Attahk

Attahk
Cover art by H. R. Giger
Studio album by
Magma
Released5 March 1978
RecordedAutumn 1977
Genres
Length39:07
LabelsEurodisc, Tomato
ProducerLaurent Thibault
Magma chronology
Inédits
(1977)		 Attahk
(1978)		 Retrospektïẁ
(1981)
Singles from Attahk
  1. "Spiritual" / "The Last Seven Minutes"
    Released: 1978

Attahk is the seventh studio album by French rock band Magma, released on 5 March 1978. Its sound marks a noticeable shift from the sound of the band's previous albums, predominantly consisting of funk and jazz fusion music that incorporates elements of rhythm and blues, gospel, and pop music.

Background

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Magma had disbanded after the release of their 1976 album Üdü Ẁüdü, before reuniting in early 1977 with a vastly changed lineup. Christian Vander took this time to experiment with a new musical direction, incorporating elements of R&B and gospel music into his material. A sign of this push in another direction would be the band regularly performing "Riders on the Storm" by The Doors throughout early 1977.: 60  Another major shift in 1977 for Vander was the birth of his daughter, Julie, with now-wife Stella Vander. This influenced a more positive and upbeat direction for his music, as her birth brought him out of a depression that had formed since the release of Üdü Ẁüdü.: 61–62  A grown Julie Vander would perform on later Magma releases such as the live Theusz Hamtaahk Trilogy.

Vander had attempted extensive collaboration with members from 1975-1976 as he wished not to assume full control, but the recording of Attahk made clear to Vander that with a new lineup, this was not an option from this point onwards; excluding Merci, the next Magma release to feature material from a collaborator would be 2022's Kartëhl.

As with some songs from Live/Hhaï and Üdü Ẁüdü, the song "Rind-ë" was a discarded piece of the composition Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré, and would be incorporated into the first track of the 2009 re-recording.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Christian Vander.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."The Last Seven Minutes (1970-1977, Phase I)"7:35
2."Spiritual"3:17
3."Rind-ë (Eastern Song)"3:05
4."Liriïk Necronomicus Kahnt (in which our heroes Ürgon & Ğorğo Meet)"5:04
Side two
No.TitleLength
5."Maahnt (The Wizard's Fight Versus the Devil)"5:29
6."Dondaï (To an Eternal Love)"7:59
7."Nono (1978, Phase II)"6:17

Personnel

with

Literature

Notes

  1. ↑ Originally titled "Spiritual (Negro Song)"

References

  1. 1 2 Attahk at AllMusic
  2. 1 2 Michel, Albin. Magma, livre d'Antoine de Caunes (in French). ISBN 978-2226005632.
  3. 1 2 Pénichoux, Jean-François (May 2000). "Magma — Une musique venue d'ailleurs". Big Bang. No. 35. Archived from the original on 27 May 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2026.