EXMAGMA - 3 - 1975

With a sound somewhere between the SOFT MACHINE and, say, AMON DÜÜL II, EXMAGMA provide us with a slightly psychedelic form of Jazzrock, including hints of Krautrock. Their experimental compositions, ranging from lengthy improvised pieces to short, quirky tracks, leave me with no doubt to conclude that this is indeed a progressive rock band, worthy of inclusion
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They've been often described as Jazz Rock, Fusion, or even Electronic Avant-Garde, but none of these pigeonholes could ever do them justice. Bored with YES, GENESIS, SUPERTRAMP and all the crap they nowadays try to sell you under "Symphonic-Prog", they dropped some acid and set sail for new shores, armed only with sticks, strings and keys.

The famous lost exmagma album finally on the loose! What a long strange trip it has been.
As one of the hand-selected chosen few who own a tape copy for a couple of years, it’s as much a great joy as it is a relief to live to see a proper (though 3 decades delayed) release of the masterpiece of one of the most inventive Krautbands and one of Konrad Plank’s best ever produktion jobs. If you’ve ever seen the band on stage you knew that the problem with the exmagma-vinyl always was double trouble. The time limitations of an LP prevented them from showing the full spectrum of their potential and both their albums were rare as hen’s teeth, as the first one wasn’t much more than a private pressing on the tiny Neusi label and the second an equally limited French-only release on the obscure Urus label more or less unavailable in their Heimatland. The third album, intended as a double-LP, is their most mature and representative release. While all the influences from Hendrix via Soft Machine to "Bitches Brew"-Miles Davis are still intact, the band had now developed a great ability in songwriting and singing, as opposed to their former strictly instrumental recordings which sometimes made it hard for the average rock customer. But it’s amazing how cleverly contrasting the whole project is puzzled together. Whenever you start thinking: "wow, exmagma gets commercial!", they strike back with one of their experimental soundscapes and, listening to it in its entirety, it always reminds me of the idea behind "Ummagumma". But I can’t help it: it’s a lot more fun. It’s not Kraut, it’s not Rock, it’s not Jazz, it’s not Avantgarde. It’s all of that. But the result is much bigger than the sum of the parts. Don’t miss it !

At last here’s a proper re-release of the ultimate masterpiece of one of the most inventive names in Kraut-history. And of one of the legendary Konrad Plank’s best ever production jobs. This, the band’s third album, was intended as a double-LP and it’s generally agreed on that this is their most mature and representative release.