Magma are a French avant-garde rock band from Paris, formed in 1969 by drummer and keyboardist Christian Vander. During the 1970s, they released six proper studio albums and a live disc on the Philips, Vertigo, Utopia, and Eurodisc labels. Their debut, Kobaïa (1970), introduced the Kobaïan language and ritualized vocal arrangements. 1001° Centigrades (1971) and […]
Heldon was a French avant-garde/electronic band that released three albums in 1974/75 on Disjuncta, followed by four further titles (1976–79) on Urus, Cobra, and Egg. Concurrently, mastermind Richard Pinhas made synth-based solo albums. Heldon’s sound combined elements of free-psych Krautrock and the Berlin School with the looped minimalism of Brian Eno‘s work with Robert Fripp. […]
Weidorje was a French Zeuhl band that released a self-titled album on Cobra in 1978. The project was headed by once-and-future Magma members Bernard Paganotti and Patrick Gauthier, who both played on the 1976 album Üdü Ẁüdü, which featured a song called “Weidorje.” Members: Bernard Paganotti (bass, vocals), Patrick Gauthier (keyboards), Kirt Rust (drums), Jean-Philippe […]
Üdü Ẁüdü is the sixth studio album by the French Zeuhl ensemble Magma, released on September 10, 1976 on RCA’s Utopia imprint. The album marks a shift toward bass-centered pulses and industrial futurism while retaining the group’s experimental roots. Worldbeat fusion and ghost-dance motifs permeate the shorter tracks, while the side-long epic develops a tense, […]
Weidorje is the first and only album by the French Zeuhl band Weidorje, released in March 1978 on Cobra. Formed the previous year by bassist Bernard Paganotti and keyboardist Patrick Gauthier after their tenure in Magma, the group extended that band’s cosmic jazz-rock vision into a new framework of intricate ensemble interplay and ritualistic intensity. […]
Paga is the first of three albums by French Zeuhl ensemble Paga Group, released in 1985 on JMS jazz-rock subsidiary Cream. The album has alternately been credited to project-mastermind Bernard Paganotti. Tracklist: A1. Talk Back (7:37) A2. Mitchinoku (8:01) B1. Show Town (4:15) B2. Une parcelle d’Urantia (12:47) B3. Final d’Urantia (1:40) Credits: Bernard Paganotti […]
Bébé Godzilla is an album by ubiquitous French Zeuhl keyboardist Patrick Gauthier, released in 1981 on CY Records. Tracklist: A1. “Bébé Godzilla” (5:20) A2. “Le Grand-maître Orient” (2:18) A3. “Mixtur-Trautonium” (2:51) A4. “Benoit et les Riverboppers” (4:10) B1. “Heldon” (4:20) B2. “Riding on White Horses” (1:30) B3. “En passant par la Transylvanie” (4:58) B4. “Nör” […]
Stand By is the seventh album by the avant-garde French electronic band Heldon, released in 1979 on Egg. This album consolidates Heldon’s exploration of high-intensity electronic instrumentation, angular guitar work, and dynamic, rhythmically complex percussion. Across its three tracks, the record moves from concentrated instrumental ferocity to sci-fi-tinged electronica, culminating in an expansive, side-long synthesis […]
Patrick Gauthier (born Feb. 27, 1953) is a French keyboardist and composer who played in Heldon, Magma, and Weidorje during the 1970s. In 1981, he released the album Bébé Godzilla on CY Records. Discography: Bébé Godzilla (1981) Sur les Flots Verticaux (1993) Le Morse (1996)
