| Magma are a French prog-rock band formed in 1969. Like many prog-rock bands, Magma created concept albums that used mythology and fantasy as themes. In the case of Magma however, they created a whole other world. In their self-titled first album released in 1970, the band told the story of leaving a doomed Earth for the planet Kobaïa. The founder of the band Christian Vander went so far as to invent a language, Kobaïan, in which most lyrics are sung. Many songs done in a choral style, influenced by classical composers like Carl Orff. Vander was also very much influenced by jazz musician John Coltrane, which can be heard in much of the bands work. |
Over the bands out-put Vander built an elaborate mythology around the planet Kobaïa, many fans learnt the language to better appreciate the music the band produced. The language is a phonetic based one, to fulfil the vocalised expression of musicality Vander was looking for in his compositions.
A spin-off genre of music was developed based on the mythology and language of Kobaïa. Zeuhl (Kobaïan for "celestial") music began in the mid-70s, propelled by solo and side-projects of members of Magma. The genre is categorised by prog-rock and rock opera elements mixed with alien sounding avant-garde themes, marching songs, choral motifs, throbbing industrial repetitive bass beats dropping into eerie melodically sweeping trance style break-downs.
With all of this other-worldly weirdness, it's hardly surprising that surrealist film director Alejandro Jodorowsky wanted to use the band as part of his epic movie production of Frank Herbert's Dune novel. He chose Magma to write the theme music that would accompany the scenes of the Harkonnen planet. Read about the failed attempt to bring Dune to the screen in the article The Greatest Film Never Made: Jodorowsky's Dune.
A spin-off genre of music was developed based on the mythology and language of Kobaïa. Zeuhl (Kobaïan for "celestial") music began in the mid-70s, propelled by solo and side-projects of members of Magma. The genre is categorised by prog-rock and rock opera elements mixed with alien sounding avant-garde themes, marching songs, choral motifs, throbbing industrial repetitive bass beats dropping into eerie melodically sweeping trance style break-downs.
With all of this other-worldly weirdness, it's hardly surprising that surrealist film director Alejandro Jodorowsky wanted to use the band as part of his epic movie production of Frank Herbert's Dune novel. He chose Magma to write the theme music that would accompany the scenes of the Harkonnen planet. Read about the failed attempt to bring Dune to the screen in the article The Greatest Film Never Made: Jodorowsky's Dune.
