1001° Centigrades

Background

For this album, Magma underwent many personnel changes, so much so that at one point the band announced their dissolution. At the end of 1970, after the release of Kobaïa, guitarist Claude Engel departed the band at a rehearsal at the behest of his wife; he was not replaced. Alain Charlery and Richard Raux subsequently departed and were replaced by Louis Toesca (trumpet) and Yochk'o Seffer (sax, bass clarinet). Laurent Thibault was no longer considered a core member and did not return to produce, but he would contribute production on The Unnamables (1972), Ẁurdah Ïtah (1974), and Attahk (1978).

Christian Vander was not satisfied with the final recording of "Rïah Sahïltaahk" present on the album but relented as other band members found it satisfactory. In 2014 a re-recording of the track was released as a stand-alone studio album, Rïah Sahïltaahk, which added new instrumental passages and replaced many of the brass arrangements with female choral vocals.

The backside of the original record sleeve contains Christian Vander’s poem ‘Ïtah’ as well as a French translation, making it one of two official Kobaïan-French translations by the band itself.

Plot

The album's first track is a sidequel to Kobaia (1970).

Rïah Sahïltaahk

As the Kobaïans prepare to leave Earth and fail to convince its people to embark with them on their journey, Rïah Sahïltaahk, who thinks better of himself than anyone else, is sure he can convert them to the Kobaïan spirit and decides to stay on the planet to do so. He fails miserably and leaves alone for Kobaïa, long after everyone else. He retraces the Kobaïans' planned journey through space, landing on the stop-over planet Malaria, but his ship is battered by the 'raging elements' of the planet and he drowns to his death. The storm ceases immediately after, and the soft beams of the sun fall upon his final resting place.

Critical reception and legacy

1001° Centigrades was very well received by the press upon its initial release; more so than Kobaïa. Reviewing for Rock & Folk in July 1971, Yves Adrien left a very enthusiastic review about the band's originality, remarking "How can we say how masterful is the slap in the face that Magma delivers to mediocre French music, one that adapts or plagiarizes?" and "this record marks an immense improvement compared to Kobaïa, which was nevertheless itself a very great musical moment". G.L.B., reviewing for Jazz Hot, returned similar sentiments, remarking that "the songs leave no room for criticism: not a single dull moment. Everything is played to perfection and very well arranged."

Jean-Paul Commin of Best magazine awarded 1001° Centigrades the July 1971 album of the month award, remarking that "there was no contest" for their choice, praising the musical conception and spirit of the album, but also admitting it was chosen partly to compensate for *Kobaïa'''s lack of earlier recognition, noting that listeners who enjoyed *Centigrades'' would likely value the first just as highly.

Between the release of this album and MDK, another personnel shuffle of band members leaving the band occurred, due to disagreements on its future sound. Saxophonist Yochk'o Seffer and keyboardist François Cahen left to form Zao, a band which follows in the footsteps of Magma's first two releases.

Track listing

Personnel

Magma

• Christian Vander – vocals, drums, percussion
• Klaus Blasquiz – vocals, percussion
• Teddy Lasry – clarinet, saxophone, flute, voice
• Yochk'o Seffer – saxophone, bass clarinet
• Louis Toesca – trumpet
• François Cahen – acoustic & electric pianos
• Francis Moze – bass

Production

• Roland Hilda - producer
• Dominique Blanc-Francard - engineer
• Louis Sarkissian - manager

Literature

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References

References

1. Neate, Wilson. "1,001 Degrees Centigrade Review by Wilson". AllMusic.
2. (June 1, 2017). "To Life, Death, and Beyond – The Music of Magma".
3. "Rïah Sahïltaahk".
4. "Rïah Sahïltaahk, Seventh Records".
5. Yves Adrien. (July 1971). "Magma 2 - 1001° centigrades".
6. G.L.B.. (December 1971). "Magma 2 - 1001° centigrades".
7. Jean-Paul Commin. (July 1971). "Magma 2 - 1001° centigrade, Best Of The Month".