K.A.

First in a series of three images based on a trilogy of albums by French progressive rock band Magma.

What I tried to do here is to create an image that would illustrate what the record is about while capturing its overall mood. And because drawing a series of illustrations of arcane and cryptic French albums was apparently too straightforward, I did it in the style of French science-fiction artist Philippe Druillet, who, in the 1970’s, did for visual arts what Magma did for music. It’s all perfectly clear in my head.

The first installment in the cycle, "K.A". (for "Köhntarkösz Anteria") was composed in 1973 and recorded in 2004. It tells the story of an archeologist, Köhntarkösz, who looks for and finally discovers the location of Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré’s tomb. Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré being the name of a forgotten pharaoh who was on his way to discover the secret of immortality.

You can hear an extract of K.A. here.

Second part: "Köhntarkösz"
Third part: Emehntehtt-Re

Click here if you want to see other experiments.