FLOË ËSSI / ËKTAH

4.5 stars. This is an Ep MAGMA put out when touring back in 1998 when they were making a comeback of sorts. I have been listening to it now for a few weeks. I'd put it on everytime I went to the store or to get gas, and it got to the point where I couldn't wait to go out so I could listen to it. This is truly an amazing find for me. If i'm not mistaken this is the only Ep they have put out. It consists of two tracks, the first being a Bussonnet composition. He's such a good bass player as well. The second and longest is a Vander song.They're both fantastic.

"Floe Essi (La Fille De La Mer)" has a jazzy intro as female vocal melodies come in. Their vocals are amazing. Male vocals(Cardiet) come in and his voice is quite powerful. Check out the drumming of Vander before 1 1/2 minutes ! A calm follows with gentle female vocals. This is my favourite part. Male vocals and a full sound roar back after 2 minutes. "Ektah (Le Heros)" is almost 6 minutes long. Vander sings on this one. His vocals are by far the best i've ever heard them. This just makes me yearn for them to put out more records.This is a catchy track with Vander shining on the drums as usual. Check him out 3 1/2 minutes in.

MAGMA fans have to get this incredible recording. It's essential. Check out "Wayside Music".

9-Minutes of pure joy

Rarely does an EP come along that is such high quality. Magma released this little gem in 1998 during a long break between studio albums (1984's Merci and 2004's K.A.), and man does it ever show their want to get back into business! The Ep consists of two songs that (to my knowledge) are unique to this release, both are surprisingly short and concise for the band, but both demonstrate amazing musicianship. Magma's jazz side comes out more here than normal and the sometimes off-putting vocals seem to have been streamlined to become highly melodic and even catchy. Check out Vander's vocals during the longer track, Ëktah, they're great! For those of us who don't speak French (or Kobaian, for that matter) the vocals once again take on a quality that more turns them into another instrument. The female vocal section also makes for a great addition as it gives Vander's voice an ethereal quality as they harmonize with him. This song also has a wonderful opening that floats along like something out of a classic Yes tune before exploding into zeuhl with those crazy harmonized vocals.

Both songs are top notch, completely quality throughout. Ëktah is surprisingly catchy thanks to its rhythmic vocal section and mad drumming, while Floë Ëssi opens with a surprisingly nice drum line and the jazz bass takes over. Dominantly female vocals in this song are beautiful (and not at all scary, as can be sections of, say, MDK). Vander pops in and out of this song with his vocals but keeps relentlessly pounding the skins like there's no tomorrow. The ending to this one is just so fun as it ends on a single bass chord. Nice.

The unfortunate part is that the album doesn't go on for longer! However, sitting at just under 9-minutes this is a great album for a progger who is pressed for time. Most proggers I know (myself included) like to listen to a disc from one end to another, so this makes for a great travel cd as noted by Sinkadotentree in his review of the album. I would say that this would also make a great introduction to the band (if you can find it) since it is wildly accessible, which is very surprising coming from an obscure band like Magma.

The music on this cd is absolutely brilliant, but since it is a minor release and not a full fledged album it would be completely irrational to give it a full 5 stars. This may not be an essential masterpiece, but it makes for a great listen, and repeated listens are natural since it's so short it just leave you salivating for more. Heck, you may find yourself starting it over again after it ended. Good luck finding it, but if you do - don't hesitate to buy this thing. I don't think I've ever given an EP a mark over 3 before, but this one certainly deserves a 4.

Never have I been much of a collector of singles, but this "single/b-side" CD has a very special place in my collection. Their is a fairly long-winded story that goes along with my affinity for the disc that is likely not particularly review appropriate. The short version is hearing this on the radio (yes, the radio) accidentally one early 1999 night before bed while setting the clockradio alarm. The unmistakable vibrato of Chistian Vander with the familiar muffled ring of slightly overdriven Rhodes whiffled through the tinny little clockradio speaker. "That sounds like Magma!!! ON THE RADIO!" It was, as it turns out, Ëktah being played during a promotional interview for the 1999 International Progressive Music Festival in San Francisco. What better than to hear Magma on the radio? How about finding out I was about to see them live?!? Something most of us thought would not happen in the US at that time.

The song itself, as previously stated, was undeniably Magma textured. Obviously not the epic composition we have come to expect, but very intricate and tightly mixed music. Vocally the verses not only carry the operatic tonality we come to expect from Magma, but Christian's syllabic rhythms on Ëktah are unique even for him.

The "A side", Floë Ëssi, is the jazzier of the tunes. My only live experience with Magma has featured Phillipe Bussonnet on bass and he never disappoints. Here, he blasts into the song with his driving, growling sound in he songs jazzy intro, then softens in the middle; complimenting the soft ethereal harmonies of Stella and Isabelle. The song rounds out in less then 3 minutes, but does not feel short or in any way incomplete.

Overall, this is an extremely enjoyable listen, albeit short. It is highly recommended for fans and actually makes a very accessible intro to Magma's sound for the unfamiliar; a feature that actually convinced me this was worthy of tipping to the 4 star side. The catch is availability. To my knowledge, at the time of this review, neither of these songs is featured on any of the many Magma compilations or live publications.

4 Stars

I have always had huge respects for Magma as a band. They do their own sound of weirdness and basically invented a whole new genre. They were clearly at their prime in the 70s with albums like MDK and Wurdah Itah, however the 80s caused them to go to a more commercial route which didn't treat them nicely in my opinion. However they came back strong in the 2000s but it seems like this EP shows that they came back also pretty strong earlier in the late 90s.

The first song Flöë Ëssi shows them going for a bit back with a more jazz influenced sound from their early days with Kobaia and 1001 degrees. It has some good bass lines and the vocals are just as good as they were in the 70s. Really nice song. The next song is Ëktah. This is the biggest staple on the EP, showcasing a pretty evolving song with the music getting more louder and beautiful the more the minutes go by, until it mellows out towards the end. It's a very pretty song in how it works. However my issue with this EP lies in the more commercial like sound. It seems like the band is recovering from their 80s days clearly, but they still retain that aspects about them, which kinda makes this EP a bit lower in my rating.

So yeah. Not the longest EP or even the longest review I have done. It's a good ep, but not the best, but I was satisfied after listening to it, really.