MAGMA RETROSPEKTIW I – II – III plus Bonus Track (3CD) Remastered Edition Now Available!

Featuring bonus track of more than 15 minutes – the first studio recording of the song “Rétrovision”!

It was at the Olympia in June 1980 that the 10th anniversary of Magma was celebrated during three memorable evenings.

This retrospective, bringing together most of the musicians who were part of the group, saw the light of day in the form of 2 albums, one double, Retrospektïw 1/2 the other single, Retrospektïw 3 which was, despite its numbering, published in first. Three titles make up the menu of this Retrospektïw 3: “Retrovision,” a long piece in the continuity of the spirit of the music of the album Attahk, where, on a hellish train, the voices of Stella Vander, Guy Khalifa and Maria Popkiewicz display an astonishing ease, “Hhaï,” in a supercharged version where the Lockwood/Paganotti/Widemann trio performs wonders, and finally “La Dawotsin” where, in a much calmer register, the voice of Christian Vander captivates by its mastery and its depth sensitivity.

A bonus of more than 15 minutes appears on this reissue, it is the first studio recording of the song “Rétrovision,” a pre-production demo for a studio album made in January 1980. Finally, “Rétrovision” will never exist in a studio version.

Recorded as Retrospektïw 3 during the evenings of the Olympia in June 1980, Retrospektïw 1/2 is a fundamental album insofar as it finally presents “Theusz Hamtaahk,” the first movement of the trilogy of the same name, of which we already knew the second movement, “Ẁurdah Ïtah,” as well as the third, “Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh.”

A piece performed on stage since 1974, “Theusz Hamtaahk” waited years before being engraved for eternity, because Christian Vander wanted each note to be beautiful, magical, essential and definitive. It is with the same respect for the music that he also offers us on this double album a magnificent version of “Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh,” a version which allows itself two great moments with the hallucinating improvisations of Bernard Paganotti and Didier Lockwood. Klaus Blasquiz, who did not appear on the Retrospektïw 3 album, provides lead vocals this time.

Without a doubt, Magma has left the legacy of constantly evolving music, which defies all standards and connivance of rock, evolving in a universe of their own creation.

AVAILABLE JANUARY 25, 2021

To pre-order: https://www.seventhrecords.com/en/magma-19/magma-retrospektiw-i-ii-iii-bonus-1303.html

For more information:
Magma’s official website: www.magmamusic.org
Seventh Records: www.seventhrecords.com

MAGMA BOURGES 1979 (2CD) Remastered Edition Now Available!

This particular concert stands out as a moment of grace, partly due to its extreme tension and the risks taken collectively, which the audience still reminisces of to this day.

While chosen for their rich and original musical content, rather than strictly technical qualities per se, these archives are a testament to the astounding talent of cult band Magma during its 50 years of career. In addition to the remastering, the original tape, which had suffered before being found, has been restored and reworked here. Recorded in Bourges in 1979, this concert stands out as a moment of grace, partly due to its extreme tension and the risks taken collectively, which the audience still reminisces of to this day. And if all the musicians offer, as usual, their energy ever so in synch with their worldly reputation, AKT 15 holds a special place in the band’s history, documenting this particular period for which we have very few testimonies. All earthly fans and more recent amateurs will, without a doubt, take great pleasure in (re)discovering that exceptional performance

Magma during the time of this recording: 
Klaus Blasquiz – vocal  
Stella Vander – vocal, Fender piano 
Maria Popkiewicz – vocal 
Liza Deluxe – vocal 
Jean-Luc Chevalier – guitar, bass 
André Hervé – piano Fender, synthétiseur 
Michel Hervé – bass  
Christian Vander – drums 
René “Stundehr” Garber – tenor saxophone

Track List: 
RETROVISION 
THE LAST SEVEN MINUTES 
URGON GORGO 
KORUSZ XXVI 
HHAI 
NONO 
MEKANIK DESTRUKTIW KOMMANDOH

AKT 15V2

To purchase: https://www.seventhrecords.com/en/magma-19/magma-bourges-1979-2cd-remastered-1050.html

For more information: 
Magma’s official website: www.magmamusic.org 
Seventh Records: www.seventhrecords.com

French Music Legends Magma To Release New Album “Zëss” On Limited Edition Gold Colored Vinyl

Limited edition of 1500 numbered copies on 180 gram audiophile gold colored vinyl

Magma’s critically acclaimed newest album Zëss is a 38-minute musical work by Christian Vander. Composed in 1970, Zëss had long been plagued by its incompleteness, its recording was deferred for years. Four decades after its first draft, the work has finally been recorded in an orchestral version that gives it both its true dreamlike dimension and its transcending power. The first public performance took place in Bourges in 1979. It is the last piece in a series of unfinished compositions from the 1970s. During the last 15 years, they finished and released all these different pieces. Zëss is described as a work that touches the philosophical domain by its treatment of the idea of nothingness and its evocation of the theme of time.

Magma turned fifty this year, catapulting into the very exclusive circle of bands who for five decades have never laid down their instruments, nor turned down their volume! The oldest French band still in existence has always played at full sail, never yielding to the siren song of passing trends. The fiercely original music has tirelessly adhered to the highest artistic standards while still reaching a wide audience of all ages.

Zëss is available for pre-order as a limited edition of 1500 numbered copies on gold-colored vinyl. The package includes a 4-page booklet. The vinyl edition will be released on September 20, 2019.

180 gram audiophile vinyl
Brand new album
Gatefold sleeve with UV spot varnish
4-page booklet
Limited edition of 1500 numbered copies on gold colored vinyl

More information about this release: 
https://www.musiconvinyl.com/catalog/magma/zess

To pre-order: 
smarturl.it/MagmaZessVinyl
https://www.seventhrecords.com/en/magma-19/zess-1289.html

Magma’s official website:https://www.magmamusic.org/en/home/

French Music Legends Magma To Release New Album “Zëss” June 28th!

Much to the excitement of Magma fans worldwide, the legendary French ensemble will be releasing a new album titled “Zëss” on June 28, 2019! The CD is now available for pre-order and features a 40-page deluxe CD book which includes all the lyrics to the album.

“Zëss”—the name itself is sharp as a blade, slender as a cut, sudden like a darting meteor, fast as it is acute. While the inspiration that permeates “Zëss” comes from time immemorial, a first draft emerged in 1977. After being gradually completed, the piece debuted in concert in the spring of 1979. It became a staple of Magma’s repertoire until it was set aside in 1983.

The music itself seems born out of the night in order to transfigure it. The first chords ring out in the dim dawn, then rise and cast their great shadows against the day. Already their orb suggests the oval shape of an ancient stadium set in the cosmic darkness. It is an immense celestial arena, an agora where all the voices of the universe resonate. Everyone has assembled for a last celebration, a gathering of the innumerable into a single point where everything comes together for the Day of Oblivion.

“Zëss” had long been plagued by its incompleteness and its recording was deferred for years. Four decades after its first draft, the work has finally been recorded in an orchestral version that gives it both its true dreamlike dimension and its transcending power. For “Zëss” is above all the visionary reflection of an immemorial dream haunting the most obscure part of our souls.

“Zëss” treads a line between a vital overflowing and the edges of the unlivable. It is an incandescent and heady oratorio where consciousness questions its other side in a measureless journey. “Zëss” indicates the ultimate reversal out of which bursts a beyond of music that only music can reach. Magma’s whole story condensed…

BEHIND THE SCENE OF THE RECORDING:

PRE ORDER NOW – AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE ON JUNE 28th – AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT SEVENTH RECORDS ON JUNE 14th – 40 PAGES DELUXE CD BOOK – INCLUDES ALL LYRICS 

For more information: https://www.seventhrecords.com/en/magma-19/zess-1284.html

Magma “AKT XVIII – Marquee – Londres 17 mars 1974” 2CD Now Available!

n the ongoing series of rare live Magma recordings, “AKT XVIII – Marquee – Londres 17 mars 1974” 2CD is now available on Seventh Records!

At the time of this concert, “Köhntarkösz” was still in its phase of elaboration, although the recording of the studio album began only 2 months later. Large sequences were still not composed, others were borrowed from “Köhntarkösz Anteria” and were taken away, then used later in the “K. A” recording of 2004. In a similar way, “Theusz Hamtaahk” did not have its final shape and its coda was cut soon after.

ZÜND 1
KÖHNTARKÖSZ (Christian Vander)
(Work in progress)
SO›ILOÏ (Christian Vander)
KMX B XII opus 7 (Jannick Top)
SONS ET CHORUS DE BATTERIE (Christian Vander)
(PTAH)

ZÜND 2
THEUSZ HAMTAAHK (Christian Vander)
(Work in progress)
MËKANÏK DËSTRUKTÏ› KÖMMANDÖH (Christian Vander)

KLAUS BLASQUIZ, vocal, percussion
CLAUDE OLMOS, guitar
MICHEL GRAILLIER, Fender Rhodes, keyboard
GÉRARD BIKIALO, Fender Rhodes
JANNICK TOP, bass
CHRISTIAN VANDER, drums

To purchase Magma “AKT XVIII – Marquee – Londres 17 mars 1974” 2CD: https://www.seventhrecords.com/en/magma-19/marquee-club-1974-1276.html

Magma’s official website: http://www.magmamusic.org

Magma press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com