magma 2009-02-12 paris (F) casino de paris audience recording by issehn source sony ECM MS 957 ->edirol09 transfer by issehn lineage cdr-> EAC->wav->flac(8) i did not alter anything .. this is how issehn gave it to me 01 untitled new piece (aborted) 02 untitled new piece 03 Felicite Thosz 04 Emehnteth Re 05 De Futura 06 -encore noise- 07 Ballade from magmasystems report on the paris run .... "In a portent of things to come, Magma also had technical issues at the start. They opened the concert with a brand new piece, only to have Bussonet’s amplifier shut off after the first few chords. Vander signaled for the band to stop, and Bussonet took a few minutes to rectify the situation. The first piece is unnamed as of now. To my ears, it sounds as if Christian Vander has been listening to a lot of Steve Reich. Two main themes play off of each other in this composition. First, there is a Reich-like ostinato pattern that is played by the vibes, guitar,and electric piano. This is overlaid by a more Magma-like vocal line that is sung by Herve Aknin, the new vocalist who recently replaced Antoine Paganotti. As these two themes move in and out of phase, the drums and bass punctuate the music with a series of intermittent crashes. This goes on for about ten minutes, building up to a climax. The second piece was a real snoozer for me. It is a 25 minute piece named Felicite Thosz, and is reminiscent of the vocal-intensive Magma offshoot called Offering. To my ears, it sounded like a combination of Magma playing Christmas songs with Magma doing a mouthwash commercial. There were lots of vocal solos and harmonies and sleigh bells … and for me, a reason to catch up on my sleep. A bit of promise in the last section with a Russian-dance theme, ala Wurdah Itah, but no real punch. Polite applause from the audience at the end. The third piece was Emehnteht-Re, which is third piece of the Magma trilogy that includes Kohntarkosz and Theusz Hamtaahk. It is an hour-long piece that unites several of Magma’s previously-recorded themes. I first saw Magma perform this piece in Brooklyn at Club Europa in June of 2007. Since then, Vander has reworked the piece in various minor ways. The piece now seems more coherent to me. The piece starts out with Rinde from the Attahk album, transitioning into Hhai, transitioning into Zombies, and ending with a dirge that represents the funeral of an Egyptian king. The Zombies section is supposed to be the atom bomb in the piece. About 10 minutes of unadulterated Zeuhl madness, and is supposed to be the centerpiece for Vander’s remarkable drumming. For the first night, Vander seemed rather subdued. I am not sure if it is his age catching up to him or the tendonitis that has been bothering him for the past few years. E-R was followed by the cacophonous De Futura. This is a Jannick Top composition that appeared on the Magma album, Udu Wudu, in 1976. When it was recorded, it was a sparse but rhythmically driven piece that only included bass, drums, occasional synthesizer, and growling vocals. However, for the 3 concerts, it was played by the total combined forces of Magma and Infernal Machina. 15 people on the stage,including 3 drummers, two guitars, two basses, two pianists, and 5 vocalists. All I can say is “What a mess!” ........... The performance of De Futura was extremely sloppy, as confirmed by a lot of the opinions I heard the next day at lunch. As an encore, Magma finished with Ballade, which is Vander’s moving tribute to his idol, John Coltrane. A beautiful piece with lots of rich harmonies, and featuring Vander doing his famous scat-singing in Kobaian. thank you magmasystems.. uploaded to dime by hanwaker 2009-03