Fireside Chat

Magma

Seventh Records, Paris

Led by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, the Paris-based Magma was, in their way, perhaps the ultimate progressive rock group. The son of a jazz pianist, Vander initially followed in his father's footsteps, modeling his technique on the work of John Coltrane alum Elvin Jones and starting his career with a number of jazz and R&B outfits. He took a turn for the more absurd however when he formed Magma. Inspired by a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him the band tells the story of a group of people fleeing a doomed Earth to settle on the planet Kobaa. Remarkably most of this is told in a Vander's invented language, Kobaan, in which most lyrics are sung. Chart success was not forthcoming, but the music itself was innovative and adventurous and the legacy defies any of the standard and convenient classifications of rock, operating instead in a realm of its own creation and it still lies in wait to be discovered by new converts... you perhaps? In this slightly more unusual Fireside Chat our host delves into the deeper themes of pain, peace and love... in French!