MOG

The next area of progressive rock I’d like to talk about is called zeuhl (pronounced something like, but not quite, “zool”). Like Canterbury, this style of music is also based on one band, or rather, one person. The man I’m talking about is a drummer named Christian Vander, and the band is the French band Magma. I should note at this point that I have very, very strong feelings for Magma, but this is definitely one style of music where I can understand other people’s reluctance and dislike. To understand zeuhl, though, you have to first understand Magma, because it all stems from there. And let me tell you, it’s quite bizarre.

Vander doing what he does best

Magma was started in the late 60’s by Vander as a means to express Vander’s bleak “vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future.” He was convinced humanity was heading towards disaster as a species, destroying each other and our planet. He formed Magma and started to write songs that all told a single story, which in the first album concerns a group of people fleeing a doomed Earth and settling on a distant planet called Kobaia. They then return to warn of us the doom headed our way, and try to show us how to live right, and connect in spiritual one-ness.

The Magma logo

Or something like that. Did I mention that they sing in Kobaian, the language of this new planet? Vander actually wrote a new language because he felt that French didn’t sound right for the story he wanted to tell. There are people who could tell you what it was all about, but frankly the story isn’t that important to me. The music, however, is. And it kicks ass. Vander draws the music from a variety of influences, most notably John Coltrane (whom he has given lengthy interviews concerning. He’s pretty much obsessed with him), neo-classical composers Carl Orff and Bartok, and others.

The basic zeuhl sound (I call it "militant opera") is characterized by driving, insane drums playing in almost a march style, and swooping, powerful bass. All other instruments are optional. You might have guitar, violin, or keyboards (usually a Fender Rhodes), and you might have vocals. Magma’s vocals were always done in choral style, with no less than three singers chanting away at the lyrics (hence the “opera”). It sounds strange, but when done right it’s very intense. It also leaves room for a lot of counterplay between rhythms, which they do very well. Repetition tends to play a part as well, and consequently some of Magma’s songs tend to be a bit on the long side (some going all the way two 40 or 50 minutes). The end result is music that has a deep, driving marching pulse from start to finish, and is usually heavily built-up, becoming very intense along the way. Here’s two videos that show not only how intense their music is, but also just how freaky they can be.

This first one is part of a longer work called “Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh”, and is decent quality, although the bass is a bit down in the mix:

The second is a recording of probably my favorite all-time Magma song, “De Futura”. The quality is poor, but you can hear the zeuhl sound loud and clear. (If the first part seems a little boring, skip ahead about halfway through. The bass and drums start playing a slow, driving rhythm, and then start to speed it up, and speed it up, and speed it up . . . very, very fast, and very, very cool):

Now that we’ve discussed Magma, let’s talk about the rest of zeuhl: the term has since come to refer to bands started by ex-Magma members (and there are dozens), or other bands who have since sprung up trying to emulate that sound. In the comments, two of the classic offshoots. And then, at the risk of overstaying my welcome on this one, I am actually going to make a second, quicker post to highlight some of the bands that are making zeuhl a vibrant form of music even today.