Christian Vander

[http://noisecore.com/magma/biography.html]

Memorial day weekend I did something crazy. I flew across the country in an airplane to see a concert. Something I never thought I would do. A French band named Magma, fronted by drummer ChristianVander, is making a short tour of the United States. Despite the fact that Christian wrote their best music in the 1970s, there is a resurging network of people whose interest is making this tour of the U.S. (which I suspect is their first) possible.

Why do I write about this on Wiki? Well, I've always had great respect for people who step forward with the pieces of themselves which make them different. It takes a lot of courage, but it is courage well spent: taking those things and working with them without caring what the world thinks. Things that seem part of a terribly idiosyncratic vision until they engulf you and you discover that they are universal; that they resonate with what makes you what you are. Christian's music is like that for me. It reminds me of that salient quality that is part of everyone who ever exhibits courage in their lives. The people who explore, build skill to further an aim, and bet parts of their lives to make things better. On Wiki we are surrounded by such people.

In the weird way of the world, one man's perception of universality is likely to be flawed, or (forgive me) idiosyncratic. Here's mine. Magma is playing at the Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival in NYC on June 8th 1999. The music is extreme. It melds all the beauty and violence of life that I can imagine into something that is impossible to describe. If you care to see courage in action, go. You may never get another chance to see Christian's courage. I apologize for using Wiki in this way, but this is the piece that I give of myself. The piece I take tonight.

Here's to you Christian. ThankYou.

CategoryArtist