CHRISTIAN VANDER

Christian Vander biography
Known equally well for his virtuoso drumming, his compositional skills, and his creation of the Kobaian mythology and language, Christian Vander has achieved truly legendary status in the field of progressive rock. As a boy, he listened to and studied jazz, and through 1969 performed in jazz bands. However, in 1969 he was struck by a deeply moving spiritual vision and formed Magma as an outlet for his visions. For a few years, Magma performed rather straightforward jazz-rock without any member of the band being a clear leader. However, in 1973, Vander stepped up as leader and unleashed the force known as Zeuhl on the world with Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh, written entirely by Vander. From then on, he was to be the only constant member of the band in a dizzying whirlwind of lineup changes as over 100 musicians passed through Magma. Counting MDK, a total of five Zeuhl albums and one "sell-out" pop album would comprise Magma's canon before the band broke up in 1985.

Following the breakup of Magma, Vander pursued several projects in the late 1980's and early 1990's. He formed a Zeuhl-soul hybrid band called Offering, which unfortunately saw Vander put away the drumsticks and focus on the vocals. He formed a self-titled jazz trio, and two fusion bands, Fusion and Alien, which both featured Magma alumni. In addition, he worked in time to release a few solo albums.

In the mid-late '90's, Vander reformed Magma with a new lineup, which has remained remarkably steady over the last several years. The band continues to tour, and has recorded two albums after this reformation, K.A. and Emehnteht-Re. Both of these compositions were pieces Vander had started in the 1970's but never felt they were complete enough to record until now.

Bio by rileydog22 (Jake)




Why this artist must be listed in www.progarchives.com :
Christian Vander are essentially the brain behind the Zeuhl genre, therefore a obvious and important addition the the site. Approved by the ZART.



Discography:
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Christian Vander official website

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