EXMAGMA

One of the strangest and most unique sounding bands to emerge from the German Krautrock scene from early 1970s Germany, EXMAGMA was so strange that nobody can still even agree exactly what genre they played! Definitely described as Krautrock, the trio from Stuttgart is just as often called jazz-rock, jazz-fusion or even Canterbury Kraut! Oh my indeed! That's exactly why they are on the Nurse With Wound List for literally standing out like a sore thumb even amongst the weirdest of the weird lurking on every street corner back in those days!

This trio consisted of two Germans and an American ex-pat. Andy Goinder played both guitar and bass as well as throwing in some saxophone, tape effects and vocals however this debut is pretty much exclusively instrumental. Also on board was Thomas Baluff who played keyboards, flute, any strange effects and also uttered some vocals here and there. The odd man out was American born Fred Braceful who moved to Germany and got his start with Wolfgang Dauner in his trippy Kraut-jazz band Et Cetera and since Braceful was a jazz drummer by training his percussive contributions surely added the jazz creds to EXMAGMA.

The trio actually started out simply as Magma but once they discovered that some strange French band had already existed with that name, they immediately started to refer to themselves as EXMAGMA and the name stuck as its official moniker which shows the quirky sense of humor that these guys had and how could they not have a sense of whimsy with such oddball and oft goofy musical pieces that are somewhat of a mix of the most spacey Krautrock imaginable along with a free jazz improvisation sound which doesn't only come out in the drumming but also in the occasional fretless bass run as well as the references to Soft Machine and even Miles Davis' most out there moments in his early fusion years.

The music is about as freeform and crazy as it gets. Balluff gets some of the most demented tones out of his keys and knew how to eke out the most alienating effects. The band's playful rhythms and oddball time signatures only added to the bizarreness of it all. The trio seemed to relish in finding new ways of making it all sound completely out of the ordinary with not only freaky jamming segments but just plain bonkers moments that seemed like they were more alien than the Kobaians who beat them to their original namesake. Whatever the case, these guys out-tripped most anything that was in the world of Krautrock, free jazz or anything really. The five instrumental compositions on board each drip with their own freewheeling persona with each instrumentalist finding unique ways to torture his instrument of choice and for a trio they had plenty to work with.

The band released two albums in the 1970s, this self-titled debut and the following "Goldball" of which this is by far the strangest of the strange. A third album was slated to be released in 1975 but didn't find a public debut until 2006 and is considered the most accessible of the three. The first two albums have never actually seen a release onto CD at least independently but a combo compilations titled "Exmagma & Goldball" was released in 2003 and that's how i obtained both original albums as a two-fer. There is really nothing like this one. Never was and never will be and that's true even within EXMAGMA's own three album run. This one is unapologetically free in every true meaning of the word and yet i find it to be one of the most compelling and mesmerizing psychedelic albums of the entire 1970s.

While it may seem like pure gibberish and chaos to the casual listener, the music is actually on a whole other level of virtuosity in how the band members showcase the utmost extreme expressions of musicality captured through randomness, improvisation, jamming and seamlessly marry the world of psychedelic Krautrock with free jazz, electronic avant-garde and Canterbury whimsy under one roof. This sort of unique concoction was what the hippie movement was created for but while many were satisfied with simple psychedelic pop, these real maestros were out playing in the stars. EXMAGMA was really a trio of three geniuses that for a brief moment collaborated and had the party of a lifetime. This is especially true on this uncompromising debut. This is one of my favorite albums of all time. It captures my soul like few other free spirit albums of this era. It is literally like hearing a sample of God's personal collection.

EXMAGMA's final album was a double album recorded in 1975 but the label refused to release it so it's an archival release that saw the light of day in 2006. I really like this band, love their first two records but man this is another animal completely. It really comes across as a bunch of left overs, it's so all over the place. The fact it's experimental and avant doesn't help me appreciate it either. I know several people who rate this as their best but I just don't get much out of it especially at 69 minutes in length. Lots of humour that goes too far in my opinion and unlike the first two albums not very coherent. This is something fans of maybe FAUST would get a lot out of I suppose but then again this is different than them. 3 stars is all I got.

Was there anyone in the early 70's that did NOT look sinister and creepy?

In terms of appearances the 70's was the most appalling decade in living memory. No-one looks good hidden beneath acres of facial hair, wearing flares and that soul sapping mixture of orange and brown that everyone seemed to favour.

This album is a bit like listening to an episode of 'Kojak'. It's entirely instrumental and displays the usual guitar, drums and bass approach with some discordant keyboard screeches and whines thrown in, in an attempt to generate some interest.

Unfortunately it fails as a listening experience due to the randomness of everything that occurs. It sounds improvisational with no real sense of direction or coherence. Maybe if I drank 8 pints of beer I might be a bit more lenient towards it. There will be some folk out there in prog-land who'll like this messy, irritating album due to it's extremely 70's vibe. There are some awful wailing tuneless saxophones on the final track 'Trippin' With Birds'. This is played over the top of some rhythmless drums and random keyboards and reminds me of some of the worst moments of 'Sun Ra' .

It's also poorly recorded with some of the flattest, tinniest sounds you'll here on any of the bands listed on this website.

As for me, by the end of this album, I feel like a dead cowboy draped over my saddle being brought into town on the back of a horse.

This lemon sounds more like rehearsal noodling to me. 6 years and dozens of tries have soured the milk, not sweetened it. Anything Conny Plank touched in the 70's turned to gold in my eyes, just like Bruce Dickinson. He's allowed one stinker, for me it's Goldball by fusion/experimental German trio Exmagma.

The only song that sports any substance is Habits. It still floats along, but there's structure and fury. Then comes the delightful Dance of the Crabs, all of 53 seconds.

I'd much rather spin Thirsty Moon's Blitz. At least the experiments there are interesting. A star and half rounded up to two on my scale. Poor sound and a silly cover round out this overrated pile.

Music you put on when you´re climbing trees

I think the story goes a bit like this: The band was initially named Magma, and upon finding out about Vander and his fellow Kobaians - they changed it to Exmagma. Says quite a bit about the mentality of this highly eclectic group...

This is Dadaism a la Frank Zappa, that just dabbles in muddy Krautrock waters. The music is all about having fun whilst reaching the boundaries of the musical universe, which is why this band - in my collection is filed under Kraut. There´s a Kosmische vibe going on here, it ´s just infused by the spirit of mad jazzy beats and saxophone tirades, that occasionally makes me think of those crazy Canterbury bands. One of my favorite things on this record is the drumming. Fred Braceful is actually an American that sort of seeped into the German scene, but you could easily be fooled though, because he swings with these guys like you wouldn´t believe - even when the music gets cacophonous and avant garde, which also happens quite frequently - he´s there battling it out with his German accomplices.

I talk a lot about drummers, who are able to keep things tight and rumbling yet still retaining that sloppy all over the place feel - and Fred is just my kind of guy. I´ve said it before and I´ll say it again: He can play with such a loose and effortless feel, that every now and again you wonder how on earth the guy manages to stay in an upright position and why in the blue hell he doesn´t fall off his chair. Then again he also sounds like a ton of wood dropped into a bathtub...

One of the most characteristic aspects of this debut is the organs, and if you´ve heard the new Norwegian fusion act Elephant9 and the way they wield the organs - then you´re not entirely off. Aggressive, snarling, heavy, psychedelic and distorted organs that most of the time sound like they are blasting through those old school speakers, where the artists had fiddled with the screws - or punched holes in the woofer to get that wild, blurry and messy sound.

Like I said, this is perfect for climbing trees, and if you ever come across those silly birds, that chirp like: Piuw Piuuuuuw pow PI Pow - then you might be on to the very essence of these guys - their inspiration so to speak. Like jazzy bebop - inter webbing different tonalities and rhythmic explosions - Exmagma utilizes the instrumentation similarly, but in a psychedelic and slightly more adventurous way( I still hear birds in that organ though).

If you are curious about the world of Kosmische Musik, but feel more at home in the jazzier realms of experimental music, then I wholeheartedly recommend this album and this band. You just need 2 things now: One of Exmagma´s albums and a fully grown oak tree.

Goldball at first sounds like a typical fusion album, perhaps with a bit of a funk influence, but soon enough it transforms into something a bit more interesting, with the sort of experimental, avant-garde features more associated with fellow German group Faust beginning to creep in. The overall impression is not a million miles away from the work being done by Henry Cow at around the same time, though with a bit more of an influence from American fusion bands as opposed to Canterbury jazz-psychedelia. This unique approach makes the album stand out from the fusion crowd - a trait vital when dealing with the explosion of fusion bands in the mid-1970s - but at the same time not all the experiments quite work to the same extent and it isn't the most consistent of albums.

This album has it's strong characteristic atmosphere of early 70-s: compositions there are almost all endless psychedelic jams, but differently from usual German krautrock, one of influential sources there is funk-jazz.

First album's part is mostly all funky groovy instrumentals, melting strong funk rhythm with keyboards based spacey/psych jazz rock. Second half is different and when less funky includes much more free jazz elements. In both cases, "rock" component is quite energetic and heavy sharp jazz-rock.

I have a mixed feeling to this album - from one hand I really like that funky groove in their psychedelic jamming, but from the other compositions all are raw and bulky, in fact - just jamming on the edge of noodles. Nice music for fans of such specific genre, but for me it's often sounds too raw, structureless and sometimes just openly kind of psychedelic rehearsals session.

Interesting album but far not for every taste.My rating is 3+.

Forget the 70's date, this is jazzrock/prog at its best. Well recorded and inventive playing. It's Krautrock but progressive & sounds like late Soft Machine, Mahavishnu, Jan Hammer, Passport, Guru Guru, some early Return to Forever, etc. But an emphasis on the rock elements. Great grooves and superior playing ability by the musicians. EXmagma is completely listenable in 2010 as anything current. This is the style of jazz rock that is still what everybody thinks is cool today for the genre. Odd time signatures. Inventive guitar playing, & classic keyboards like Rhodes lend a jazz feel at times. Really tasteful drumming too. A bit of Sax and some Mothers of Invention style musical moments. A bit experimental at times, but always with a groove. They were ahead of their time (and I just discovered them this year after 40 years of collecting good prog music.) The inventive song arrangements and construction leave you wondering where its going ...but it always goes there with a groove. Sometimes along the lines of Porcupine Tree's groove.

I as many others immediately assumed this was some sort of offshoot of Christian Vander's Magma, but this is completely different style of jazz rock. And no operatic singers with weird lyrics. Magma was French and this is German. But this a better album than some of Magma Lps. (altho there are some fierce grooves between drummer Vander & bassist Jannick Top on live recordings.) Why this band is called EXMAGMA is merely a fluke. Hard to find but definitely worth having as an essential in your prog rock collection. If you like the jazzier stuff Guru Guru did, this is right up your alley. Surprisingly good and modern sounding.

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Most fans prefer this sophomore release to their debut. The songs are more structured here with less experimental and avant moments (they still have those moments though). For me it really is a toss-up between the two. I like the ideas of the debut and how raw and crazy it is, but this one sounds better and is more melodic. Gotta love the album cover though (haha).

"Marilyn F. Kennedy" is led by bass and drums then the organ comes in ripping it up. "Dada" is more laid back with keys, drums and guitar. I like this. The tempo picks up before 2 minutes followed by a haunting calm. It picks up again with some fuzz this time. "Adventures With Long S. Tea" is a little heavier as drums pound in random patterns and organ and bass provide the base. Fuzz after 2 minutes to the end. "25 Two Seconds Before Sunrise" opens with sounds that build. I like the background organ. Psychedelic sounding guitar plays over top. Nice. Love the groove here. Speaking of groove "Groove Tango Wolperaiso" is up next and it opens with guitar as spacey sounds follow. Experimental sounds come in and are contrasted with the guitar. Sax late.

"Jam Factory For People Insane" actually has some vocals on it ! They're spoken at first then he sings as the sound gets fuller. Intricate drum work follows as the vocals stop. Some crazy vocals after 3 1/2 minutes. Cool song. "Habits" opens with laid back guitar and keys. Light drums join in. It builds. Settles before 2 minutes. The electric piano before 3 minutes is a nice touch. I really like the second half of this tune,it makes me think of Miles. "Dance Of The Crabs" is a short Jazzy tune. "Greetings To The Moroccan Farmers" has some samples and piano before a minute. Flute before 3 minutes and percussion. It sounds like a sheep after 3 1/2 minutes (haha). Piano is back. Not really any melody here just sounds and samples. Sax 6 minutes in. "Last But One Train To Amsterdam" is only a minute long but it's a good uptempo track.

A talented trio that more peole need to check out.

EXMAGMA were a trio out of Germany who played a brand of avant and experimental Jazz / Psychedelia. Someone described their music as sounding like EMBRYO playing XHOL CARAVAN songs.This is raw, trippy and would have fit in better if this was 1969 instead of 1973. The band was made up of two Germans and an American drummer who is incredible (they all are). Fred Braceful the drummer had been playing with the band ET CETERA but bolted when they started playing more Jazz flavoured music. SOFT MACHINE ("Third") is no doubt an influence as well with the distorted and Jazz flavoured tunes.

"The First Tune" is my favourite. Guitar and drums sounds to opens as the keyboards join in. Great sound here. A change 3 minutes in as we get keyboards, drums and fuzzed out bass. Organ then leads the way with more distortion. "Tonjes Dream Interuption" opens with bass and drums as the keyboards come in making some noise. A calm after 2 minutes with lots of atmosphere. "Interessante Ole" opens with organ as bass and light drums join in. The organ and bass really begin to dominate.

"Two Times" has some great fuzz 1 1/2 minutes in. "Trippin With Birds / Kudu / Horny" is the second side of the original LP and unlike the first this is live. It opens with the sound of lots of birds over this bubbling bed of sounds. Dissonant sax comes and goes. Other strange sounds come and go as well. Insanity. It settles 8 1/2 minutes in as drums crash away with organ.The tempo picks up 11 minutes in as we get a rhythm.The organ is going wild.The rhythm stops before 17 minutes as we get some guitar to end it.

I'm really impressed with the way these guys play, also the spirit of Krautrock is alive and well on this recording. I can't see too many people getting into this but those who like experimental Jazz should check this out.