Founded in 1969 by drummer, pianist, composer and singer Christian Vander
(himself from a family of renowned musicians), Magma, which has been classified
as a member of the jazz family, then jazz rock, then progressive rock, is
definitely on the bangs of the French musical landscape. Expressing themselves
in an invented language (kobaïen), the group was profoundly influenced by
saxophonist John Coltrane. After numerous personnel changes (more than a hundred
instrumentalists are thought to have passed through its ranks), including some
of the country's greatest musicians (Didier L...