Magma pay tribute to former guitarist James Mac Gaw
Magma have announced the death of their former guitarist James Mac Gaw. The musician, who released the solo album La Fin Des Temples last December, had been part of the band’s live line-up but retired from performing in 2015 following the diagnosis of an aggressive brain tumour. Despite stepping down from the stage, he continued to support Magma and even appeared in filmmaker Laurent Goldstein’s 2017 documentary, To Life, Death and Beyond – The Music of Magma.
A place for music on film, the Jukebox International Film Festival (JIFF) brings you top-notch films about music, musicians, musical styles, venues and songs portrayed in music videos.
In thrall to the great French proggers, Magma – but missing some essentials
The uncompromising and enigmatic Magma collective is the subject of this feature film from French director Laurent Goldstein. Formed in 1969 by drummer and composer Christian Vander, they created their own genre, their own language and their own mythology. A fan for over 40 years, Goldstein set out on a two-year labour of love to document the phenomenon, aided by Kickstarter donations. The film is assembled from interviews with band members past and present, with archive footage, excerpts from the 2016 tour, and commentary from Jello Biafra, Trey Gunn and Metallica’s Rob Trujillo. -READ MORE