''Magma'' is the self-titled debut album by French rock band

Magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...

. Released as a

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

- LP in 1970, it is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

which tells the story of a group of people fleeing a doomed Earth to settle on the fictional planet Kobaïa. Except for the first song, which is sung in English, all lyrics are sung in the Kobaïan language invented by the band. Although initially self-titled, the album was later reissued under the name ''Kobaïa''.

Track listing

Legacy

The title track, "Kobaïa", has been played as a regular part of Magma concerts since its original recording, although in a jazzier version akin to that of the version on the live album ''

Live/Hhaï ''Live/Hhaï'' (also known as ''Magma Live'', ''Live Köhntark'', and ''Hhaï Live'') is the first live album and fifth album in total by French rock group Magma. It was recorded in Paris between the 1st and 5 June 1975 at the Taverne de l'Olympia ...

'' (1975), which also featured new lyrics, in Kobaïan, instead of English.

Personnel

Performance

* Klaus Blasquiz – vocals * François Cahen –

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

* Alain "Paco" Charlery –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

* Claude Engel –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, vocals * Teddy Lasry – soprano sax, flute *

Francis Moze Francis Moze (born 2 February 1946) is a French bass player and pianist, best known for his work in Magma, Gong and Pierre Moerlen's Gong. Moze played in an early line-up with Magma. When he left the group, Giorgio Gomelsky introduced him to Gong ...

–

electric bass The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...

contrabass Contrabass (from ) refers to several musical instruments of very low pitch—generally one octave below bass register instruments. While the term most commonly refers to the double bass (which is the bass instrument in the orchestral string family ...

* Richard Raux –

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

and

tenor sax The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

, flute * Christian Vander –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

Production

* Claude Martelot –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

* Laurent Thibault –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

* Lee Hallyday – production supervision * Louis Haig Sarkissian – stage manager * Marie-Josèphe Petit –

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product, such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game ( box art), music album ( album ar ...

work * Marcel Engel – technical assistant * Roger Roche – engineer

Literature

References

External links

Explanation
of each track * {{Authority control 1970 debut albums 1970s concept albums Jazz albums by French artists Magma (band) albums Philips Records albums