Having been a fan of French Prog Rock titans Magma since my mid- teens (so about 50 years) I am delighted to have been made aware of Japanese band Koenjihyakkei who are a sort of tribute act for Magma. I say “sort of tribute” because rather than playing cover versions they write new music in the same style as Magma - a style known as “zeuhl”.
Magma are most definitely not the most accessible of bands, a fact not helped by the fact that all their lyrics are in “kobaian” - a language they’ve made up themselves. I’m absolutely not a fan of jazz rock but the emotion and strange time signatures of “zeuhl” have always rewarded my patience and conscious listening. Also, if you look up their history you’ll see tales of real life magical battles being fought on mountain tops - utterly bonkers!
