Exposé Online banner

Univeria Zekt — The Unnamables
(Musea FGBG 4086.AR, 1972/1993, CD)

by Henry Schneider, 1993-12-31:

The Unnamables Cover art Laurent Thibault conceived of the Univeria Zekt project as a way to introduce Magma to a wider audience. The idea was to ease people into the complexities of Magma’s music by the music on side one and then climaxing with Christian Vander’s excellent "Africa Anteria." The first five tracks are tame by Magma standards drawing comparisons to Zao, Weather Report, and Chicago circa their first three albums. Musea is to be commended for reissuing this classic Magma spin-off. Consistent with Musea’s practice this CD contains extensive liner notes and the original artwork both on the booklet and reproduced in color on the CD. <em>The Unnameables</em> is an essential reissue for the Magma fan.

by Rob Walker, 1995-11-01:

A Magma album in disguise, The Unnamables was designed to ease listeners into the musical world of Magma. Recorded by essentially the same lineup as on 1001 Centigrades, the album basically reiterates the stylistic development shown through Magma's first two albums, while abandoning the science fiction concept of the Kobaïan story. Three tracks from Lasry and one from Cahen on the first half of the album approximate the accessibility of the more well-known jazz-rock of the time. Vander's pieces on the second half of the album, however, begin to explore similar musical ground to that found on 1001 Centigrades. There is nothing here that is unique in the development of Magma's sound or style, but The Unnamables does contain some worthwhile and engaging music from the first phase of Magma's existence.

by Peter Thelen, 1994-02-01:

This is, for all intents and purposes, a Magma album recorded under a different name. The original intent by producer Laurent Thibault was to create an album that would be sort of like an introduction to the Magma sound, leading the listener from the more accessible jazz-rock sounds of the day slowly into the unique world of Magma. Consequently you have songs at the beginning (side one of the original album) that may remind of Soft Machine or Blood, Sweat & Tears, while songs near the end sound like Magma circa the second album (1001 Centigrades). The album features three different vocalists: firstly Zabu, then Lionel Ledissez, and finally Klaus Blasquiz. The lineup is essentially the same as the second Magma record: Vander, Cahen, Moze, Lasry and Seffer, the only difference being Tito Puentes who replaced Louis Toesca. So the question becomes: Is this a good introduction to Magma? I say no - this album is only a good introduction to Magma at that point in time... it must be remembered this was before Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh, the album that changed Magma's sound forever. This is, however, an album that should eventually be in every Magma fan's collection. Incidentally, the initial run of this album was only 1500 copies, making it a mega-rarity. An early 80s reissue was released briefly on the Cryonic label, but this too disappeared quickly. Musea has done a splendid job on the CD reissue, the information in the booklet alone is worth the price of the disc!

Filed under: Reissues , Issue 2 , 1993 releases, 1972 releases

Related artist(s): Magma, Christian Vander / Offering, Univeria Zekt

More info

Latest news

2019-12-11
There's No Time Like the Present – The Belgian band Present has been one of the best avant-rock bands in the world since its formation in 1979. Over the years since then, Present has released nine amazing albums, and now they're ready to start work on number ten. They're looking for some financial help from their fans around the world. » Read more

2019-11-07
Glenn Smith RIP – Glenn Smith, founder, mandolinist, and primary composer of the DeLand, Florida based prog / fusion band Magnatar, passed away on October 18th 2019 at the age of 68, after a brief illness.  » Read more

2019-11-04
Dino Brassea RIP – Word reaches us of the passing of Dino Brassea, who sang and played flute in Cast for many years. By our count, Brassea appeared on 11 Cast albums between 1994 and 2002. He also released music as a solo artist. » Read more

2019-10-06
Ginger Baker RIP – Legendary English drummer Ginger Baker has died at the age of 80. After coming to fame with Cream in the 60s alongside Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce, he became one of the most recognized and influential drummers of the rock era. On September 25, his family announced that he was critically ill, and on October 6 his death was confirmed. » Read more

2019-08-20
Alex's Hand Seeks Spa Treatment – American / European band Alex's Hand has a new album in the works called Hungarian Spa, which looks to be their biggest and best yet, featuring a large roster of guest musicians. They're seeking funding to take the project on the road, and are looking for help from the crowd of wisdom. » Read more

More news

Previously in Exposé...

Howard Riley & Keith Tippett - Interchange – A rare live duet performance from December 1993 was captured on tape between two of the foremost jazz pianists and improvisers in the world. Riley and Tippett had collaborated twice before, taking...  (2003) » Read more

Slivovitz - Hubris – Here’s one of those hard to classify albums that covers a lot of ground but is generally centered in a sort of ethnic area of the jazzosphere, with some nods to Zappa as well as middle-eastern...  (2010) » Read more

Ange - 1995 Musea Reissues – These seven titles by the legendary Ange represent part of Musea's big score from absorbing the Baillemont label late last year. Although most of these have been released on CD before — not once,...  (1995) » Read more

Chaos Code - The Tragedy of Leaps and Bounds – I’m fairly convinced that in a blindfold test you could convince many listeners that this album was originally released in 1972. I’m reminded of the time when musicians all around the...  (2003) » Read more

The Third and the Mortal - In This Room – This is the second album with Ann-Mari Edvardson on vocals. If you have been a fan for a while, In This Room may throw you a bit. If it does, get right back on. When you first hear "So...  (1998) » Read more

Random review

Listen & discover

Krakatau 1993: Proto-Noise Jazz

More recommendations
Paul Sears - Angels & Demons That Play book

Print issues