Tolkien would be proudMAGMA was a French progressive/"zeuhl" (meaning "celestial" in drummer Christian Vander's invented language of Kobaïan) band formed in 1969, who not only created the sub-genre of Zeuhl, but influenced a wide number of groups in the jazz-fusion/symphonic-rock scene.
The band was primarily led by drummer Christian Vander, who composed the majority of the music and also invented the Kobaïan language. The basic concept behind MAGMA's albums entails people fleeing a doomed Earth and discovering the seemingly-utopian planet Kobaïa, rousing conflict with the locals. What this means musically, is that MAGMA's vocals are sung entirely using the fictional language of Kobaïan -- often in layered choral chants -- with experimental fusion mapping-out every acid-spewing geyser within Kobaïa.
Jannick Top, the bassist for MAGMA, is also responsible for composing a bulk of MAGMA's music, particularly the 'Üdü Wüdü' album, their 5th studio-release. Following 'Üdü Wüdü', the band took another departure musically with 'Attahk', with Vander spear-heading a jazz/funk/zeuhl hyrbid.
Def one of the more interesting groups, whose career and influence spanned across multiple genres. If you dig these, give their earlier work a try.
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