Weidorje (ex Magma) - Weidorje (Reissue) (1978/1992)

WEIDORJE, formed in 1977 by two ex-MAGMA members, Bernard Paganotti and Patrick Gauthier (also keyboardist for HELDON, a group that featured Richard Pinhas) is one of Zheul's children, probably the most faithful and the closest musically and spiritually to MAGMA. One can find a mythology close to MAGMA's one : "the wait of a flying saucer that would come one morning take us with its new values, sane and safe".

WEIDORJE means "celestial wheel". This word appears for the very first time in MAGMA's album "Üdü Wüdü" in the form of a short track (4:30) composed by Paganotti and Blasquiz, the latter being the second master brain in MAGMA, along with Vander (Blasquiz achieved by the way WEIDORJE's cover art).

This tune foreshadows what WEIDORJE's music will be :
- same hypnotical power as MAGMA but more rock-based, more accessible at first listen even if by mistake (as was the case with MAGMA) the music was regarded as dark or even unhealthy despite the melodical beauty of the themes.
- incantatory repeats with a powerful bass and put very forward, brass and MAGMA-esque voices (although lyrics are not in Kobaïan they are a kind of Zheul scat)
- polyrhythmicity in keyboard and guitar playing

For some people, WEIDORJE would be a follower to "Üdü Wüdü", Bernard Paganotti forming his band just after MAGMA released this album. First and only album released in 1978, "Weidorje", even if some new stuff was ready for a second album. But following difficulties to find a producer, WEIDORJE disbanded, although they were popular with the French audience. Initially constituted with three long tracks : "Elohim's Voyage", "Vilna" and "Booldemug" on the Ep released for Cobra, two new tracks "Rondeau" and "Kolinda" appeared on the CD reedition by Musea in 1992 (these two tracks were released live with a bad sound but the bass solo is wonderful, waving between jazz-fusion and Zheul accents).

The spirit of WEIDORJE will remain in the first solo albums of some of its members :
- Patrick Gauthier "Bébé Godzilla" (1981) : Christian Vander appears on one track
- PAGA (B. Paganotti) "Paga" (1985)
- J-P Goude "Drones" (1980)

As with most of productions by ex-MAGMA members, the music will be less Zheul-oriented and leanings rather towards jazz-rock, fusion or electronic music.