EXMAGMA

One of the strangest and most unique sounding bands to emerge from the German Krautrock scene from early 1970s Germany, EXMAGMA was so strange that nobody can still even agree exactly what genre they played! Definitely described as Krautrock, the trio from Stuttgart is just as often called jazz-rock, jazz-fusion or even Canterbury Kraut! Oh my indeed! That's exactly why they are on the Nurse With Wound List for literally standing out like a sore thumb even amongst the weirdest of the weird lurking on every street corner back in those days!

This trio consisted of two Germans and an American ex-pat. Andy Goinder played both guitar and bass as well as throwing in some saxophone, tape effects and vocals however this debut is pretty much exclusively instrumental. Also on board was Thomas Baluff who played keyboards, flute, any strange effects and also uttered some vocals here and there. The odd man out was American born Fred Braceful who moved to Germany and got his start with Wolfgang Dauner in his trippy Kraut-jazz band Et Cetera and since Braceful was a jazz drummer by training his percussive contributions surely added the jazz creds to EXMAGMA.

The trio actually started out simply as Magma but once they discovered that some strange French band had already existed with that name, they immediately started to refer to themselves as EXMAGMA and the name stuck as its official moniker which shows the quirky sense of humor that these guys had and how could they not have a sense of whimsy with such oddball and oft goofy musical pieces that are somewhat of a mix of the most spacey Krautrock imaginable along with a free jazz improvisation sound which doesn't only come out in the drumming but also in the occasional fretless bass run as well as the references to Soft Machine and even Miles Davis' most out there moments in his early fusion years.

The music is about as freeform and crazy as it gets. Balluff gets some of the most demented tones out of his keys and knew how to eke out the most alienating effects. The band's playful rhythms and oddball time signatures only added to the bizarreness of it all. The trio seemed to relish in finding new ways of making it all sound completely out of the ordinary with not only freaky jamming segments but just plain bonkers moments that seemed like they were more alien than the Kobaians who beat them to their original namesake. Whatever the case, these guys out-tripped most anything that was in the world of Krautrock, free jazz or anything really. The five instrumental compositions on board each drip with their own freewheeling persona with each instrumentalist finding unique ways to torture his instrument of choice and for a trio they had plenty to work with.

The band released two albums in the 1970s, this self-titled debut and the following "Goldball" of which this is by far the strangest of the strange. A third album was slated to be released in 1975 but didn't find a public debut until 2006 and is considered the most accessible of the three. The first two albums have never actually seen a release onto CD at least independently but a combo compilations titled "Exmagma & Goldball" was released in 2003 and that's how i obtained both original albums as a two-fer. There is really nothing like this one. Never was and never will be and that's true even within EXMAGMA's own three album run. This one is unapologetically free in every true meaning of the word and yet i find it to be one of the most compelling and mesmerizing psychedelic albums of the entire 1970s.

While it may seem like pure gibberish and chaos to the casual listener, the music is actually on a whole other level of virtuosity in how the band members showcase the utmost extreme expressions of musicality captured through randomness, improvisation, jamming and seamlessly marry the world of psychedelic Krautrock with free jazz, electronic avant-garde and Canterbury whimsy under one roof. This sort of unique concoction was what the hippie movement was created for but while many were satisfied with simple psychedelic pop, these real maestros were out playing in the stars. EXMAGMA was really a trio of three geniuses that for a brief moment collaborated and had the party of a lifetime. This is especially true on this uncompromising debut. This is one of my favorite albums of all time. It captures my soul like few other free spirit albums of this era. It is literally like hearing a sample of God's personal collection.