Magma (band) - Legacy

Legacy

The band is widely considered to be musically adventurous and imaginative among music critics. Magma makes extensive use of the choral format, particularly reminiscent of the classical composer Carl Orff. Magma's music is also highly influenced by jazz saxophone player John Coltrane, and Vander has said that "it is still Coltrane who actually gives me the real material to work on, to be able to move on."

So many of the musicians who have played with Magma have formed their own solo projects and/or spinoff acts that the Kobaïan term Zeuhl has come to refer to the musical style of these bands and the French jazz fusion/symphonic rock scene that grew around them. Besides Christian Vander, other well-known Magma alumni include the bassist-composer Jannick Top and spinoff acts Weidorje and Zao.