celebrate Magma!

ldb

PS: In the 'videos' folder you can find some video excepts that were show by a friend with a camera, just to give you a feeling of how that was...

DIME - Magma - Sept 25, 2010 - Wurzburg

MAGMA
Freakshow Artrock Festival
2010-09-25
WUERZBURG
AULA der FRANZ-OBERTHÜR-SCHULE

Lineage : ECM MS 957 microphone > Edirol R09HR wav 24 bits > wavelab (44-16) > flac 8

recorded by PASSION91 MIXED BY RAPIDEYE

01 Slag Tanz
02 Félicite-Thösz
03 Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré

Benoit Alziary: vibraphone
Jim Grandcamp: guitare ( his 3rd gig with magma ..following the 2 USA shows)
Christian Vander: congas & maracas
Philippe Bussonnet: basse
Hervé Aknin: chant
Stella Vander: chant
Isabelle Feuillebois: chant
Bruno Ruder: rhodes

all pics by rodolphe taken from http://zeuhlmusic.blogspot.com

uploaded to dime by hanwaker 2010-10

DIME - Magma - Oct 16, 2010 - Freyming-Merlebach, France

washington, new york, wuerzburg ... all that shows are recorded but did not appear on dime ....
here's another one for all the fans without special connections!

magma
2010-10-16
"maison des cultures frontières"
freyming-merlebach, france

digital audience recording

lineage: aiwa cm ds-6 > zoom h2 > cd card > harddisc > audacity > wave editor > flac

time: 123:29

line up:
christian vander - drums, vocals
stella linon - Vocals & percussion
Isabelle Feuillebois - vocals & percussion
Herve Aknin - vocals & percussion
bruno ruder - fender rhodes
benoit alziary - vibraphone
james macgraw - guitar
phillippe bussonnet - bass


01. intro (2:12)
02. Slag tanz (16:02)
03. applause > felicite thosz (30:19)
05. applause (1:13)
06. emehtehtt-re (53:42)
07. applause (5:46)
encore
08. kobaia (12:04)
09. applause (02:09)

some picture of the show inside the torrent
do not encode to lossy format, do not sell, enjoy!

RIP Jacques Guiton

I just learned the sad news that Jacques Guiton, long time Magma afficionado and creator of the Magma Fan website, quietly and suddenly passed away last June.

Jacques was the one who recorded and shared the famous 1973 concert from Pont de Ce. This was our first exposure to the initial versions of Kohntarkosz and KA, and was one of the very first concerts that Jannick Top played with Magma. You can hear Jacques voice briefly at the start of track 3 on the recording. (I still can't understand what they are saying.)

RIP Jacques, and many thanks for your work on behalf of the Zeuhl community.

The Wurdalaks (pre-Magma)

This seems to be the only known photo of The Wurdalaks, the group that Christian Vander was in before Magma.

From left to right:

Michel Rosengarten (guitar), Christian Grégoire (guitar), MOA (vocals), Christian Vander (drums), Richard Demaria (bass)

Short Review - Magma at the Highline Ballroom, Sept 20, 2010

I originally was not going to go to this show, as I had already seen this set-list 4 times in 2009. However, I convinced my old friend Nick from Dr. Nerve to go, so I was glad that I had some company, I also met old friend Zeeker and new friend Keith there.


The set-list was the same one that they have been doing for the past two years.

1) Slag Tanz - this was a revised version from the original version that I saw them perform at Le Casino in early 2009. It seems to be moving in a more Offering-like direction, which is consistent with Vander's compositional direction nowadays.

2) Felicite Thosz - well, what can I say that I haven't said already? I used the song as an opportunity to eat my dinner.

3) E-R - well done. Grandcamp's guitar added another dimension. He was more forward in the mix than MacGaw usually is. During Grand zombies, you could really hear Grandcamp's guitar swells, and it definitely enhanced the atmosphere of Zombies. Vander pulled out one or two new drum licks. E-R was extremely well received by the audience.

4) Kobiaia - very noisy, very rambunctious, very much fun. Vander looked like he was having a great time.

From my vantage point in the balcony, the sound was very muddy, and the vocals were a bit under the mix. This could be just related to my gradual loss of the upper ends of the sound spectrum, so I will give Francis a break on this one :-)

Recording wanted from New York and Washington

I am a bit surprised that nobody has shared their recordings from the recent 2-day US tour. I have been looking at DIME every day, hoping that some kind soul would be seeding their recordings. I know that half of the people at the Highline gig had recorders and movie cameras. So, if you have any mementos from this show, please consider sharing them on DIME, Demonoid, or Soulseek.

Also, a recording from the Univers Zero gig in Washington would also be welcome.

Thanks.

Voxnostra - Doloris Puer

Here is a new tune by the French group, Voxnostra, called Doloris Puer. Very Zeuhl-ish sounding, with words sung in Latin.



The guitarist from Voxnostra is Jean-Claude Delachat, who played in the De Futura cover band along with Fanny Layani and Barfix.

Let me know what you think of this tune.

My Photos from the Highline Ballroom Show

I was sitting in the balcony with my old friend Nick from Dr. Nerve.

Photos from the Magma Concert from the Brooklyn Vegan Site

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2010/09/magma_played_hi.html

Rolling Stone Reviews Magma - Sept 20 2010 in New York

A review of the Magma show at the Highline Ballroom on the Rolling Stone website.

I will write my own review when I get some time.


Here is a copy of the Rolling Stone review, taken from their website. All copyrights are from Rolling Stone Magazine, and the article is reprinted here without the explicit permission of Rolling Stone. (If Rolling Stone wants me to remove the text, then contact me.)

A Prog-Rock Legend Returns: Magma’s Heavy Music and Alien Tongues

David Fricke 

Since its inception in 1969, the French progressive-rock ensemble Magma have made a curiously heavy music: a dark complex momentum in which the drums — played by leader-composer Christian Vander — are the forward instrument, often flanked by heavily fuzzed bass guitar and the hard watery ring of a Fender Rhodes piano, with an operatic chorale narrating, in a made-up language, extended fictions about the people and wars on the planet Kobaïa. Magma's rigorous, eccentric execution of Vander's continuing fantasia may be the least likely survivor of rock's Euro-prog peak in the early and late ‘70s. (A Philip Glass spectacle girded in doom-metal chain mail is a distant but not inappropriate comparison.) At New York's Highline Ballroom on September 20th, Vander and his wife, vocalist Stella Vander led a Magma in which most of the other players looked a lot younger than the band itself. But this Magma also sounded, amazingly, very much like the one that made the 1970 debut, Kobaîa. In fact, the encore was the title song from that double-album.


Everything else the eight-piece group played was new: two as-yet-unreleased pieces in the first hour; all of the 2009 album, Ëmëhntëtt-Rê, in the second. The lyrics were literally alien and the singing just as otherworldly — Stella Vander, Isabelle Feuillebois and Hervê Aknin alternated between eerie passages of medieval-like chant and martial ensemble arias — so the power in the music was entirely physical. That had a lot to do with Christian Vander, a John Coltrane disciple who combines a jazz drummer's language and touch with the heavy British agility of Bill Bruford and Mitch Mitchell. One mad passage in the second hour was a high-speed series of tortuous Vander figures matched with pinpoint timing on the other instruments, like the tangled bridge in King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man." Another section was hellish grandeur: fat pounding chords, laden with low booming overtones, with the vocalists accenting Vander's drum spasms with unison crashes on hand-held Chinese cymbals.

The Highline show was part of a short tour — two dates — by a band that in its initial heyday seemed more like a myth, issuing strange records from an imagined quadrant of the universe. And there were moments when this band fell a little short of the legend, as when pianist Bruno Ruder took off on a long unaccompanied solo that was, for all of its energy, not much above heated noodling. Even with his distortion set on lethal, bassist Phillipe Bussonnet couldn't quite match the truly devouring tone of Magma's great mid-‘70s bassist Jannick Top, a guy who sounded like he had Bootsy Collins and Lemmy of Motörhead coming through his strings at once.

But that is connoisseur talk. After four decades, there is still nothing in rock — prog or otherwise — like Magma. At least in this world.

DIME - Magma Oct 21, 1978 Alencon (Previously Uncirculated?)

MAGMA

1978 october 21st, Alençon, France

---------------

Saturated recording when loud sound

01-Liriik Necromicus-Kahnt
02-The last 7 minutes
03-Ourgon & Gorgo
04-Ptah-Vander Drums solo
06-Hhaï
06-Nono
07-MDK 1 (cassette flip)
08-MDK 2
09-Spiritual

-------------

"CELLAR'S TAPES N°35"

Ptah Septet Plays Kohntarkosz

Ptäh Septet joue Köhntarkösz (Magma)

Magma - Lyon 1976

From my friend Rodolph, here is a ticket from a Magma concert in Lyon in 1976

Magma - Dutch Radio Program

StormVogel's Dutch Radio program is here

On DIME - 1978 october 11th, Palais des Sports, Orléans

1978 october 11th, Palais des Sports, Orléans, France

01-Retrovision
02-Hhaï
03-Ourgon & Gorgo
04-Ptah
05-The Last 7 minutes 1 (cassette flip)
06-The Last 7 minutes 2
07-Nono
08-Why this Man
09-MDK 1 (cassette flip)
10-MDK 2

Video - Magma in Japan, 2010

SЮR BAND - Zür sün dїhhёl (Hommage à Christian Vander)

Entering the Tomb of Issehn-Re

Grandcamp Replaces MacGaw ???

There is a rumor going around that Jim Grandcamp (of Jannick Top's band) will be replacing James MacGaw on guitar for a few Magma gigs.

If this is true, then I wonder who the guitarist for Magma's Washington and New York dates will be.

One Shot 2010

This photo is courtesy of the photographic wiz, Marco Tchamp.

Magma in Spanish

From Dana ... long postings about Magma in Spanish

http://www.sinfomusic.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=99999999&topic=5438.0

Magma - Feb 22, 1990

From our friend Steve A:

Program on Dutch Radio

From our friend Cortege

I thought you and all readers of the blog would like to check this introduction to Magma just published - as on July 7th, 2010 - on Dutch Radio 6 'De Wissel' program and website. A brief text, a couple of videos, and two fine hours of guided listening. All music research and selection by 'Stormvogel'.

http://wissel.radio6.nl/2010/07/07/magma/

Zao - Olympia, Paris - 1975 (with Quatour Margand)

Courtesy of Rafael Kozub

Video - Magma - Le Triton - June 23, 2010

Our good friend Elsa posted a 5 part video on YouTube from the opening night of Magma run at Le Triton.

Equipment Needed for Magma's New York Gig

Stella writes that the band is looking to borrow some equipment for the New York gig on September 20th. For various reasons, they prefer not to rent the equipment, and they are looking for some good-hearted musicians to let them borrow some of the "backline" that they need for the gig.

Here is the list of what they need:

1 Fender Rhodes piano 73 notes + 1 small amp. Fender twin reverb or equivalent

1 drumkit jazz type:

• 18" Bass Drum (mandatory)
• 2 Floor Toms 16"–14"
• Tom tom 12"
• Snare 14 x 5.1/2

All mounted with Remo coated Ambassador drum heads on top and Remo coated Diplomat on bottom (this is not mandatory but it's better)

And the hardest part:
- 1 Yamaha YV-3710 vibraphone

It has to be this one because Benoit is traveling with his blades, equipped with captors. Or if someone has a vibraphone already equipped...


If you can help out, please let me know.

Magma in New York on September 20, 2010

I just got a letter from Stella Vander. Magma will be performing at the Highline Ballroom in New York on September 20. The Highline is on 16th Street and 9th Avenue.

There is more important information that I will post in a few hours. I will need some assistance from some East Coast musicians to help Magma find some gear. (Zeeker, are you still alive?)

Stay tuned.

Covers for the KA Rehearsals (Thanks Planer)

Magma with The Muffins

Paul Sears reports that The Muffins will open up for Magma on September 18th in Washington. The Muffs will play at 5:00 PM, then there will be a dinner break, then Magma comes on at 8:00.

This may very well force me to cancel my trip to the RIO Festival, especially since Mr. Davis can't make it this year.

Feel free to bother Paul on his Facebook page if you want more info. Feel free to bother Paul on his Facebook page regardless....

On DIME - Magma - Melun 1978-10-07

MAGMA

Salle de fêtes, MELUN, FRANCE, 1978 october the 7th

--------------------------------

WONDER!!!
I'm going to discover in my cellar about 30 magnetic tapes (7 inches) with about 50 shows of the seventies!! ESPECIALLY CANTERBURY SCHOOL!!! AND SOME OTHERS !!!!!! Unfortunatly, MAYBE some of (parts) them are damaged (noises, mediums or highs spoiled) I'll add some samples.

cassette > Magnetic Tape 7 inches > PC SoundblasterLive > Wav > flac8 stereo

THE CELLAR'S TAPES N° 28

-------------------------------

Some highs spoiled from 04 to 06

01-
02-
03-
04-
05-Drum Solo
06-MDK
07-Last 7 minutes
09-

some help for the songs's name

Dedicated to CV - From Your Lubavitcher Friends

Thanks to Udi for a pointer to this.

What is your Impression of the KA Rehearsals?

Now that you've heard the KA Rehearsals ... what do you think of them?

For me, one of the major differences between the 1973 version of KA and the current version of KA is the use of the organ. Magma also used the organ heavily on the 1973 Pont de Ce recording, but I think they stopped using it in mid-1973. The organ really gives the piece a fatter "bottom", and gives a bit of mysticism to the composition.

It would be interesting if Vander would rent a Hammond B3 for a series of concerts, and perform their greatest hits with it. What do you think?

Now on DIME - Magma - The KA Rehearsals - 1973

Magma
Rehearsals for KA (Kohntarkosz Anteria)
1973

Lineage: reel > ? > wav > flac

Brought to you by the Kohntarkosz Blog (http://kohntarkosz.blogspot.com)

This is the very first time that these rehearsals are being released to the general public. Certainly, it is the very first time that they are appearing on DIME.

These rehearsals have been a "public secret" among many die-hard Magma collectors in France for several years. However, in the past year, they have become more widely disseminated to the point where I have been offered these recordings by 3 seperate people on the UZMK-Magma chatroom on Soulseek. So, I figured that it was about time that these recordings were shared on a more "global" basis through DIME.

Magma fans who are specialists of the 1973-74 period (in my opinion, the best formation of the group) have tracked the evolution of the melange known as Kohntarkosz Anteria, first through the famous concert at Pont de Ce in May 1973 (originally recorded by Jacques "MagmaFan" Guiton - http://magma.fan.free.fr/intro_UK.html), then through the incredible concert in Marseilles on July 24, 1973, the famous gig at the Marquee on December 5, 1973, and finally culmitating in my Desert Island Disk, Magma BBC 1974. Each of these gigs shows KA and Kohntarkosz in a state of transition, and shows how Christian Vander constantly tinkered with the music.

Tracks 1-7 are with JP Lambert on bass
Tracks 8-17 are with Jannick Top on bass

When Top's first bass notes are played on track 8, you can immediately tell the difference between
him and Lambert. You knew at that point that Top was going to be something special for Magma.

I hope that with this release, others will decide to share their rare Magma recordings. There is an amazing
concert from Toulouse 1972 (in excellent sound quality) that an extremely small contingent of fans are
keeping to themselves. This concert features a 14 minute version of Dotz Hundin - this is the piece that
Magma sings in a church in the movie Moi Y En A Vouloir Des Sous. Rumor has it that Stella Vander is
considering releasing Toulouse 1972 along with Gibus 1974 on a future AKT release. If you want to see this
music see the light of day, then please write to Seventh Records and make your wishes known. Otherwise, I am afraid that this important music will never see the light of day,

As always, comments are welcome either here or on my Kohntarkosz blog. Unfortunately, many people grab but few bother to comment. If you don't feel comfortable writing in English, then use Google Translator, or write in your own language and we will use Google Translator.

Enjoy. This is a treat for Magma fans.

Eskaton

Thanks to Rafael Kozub for allowing me to reprint his photo of Eskaton.

Does anyone have more info about this photo?


Amara Tahir, Gerard Konig, Andre Bernardi, Marc Rozenberg, Gilles Rozenberg, Paule Kleynnaert

Kobaia Cover

This cover is pretty good, in my opinion. But I am wondering what happened to the English lyrics. But, that was so, so long ago!

Magma - Washington DC - September 18, 2010 (and UZ too)

(Thanks to Zwenskaia for this link)

Magma and Univers Zero are playing at the Sonic Circuits Festival in Washington DC.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2010/06/01/sonic-circuits-announces-sort-of-prog-heavy-2010-lineup/

One Shot Reforged

This is the cover of the re-release of the first One Shot CD. Thanks to Zwen for the pointer.

(Editorial)
As mentioned here before, the new version of One Shot has Bruno Ruder on keyboards. Some people think that it is better to have One Shot exist with a different keyboard player than have One Shot not exist at all. Personally, I am not in agreement with this line of thought. With the number of groups that MacGaw and Bussonnet play in, it would have been easier to just form another group with a different name rather than disrespect Manu Borghi.

1971 - Recording 1001 at Chateau d'Herouville

(From the Facebook page of Chateau d'Herouville and Dominique Blanc-Francard)

Magma - 2010-05-22 - Nijmegen - Photos from Erik Eggermont

Thanks to Immersteed, and of course, thanks to Erik.

Recognize this Bassist?

Monseiur Chat Meets God

This photo was from the Jannick Top bass clinic in Nice on May 28, 2010. Who is the mysterious Magma fan on the left with the special sunglasses?

DIME - Magma May 22, 2010 - Nijmegen, Holland

Magma
26th Music Meeting
Nijmegen, Holland
May 22, 2010

FM-broadcast
Captured from http://cgi.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/nps/output/musicmeeting2010/concert_magma.wma
NetTransport -> dbPoweramp WMA-to-FLAC Converter

Tracks
------
1) Slag Tanz
2) Emehntehtt-Re
3) Kobaia


Thanks to khupje for the link

Univers Zero - Rote Fabrik, Zurich - 1982

Our new friend, Rafael Kozub, gave me permission to repost some of the photos from his collection. Rafael also has a website that deals with Eurpoean avant-prog. Thanks Rafael.

Is the Magma Gig In Washington Still On???

Seventh has removed this gig from their website.

Does anybody know the story behind this gig? Stella? Francis?

Progression Magazine 1999

Thanks to Akoustikus once more for these scans of an article in Progression Magazine.