MEKANÏK DESTRUKTÏW KOMMANDÖH

Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh (MDK) is Magma's third album and is as good a starting point as any if you are new to Magma. If you have already read all the other reviews of MDK on here, then you'll already have some idea of what it sounds like, so I'm not going to say too much more about that. The choral singing does sound quite a lot like Carl Orff's Carmina Burana but, personally, I believe Vander's inspiration is more likely to have come from Stravinsky and Wagner rather than Orff. Repetition is absolutely key. If that is going to get on your nerves, then Magma is unlikely to be the band for you. Imagine something like Philip Glass's Koyaanisqatsi played by a jazz rock band that is somehow managing to evoke psychic visions of the Apocalypse and then you are perhaps vaguely approaching the Magma sound.

MDK was Magma's second stab at a studio recording of this piece of music. The first studio version of MDK was recorded about 3 months earlier and is now available as "Mekanik Kommandoh". There are also various live versions of MDK now available.

Although it is separated into 7 different tracks, MDK is actually just one long piece and it doesn't really make sense to listen to the separate tracks in isolation. MDK is the third movement of the Theusz Hamttaahk trilogy. The first and second movements are Theusz Hamttahk and Wurdah Itah, but MDK was recorded and released before either of those pieces.

As far as the instrumentation and the lineup goes, this is the first "classic" Magma album of the 1970s with the core elements of Christian Vander on drums, Jannick Top on bass and Klaus Blasquiz and Stella Vander singing. As with most of Magma's music, electric guitar is used relatively sparingly. There's a brass section on here and also flute and clarinet and, of course, the unmistakable Fender Rhodes which is essential to the Magma sound.

I first heard this recording of MDK about 3 years ago, having already seen Magma play live at Queen Elizabeth Hall in, I think, January 2003 when I didn't know any of their stuff. I suppose having seen them live gave me the advantage of having an idea of what to expect from their music and having recognised Christian Vander as a drummer of staggering skill and a musician who has always remained true to his own vision. Also the sheer conviction that was evident in the performances of all of the band members made a lasting impression on me. What can I say? - they really mean it. However, I can't pretend that on the first few listens I recognised MDK for the work of genius I now believe it to be. I liked what I thought of then as the over-the-top pomposity of the piece, particularly the choral singing, and the constant hypnotic pulse of the keyboard part that runs through the whole piece and really draws you in. It was another 4 months or so of repeated listens to this, and other Magma recordings, before Vander's true genius began to dawn on me. Even now, it's hard for me to say exactly what that is. I love strange and complex music, but this is not the strangest or the most complex by any means. I just find myself coming back to it time and time again and each time there's still more to get from it. I have heard Magma's music described as "devotional" music and I think, maybe, that captures the essence of Magma better than any deconstruction. Christian Vander has said - not when talking about this piece, but it applies equally well to almost any of his music - that he wants people to go into raptures when they hear it. Certainly the repeated themes work like a mantra and can send you into a trancelike state. From its dark, ominous introduction and aggressive Germanic themes, MDK gradually transforms into a joyous, celebratory freak-out that leaves me feeling uplifted every time I hear it. This is celestial music indeed.

The fact that the vocal parts are all written in the Kobaien language is important. As far as I have been able to discover, Kobaien is not really a language at all in the sense of each word having particular meanings and the thing being translatable as a whole. Vander usually explains that the words just come to him as they are and, although he will sometimes give particular meanings to individual words, it is more about the sound of the words being right for the music. For me, this is part of what takes the importance of MDK beyond what could have been achieved if the vocal parts were written in any recognised language. It makes the piece more purely musical and above ordinary, earthly concerns. It seems to be the best way to address the Big Questions of human existence.

Vander's aims seem to be higher than those of your average and even most of your above average musicians. It is not essential, as far as I am concerned, to look too closely into the concept of the planet of Kobaia etc to gain a profound appreciation of Magma's music. Particularly as this was abandoned on later albums anyway. What is essential, in my opinion, is a sense of Vander's absolute commitment to his musical and spiritual ideals. Whatever they may actually be, is not so much the point. The point is that his music is an expression of them and this is what really comes through.

Despite the above, I do have my gripes about this particular recording. It is by no means the definitive recording of MDK. Although the cymbals and hi-hat cut through well enough, the rest of the drumkit is way too quiet. Vander is the best drummer I have ever seen and that I am even aware of; and I don't say this lightly. His skill is exceptional and he is able to be endlessly inventive; he can somehow manage to communicate life, death and matters of great cosmic significance with a well-placed fill, a single snare stroke or an almost impossibly light touch on a cymbal. The earlier studio recording, Mekanik Kommandoh, has the advantage that you are able to hear Vander's drumming, but the vocals are not brilliantly recorded and the Choir of the Stockhaus Orchestra that was drafted in just isn't zeuhl enough. Also Jannick Top isn't playing bass on the earlier version, there is no brass section and the piece just doesn't seem quite fully realised.

For the best MDK experience, you have to look to the live versions. For a start, the drumming is very clearly audible on all of the live versions I have heard. Whilst 1975's Theatre du Taur is a good quality live recording, the version of MDK on it suffers from not having enough vocalists to sing all the parts; the same goes for 1976's Opera de Reims. I never saw Magma during their1970s heyday - I was at primary school then - so I can only speculate here, but I wonder if MDK was ever performed to its true potential before the retrospective concerts at Paris Olympia in 1980. This live version of MDK is available on the double album Retrospectiw I-II and it kicks ass. Klaus Blasquiz and Stella Vander are accompanied by 3 additional female vocalists. Vander himself sings some parts in his wonderful falsetto (which also appears on the studio version of MDK). There is no brass section but that is made up for with synth brass. There are 2 keyboard players, 2 guitars and a violin. Bernard Paganotti plays bass and he is an absolute virtuoso; better than Jannick Top for my money if you are talking about sheer skill and dexterity. Didier Lockwood's violin solo in the middle section is certainly worth a listen. This is a really good version of MDK and you also get an excellent version of Theusz Hamtaahk on the other disc.

For me, however, the definitive version of MDK has to be the one on Theusz Hamtaahk Trilogie au Trianon, a live recording of Magma's 30th anniversary concert in Paris in 2000. There are 6 vocalists in total, 3 male, 3 female and a brass section. The core band is largely the same as the current line up comprising drums, bass, guitar, keyboards and four vocalists. Philipe Bussonet may be the best bass player Magma has ever had, although older Magma fans tend to disagree with this view. James MacGaw is an brilliant guitarist, but I have to say I'm not so keen on his solo here as his style doesn't seem to fit in that well. Fortunately, his solos have become much more Magma since then. Keyboard player Emmanuel Borghi is some kind of zeuhl machine in the most positive and complimentary sense. I'm reliably informed that if you were to cut him in half, you would find he has the Magma logo running all the way through him. Of course, the great thing about buying this version of MDK is that you get the whole of the trilogy. Although MDK may be a good place to start ,Theusz Hamtaahk and Wurdah Itah are at least equal to it and I would say better in their different ways; but I'm not going to go into that now.

Finally, if you are going to buy the studio version of MDK on CD, it's better to get it on Magma's own Seventh label rather than on Charly or Tomato or any other label as Christian Vander apparently doesn't get any money in royalties from them and I gather he isn't fantastically well-off.

Although I don't think this the best version of MDK available, I am giving it 5 stars because it's certainly a masterpiece nonetheless and essential listening. It was my initial path into the world of Magma and, if it worked for me, then I'm quite sure it can do the same for anyone else.