Christian Vander | en

Christian Vander (aka Zëbëhn Straïn dë Ğeuštaah; born February 21, 1948) is a French drummer, musician, and founder of the band Magma, who sing their songs in Kobaïan, his constructed language. Besides his work with Magma, he has also performed solo, with the Christian Vander Trio and Christian Vander Quartet, and in Offering.

Vander was born in Nogent-sur-Marne.

He is known both for his unique songwriting and his virtuosic drumming. His compositions fuse jazz, rock, classical and opera influences, and draw on the work of musicians as diverse as John Coltrane and Carl Orff. Vander's music is broadly classified as progressive rock, but the style is so unique that it falls under its own category - an idiosyncratic style of music often referred to by fans as Zeuhl (which means "celestial" in Kobaïan, a language devised by Vander and used exclusively by Magma). There have been several other bands who have incorporated Zeuhl stylings into their compositions, many of which are composed of ex-Magma members. Some of the more notable groups of this variety include Japanese duo Ruins, Magma offshoot Weidorje and Belgian chamber rock outfit, Univers Zero.

Christian Vander is not the son of the famous French jazz piano player Maurice Vander (who is his step-father and was a long time sideman of the French singer Claude Nougaro).

Most of Vander and Magma's recorded work is still available through Vander's own record label, Seventh Records. .