Magma, what's there to get :-)

I didn't like Magma at first, but back then I wasn't into much prog besides the usual several bands.  As my taste developed, so did my appreciation for Magma as well as other more obscure and less-accessible bands.  The vocals just grew on me, I thought they were funny and odd at first, but never really were annoyed by them (in fact, I can tolerate and even enjoy most prog vocalists, from LaBrie to Vander).

All the Magma albums I own have vocals (I have 7 or so now) , and I don't know of any that are insturmental.  Eskaton are more accessible than Magma, as is Dun's Eros, which is awesome.  Have you heard any full albums yet?  I didn't appreciate them as much until I got Udu Wudu, which turned out to be their most accessible but still weird and awesome.  And as great as that album was, to my surprise 1001, MDK, Kohntarkosz and Live 1975 turned out to be even better.

Wow, I'm such a fanboy...

Some "get" Magma and some don't. What people actually "get" when they say they "got" it is probably very subjective, which can explain why you're not aware of what there is to get.

A tip though, if you realise that you just don't "get" a certain band after repeated attempts to do so, stop worrying about it and listen to something you have "got" already instead!

I only "get" Magma when I am by myself in a dark room and can actually focus on the music. If I have it just playing I start to find it annoying. It is great how I can love it and hate it all at the same time. The joys of the brain.

eugene wrote:   Just ignore these "get" things - there is probably nothing to get really for you. For me same thing happens with Can and Faust  - I think there is absolutely nothing to get - they sound to me simple, primitive, ugly and downright boring, and I do not think I miss anything by not listening to them, and consider all the time spent in attempts to "get" into their music as wasted time. However I know several people, whom I respect,  with generally good musical taste, who find these bands to be absolutely brilliant. It's only good for them.

Isn't it odd what some people like and others think is ugly.  I love Can and I love Faust. 

As for Magma, I am still trying.  I have several of their albums but I find myself listening to Udu Wudu the most.

I made the mistake of starting with M.D.K at first, and really didn't like it. The vocals just sounded like nonsense. Then I tried Udu Wudu, which re-sparked my interest, and Kohntarkosz, which solidified it. I love them more and more with everything I listen to now.

I have a 2cd anthology which seems to be taken from 'Udu Wudu', 'Attahk' and 'Live'. Have to say, I REALLY enjoyed that and I didn't expect to- they were a band I shied away from expecting it to be a bit too weird and esoteric. However, I was pleasantly surprised and will definitely look into buying more Magma.

Wow, micky, top ten favorite prog albums? I'll have to re-examine their music some day.. my virgin listen was UduWudu, didn't like it.

There is a pretty good review of MDK and Kohntarkosz by a non-prog fan, found here: http://starling.rinet.ru/music/magma.htm. I don't think it will make you automatically love the band, but it may open your eyes a tad.

Also, no two Magma albums are alike. Well, maybe a few, but generally, from album to album had vast differences. They started off playing Coltrane-inspired fusion, then to Orff/Wagnerian opera, then to a harder edged fusion, for lack of a better term.  If its the vocals that are putting you off, and judging from your description I'm guessing you've only heard MDK or something, then I suggest merely trying a range of albums. In my opinion, everything from their debut to around Attahk is nothing but excellent.

If you are going to take another stab at them, I'd suggest, if nothing else, their live album Hhai. Here they leave their chorus at home and play a few old tracks, with stunning quality, and a few new ones, the title track being the most noteworthy -- it may be just the thing you need to get hooked.

Another great "album" in Simples, a collection of Magma singles, I highly recommend. It is kind of like Magma-lite, containing the excellent intro to Riah Sahiltaahk, a five minute composite version of MDK (minus the chorus), and a few other songs, all upbeat, danceable (to some extent), and, above all, catchy.

Personally, I think Magma are really a band to write home about. And, really, I don't see what is so inaccessible about them. I guess the whole pretentious mythology and language-thing are a bit of a turn-off, but I am here for the music, not for the mythology. The vocals are a bit tough to handle, obviously, but I don't know, they've never bothered me.

I got into Magma immediately primarily due to the vocals.  For one thing, I can find the vocals fun.  Before I got any albums I'd listened to some songs to sample that I really liked: La Dawotsin (an 'easy' Tubular Bells like piece), Lirik Necronominicus (my daughter loves this one -- great fun), and Ork Alarm.

  Also, I am more likely to be interested by music immediately that has a general weirdness than that which is more, well, normal.

I was a little underwhelmed with MDK (still liked it, like it much more now) on first listen.  I think that had to do with being a huge Carmina Burana fan (one of my long-time favourite albums), and I found it rather derivative.  Udu Wudu solidified my high regard for this band. I grew to really love the band, but then I liked the band immediately.

I think the debut album is my favourite Magma album, but I like all of the ones I've heard. 

Although Magma started Zeuhl and is really THE Zeuhl band, as has been noted, Eskaton's 4 Visions and Dun Eros would be easier places to start.  I got into those later, and love both albums.  But for one that doesn't like operatic vocals Eskaton will not appeal -- Dun's Eros is instrumental but I don't find it particularly  Zeuhl (I would have put it under RIO/ Avant Prog I think).

If you don't like it, don't worry about it.  Trying hard to like music is not something I do.  I just let it wash over me, then really listen with headphones, if it irritates me, then I move on.  Of course, I do try to sample various albums too to see if anything will click.  Sometimes I just need the right track.  But usually I don't make any effort to like anything... It just happens naturally, or not.

If I had problems enjoying the vocals, I might just focus on the instrumental bits, and try to treat the vocals as an amusing accessory (though they are far more than that).

But if you don't like it, don't worry about it.  I don't think it's a matter of getting it (understanding it) as it is that it either clicks or not, for whatever personal reason.  Analyzing music would one sure way to kill possible enjoyment of music for me.  I prefer just to listen to music; not think about it.  If I hear something I like, I can usually find a lot more to like.

I tried to get into Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings and Marillion before as I wanted to expand my horizons (and knowing that some vocal members regarded them very highly here), but it didn't click, so I gave up.  Don't mind it really, just rather listen to music that is easier for me to enjoy.  Magma is one of those bands that was easy for me to like, but we're all different.


Edited by Logan - May 25 2007 at 18:54

I know, that point was not lost on me. . But before I get called out for being too cheeky, I really tried to find what others found great about these bands, but I was left empty.  The vocals were a problem for me with much of their stuff too.  To each his or her own.  I can't easily take most AOR or pop.

Unconventional music tends to appeal to me more than conventional music.  Pop, for instance, leaves me flat.  While my appreciation for Magma has deepened with repeated listenings (as with you) it started with appreciation.  The others may not make music that is as challenging, complex, or innovative as Magma, but I found it more of a challenge to find something I enjoy.  Derivativeness is a turn off on the whole, but I can think of music that borrowed from many sources that I noticed quickly that I really like.  But it has to be excellent to my ears in its own right.  Must be up to the standards of that which it is borrowing from, and it should  expand on it into new exciting territory.

If it strongly reminded me of music I liked very much, it might have appealed more.  But whatever influences they took that I did enjoy they turned into something that I didn't enjoy.  It's not demanding in  a conventional sense, but for me that expected more (or something different from music), it was a challenge to try to like.

What is hard for some to appreciate is easy for others... Much depends on our musical conditioning.  I quickly lose interest in bands that lack, well, depth...  texture, nuance, variation blah blah.

I wonder how many of those fans are also Magma fans?