Exmagma — Exmagma (1973, Neusi; reissue on Longhair)
Analog saturation, nature sounds, free jazz melées, deep pocket grooves — all lined up and at attention on Exmagma’s 1973 eponymous debut. More prog than their compatriots and weirder than their British Contemporaries, The Stuttgart trio are light on the motorik and generally forgo the repetitiousness, savory as it may be, ubiquitous with their peers. Instead, they’re skronky, noisy, and off-kilter. Hard to tell if they’re delusional or ambitious at times, but they’re on the Nurse With Wound list for chrissakes, so that’s to be expected. These fellas know how to incorporate dissonance (check out the discordant closing bars of “The First Tune” or the odd airplane engine bursts in “Tönjès Dream Interruption”) or lock into a groove and let fly. B Side is live set and feels a bit more measured, but generally, has still got the goods. I get the feeling that Tatsuya Yoshida and Ruins have thrown this on the platter a time or two or three. Three guys with a handful ideas and set the mics ups and go. It’s raw and unpolished and that’s a big part of its allure. Whether you call it arrogance or call it poise, Exmagma has a pretty decent set of tunes which over here at Marginal Brev, we like to think of it as a less influence Bitches Brew of the Wirtschaftswunder.
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