MAGMA [AKA: KOBAÏA]

What is Zeuhl? Imagine John Coltrane riding a space battleship ruling an utopic (or dystopic?) universe. I can clearly see space troopers marching and praising him and singing Magma tunes like M. D. K. Well, this first record has a different meaning for a lot of progressive rock and zeuhl followers. To fully understand this album, you need to be very ecletic. And think ecletic. Magma is a space opera. The concept of the albums were written right from the planet Kobaia. And their music are not focused on something you will learn from the first time. You will never understand their language. Christian Vander don't know about King Crimson. And he doesn't need to. He came from jazz, classical music, avant-garde, and finally, the music from his own universe and the Kobaia planet. I play the sax and the guitar. And I'm saying, if you know Coltrane, you know who's influenced by him. A lot of Magma sweet came from his soul. Nowadays, some extreme & experimental bands like Gorguts are highly influenced by the dissonant Magmatic free-jazz/fusion.

While MDK defines Zeuhl genre for me, their Kobaia debut was the most complete Magma work. This album has many faces, but everything fits perfect. From the smooth parts to Vander alien-screaming proclamations. There's a lot of horror and creepy passages, and I must admit, those are the best moments, evoking classic soundtracks. Unique and creative. If I should find a concept for this album music, comparing it to their other releases, I would say this album studies Kobaia ambient, policy and history. And it's awesome.