01	Kohntark (Part 1)						15:31
	02	Kohntark (Part 2 )						16:06
	03	Kobah						06:25
	04	Lihns						04:55
	05	Hhai						08:53
	06	Mekanik Zain						18:23

Decal CD Charly 18 (P) 1978

Live Kohntark (aka HHAI Live)

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Release Notes
Utopia CYL2-1245 (2LP) 1974 [France]
Utopia SPC-002 (2LP) 1974 [Euro?]
Utopia DUTS-001 (2LP) 1974 [UK]
Tomato TOM 2-7008 (2LP) 1978 [USA]
Seventh REX XI (2CD) 1988 [France]
Tomato 2696082 (CD) 1989 [USA]

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Songs
1. Kohntark (Part 1) C.Vander 15:44
2. Kohntark (Part 2) C.Vander 16:16
3. Emehnteht-Re C.Vander (Seventh 2CD Only) 8:07
4. Hhai C.Vander 8:41
5. Kobah C.Vander 6:23
6. Lihns C.Vander 5:51
7. Da Zeuhl Wortz Mekanik (CD Only) C.Vander (Seventh 2CD Only) 6:25
8. Mekanik Zain C.Vander 19:17


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Members
Christian Vander Drums
Klaus Blasquiz Vocals
Stella Vander Vocals
Bernard Paganotti Bass
Gabriel Federow Guitar
Didier Lockwood Violin
Benoit Widemann Keyboards
Jean Pierre Asseline Keyboards

Christian Vander Inside Design
Frank Owens Engineer
Georges Besner Inside Design
Giorgio Gomelski Production
Klaus Basquiz Ideograms & Cover Design (?)




Magma: Live/Hhai
Seventh Records (REX X, REX XI)
France 1975

Christian Vander, drums; Klaus Blasquiz, vocal; Stella Vander, vocal; Bernard Paganotti, bass; Gabriel Federow, guitar; Didier Lockwood, violin; Benoit Widemann, keyboards; Jean-Pol Aseline, keyboards

Bob Eichler:
This is an odd album for me - the first disc doesn't really move me very much, but the second disc is fantastic. On disc one, the half hour long "Kohntark" is a nice enough track, with several highlights as it oh-so-slowly builds itself up. But the whole track just sort of seems to slide by, without leaving much of an impression. Other people love it though, so it must just be me that it doesn't click with. But the track that I really don't get is "Emehnteht-Re". It seems like a staircase to nowhere - it spends eight minutes gradually building to what seems like it might be an interesting piece of music, but then it just ends before anything actually happens. Very anticlimactic.
The second CD is much better. The opening track, "Hhai", is a highlight of the Magma catalog, and this is a wonderful performance. The "Kobah" that follows is even catchier than the studio version, with the funky jazz aspects emphasized and the strange, avant parts removed. "Lihns" is a surprisingly delicate piece, with relaxing organ playing, chiming bells and "cling clong" vocals. It builds up a little bit, but never really gets aggressive before cutting off suddenly around the five minute mark (or is that just my copy? The track listing says the song is supposed to be six minutes long). In sharp contrast, the remainder of the disc is dominated by material from the MDK album, which immediately kicks off with a much harsher and more aggressive sound, and builds into a frenzy of astounding high-speed fusion soloing. And the ending will make you wonder how human beings can possibly sing that fast. Must be heard to be believed.
As many people have suggested, this is probably the best place to start with Magma. I've played some tracks for people who didn't think they'd like Magma, and they were surprised by how accessible this album is.

Dominique Leone:
While a great many bands from the 70s released double-live LPs, very few can claim that their live albums matched the quality of their studio releases, and even fewer can claim that their best album was live. Magma has that right. The eccentric French prog band, led by drummer Christian Vander, thrived in front of an audience, in the moment, when they were free to follow the course of their music without the boundaries set forth by the sides of a record.
The music of this album is actually atypical for what many remember the band: martial, relentless rhythm stomps, operatic howling, bombastic horn races. Here, they expose more fully than on any previous release their jazz-rock backgrounds, and subtle, masterful musicality. The first disc is mainly comprised of one of their great long works, Kohntarkosz. Beginning with the cry, "Hamatai!", the band launches an epic with many movements, colors, and moods. Perhaps most surprising is their ease with flowing, impressionistic soundscapes. Vander has stated that when artists in the mid-70s (such as Mike Oldfield) began to borrow his ideas, he was forced to come with a new type of music. Kohntarkosz was the fruit if his new labors, and the version on this album is definitive. Great melodic, eclectic prog, with hints of fusion as well.
The second disc is made mainly of shorter tracks, and a section of another Magma epic, Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh. The highlight is the brilliant fusion-romp, "Hhai." The track begins with Vander's own warbly-operatic soliloquy. It explodes into a high-energy 6/8 fireball with great guitar/violin interplay, and vocals by Vander, Stella Vander (his wife), and Klaus Blasquiz. Elsewhere, "Kobah" is actually "Kobaia" (mistitled during the original printing) from the band's first album. Heard here is a vastly different version; more squirrely, funky, fusionesque than on the first album. The band's improvisational skills shine on the last two tracks, which come from MDK. Didier Lockwood (despite constant Jean-Luc Ponty comparisons) emerges is perhaps the band's best solist, while Bernard Paganotti's bass solo at the beginning of the last track became infamous for its increasingly distorted sound.
This is an exciting album with many climaxes. If I were new to the band, I might start here for a great introduction to their overall plan. Of course, MDK is probably where they earned their reputation, but their live show earned them a place among the greats of prog.

Sean McFee:
Considered by many as Magma's best album, but I wonder if this is due to its accessibility. Live shows Magma at their closest to a fusion sound, with two people on keyboards and a *lot* of Didier Lockwood on violin. While the music is strong, it is not what I would call representative of the band's sound. It's an interesting album in that the sound they use is closer to what would follow on Udu Wudu and Attahk, yet they are performing older material. Of course this is still undeniably the Zeuhl sound; it's just been hit with some fusion and extra kung-fu grip.
The version of Kohntarkosz on the album is suitably majestic, but I could have done with slightly less violin dominance. For me Magma is driven by the bass, drums and vocals, and as a result this arrangement isn't as satisfying as the studio version. Much better suited to this line-up is the tremendous "Hhai" that opens the second CD. Tremendous energy is built and released as this number hurtles towards conclusion. The revisiting of "Kobaia" from their first album is spirited and fun. "Lihns" sounds like something that would end up on Attahk. And of course there are the excerpts and variations on MDK, which are no substitute for the whole thing but still of great interest to those who like the studio version.
While I disagree with the contention that this is Magma's greatest hour, it might well serve as the best introduction or ease-in thereto. On that count it comes highly recommended.

Joe Mcglinchey:
I think this album is a bonafide prog classic (though I only have the one-CD version; the better issue is a 2CD release), and I don't give such high praise to just anything. This was my first venture into Magma territory, and I bought Live pretty much on a lark. I wasn't overwhelmed initially, thinking it sounded like a basic Red-era King Crimson mutant. But soon, upon repeated plays, I was hooked, and Magma, with its operatic, gutteral vocals, growling bass, and celestial Fender Rhodes, soon became a musical obsession. Magma certainly isn?t a band for everyone, and as Chris [Dixon, of prog.net] said, some of your friends will probably be giving you weird looks, but I would recommend listening to the tracks in this order when you are first starting out: "Hhai", "Lihns", "Kobah", and then, when you are ready, go for the biggie, "Kohntarkosz". "Mekanik Zain" is pretty much for those into the jamming thing. Masterful musicianship throughout (and Christian Vander's drumwork is perfect), and powerful, beautiful songs.

Brandon Wu:
I don't own a Magma album that I dislike, but this is the only one I have that I like almost all the way through (okay, well maybe excepting Wurdah Itah). Even MDK has its moments that I'm less than thrilled with. This one, on the other hand, I find almost uniformly excellent. The ensemble here is lean, mean, and incredibly tight. Didier Lockwood's contributions on violin are a curious variation from the studio instrumentations, but I think he fits in well. The performance of "Kohntark" absolutely burns - Vander's drumming on this release, aided by crisp production, is some of his best work I've heard. On the second disc, my two favorites are "Kobah", a catchy, almost funky jazzish tune that I like to put on mix tapes to spice things up, and "Mekanik Zain", an extended jam taken from a performance of MDK that features some of the most insanely fast playing and singing you'll ever hear (not to mention one of the ugliest - in a good way - bass solos ever put to record). Fabulous stuff, and while it may be less "zeuhlish" and more fusionish than most of Magma's output, I think it's some of their best work.




Tracklist:
1. Kohntark (Part One) - 15:45
2. Kohntark (Part Two) - 16:14
3. Emehnteht-Re - 8:10
disc 1 time 40:09

1. Hhai - 9:20
2. Kobah - 6:36
3. Lihns - 4:55
4. Da Zeuhl Wortz Mekanik - 6:14
5. Mekanik Zain - 18:57
disc 2 time 46:02

total time 86:11



Magma Live [Tomato]
Date of Release May 11, 1990

Magma Live has been reissued several times, as a double LP, a single CD, and finally a double CD. The Tomato release from 1989 is the single CD, and it's actually the best of the three, offering high-quality sound (Tomato releases are notably well-mastered), but with a truncated playing time that condenses the set down to its essentials while ignoring the less interesting material. One of this forbidding group's most accessible albums, this set was recorded in June 1975 in Magma's hometown of Paris. Interestingly, although live albums (especially by progressive groups) are notorious for their endless wanky noodling, Magma Live actually is clearer and more concise than many of the band's studio records. It's still impossible to fully comprehend without some grounding in the band's strange mythology, but musically, the powerful - and, it must be said, rocking - instrumental passages have the tricky finesse of the best fusion (Didier Lockwood's skittering violin leaves Jean-Luc Ponty in the dust), the raw vitality of King Crimson's 1973-1974 lineup, and the aggressiveness of Henry Cow. Even the quieter moments sound explosive. Those looking for an easy entry into Magma's strange but occasionally beautiful world should check this out. - Stewart Mason

1. Kohntark, Pt. 1 (Vander) - 15:44
2. Kohntark, Pt. 2 (Vander) - 16:16
3. Kobah (Vander) - 6:23
4. Lihns (Vander) - 5:51
5. Hhai (Vander) - 8:41
6. Mekanik Zain (Vander) - 19:17

Didier Lockwood - Violin
Christian Vander - Drums
Benoit Widemann - Keyboards
Jean Paul Asseline - Keyboards
Klaus Blasquiz - Vocals
George Chkiantz - Engineer
Gabriel Federow - Guitar
Giorgio Gomelsky - Producer
Frank Owens - Engineer
Bernard Paganotti - Bass
Stella Vander - Vocals

Tomato 269608
1990 CD Tomato 269608





Magma - Magma Live

Member: Prog Owl

One album can't even begin to tell the whole story with Magma, but if you need a good starting point, Magma-Live is most certainly a great one.

Featuring a lineup of twin keyboards (a delight for Fender Rhodes piano fans), angry insistent fuzz bass, Christian Vander's maniacal drumming, nearly hidden guitar, Didier Lockwood's soaring violin and male/female dual lead vocals, Magma takes it's enraptured audience on a wild ride through space, to that mythical world of Kobaia (for the complete Kobaia saga, consult the GEPR entry on Magma).

We open up with the relentless force of "Khontark" a 30 minute epic piece that never gets tedious, as it offers so much contrast between sections and lots of colorful contributions from everyone (love those spacey e-pianos and that cool fuzz-bass), and it fittingly ends with an explosive climax!! "Kobah" by stark contrast is a funky, joyous little number, imagine Herbie Hancock's Headhunters with male and female Klingon lead vocalists! "Lihns" (Kobaian for rain)is a haunting, gradually building piece with a vocal/rhythmic pattern that does indeed suggest a rainfall, Stella Vander's voice really gets highlighted to good effect here. "Hhai" is a marvel of layering and building from almost nothing, here is where vocalist Klaus Blasquiz takes the spotlight with his Klingon-like inflections and amazing range, the piece builds to a ferocious choral roar with C. Vander's insistent drumming underneath pushing it along. And we end with "Mekhanik Zain", an 18 minute rollercoaster ride starting with spacey keyboards and percussion supporting the meanest, nastiest, ugliest fuzz-bass solo you ever heard in your life (by Bernard Paganotti). From there, C. Vander comes in with a relentlessly fast and complex drum pattern that he keeps up for nearly the whole piece, it's a wonder his hands didn't fall off! From that point, the piece begins a trance like build with Didier Lockwood soaring over the top! Then the transition to a funky groove section where the singers come in and just amaze us with their tightness and range, it blows my head how they were able to stay together singing such intricate and speedy material like this! And the band's trademark building to a ferocious explosive end is in full view here, and the audience roars with amazement and delight.

This again is a great starting point for anyone who is curious about Magma, but may be put off by the dark murky intensity of the earlier albums at first, or the Kobaian* singing (some describe it as being like Klingon Opera). Here, the playing side of Magma is more at the forefront. Get ready to blast off on a wild musical ride!!

*Kobaian: The band's invented language, which is an amalgamation of Dutch, Hungarian, French, scat singing and blues shouting