When I was asked to write a brief bio about MagellanMusic it turned out to be more formidable than I thought. An independent band that’s been together since 1975 didn’t make any sense. Especially considering their mélange of unusual work originated in a Midwestern town in the Bible Belt when young hippies weren’t very welcome. MagellanMusic started as a 2-man acoustic duo, worked into 3 men, and by 1978 they were a full bore electric rock ‘n’ roll band touring the club circuit which we know is standard boot camp for rock and country bands alike. All during this time they were strong on recording because they were songwriters. Prodigious songwriters. It all had to be preserved and ‘in the can’. It’s why MagellanMusic was possibly the first at selling their tapes at live gigs. They were also probably first at passing around their song list for requests, and newsletters to keep fans interested. They would pull weird stunts like play with their backs to the crowd, or wear goofy costumes just to make fun of themselves. They even used bizarre stage names, different ones every night, to keep those laughs coming. As so often happens, bar bands rarely get lucky breaks. Neither did MagellanMusic. By 1984 they were tired of breaking their backs to play for rowdy drunks whose hangovers obliterated memories of the night before, so they called it a night. “So long, and thanks for all the fish.” And nobody expected them to come back. All went their separate ways, as the story goes. But by 1988 the MagellanMusic fellows found that home recording was a fast growing trend. They tried the idea of ‘sharing’ songs. Each member would record their touch to each song, sending it from one member to the next, circling back to Per Jensen who would complete each to compile an album. To their shock it worked. Their double album “R” from 1988 may have been a rag-tag answer to the Beatles ‘White Album’, but it’s how MagellanMusic still does it today. In the mid 1990’s digital recording and home computers were a very serious happening. It changed not only MagellanMusic, but revolutionized the entire music scene. The whole world for that matter. The Big 5 record companies were no longer the Masters of the Universe. Independent artists, ‘indies’, no longer needed them. MagellanMusic was at the heart of it, and their first release was in 1997 called “A Strange Traffic of Dreams”. Even their old fans were amazed, and it meant that after all those years MagellanMusic had finally come to flower. 2001 saw “Ghost of a Living Twilight”. In 2004 came “Phanus Phallus Phobias”. In 2005 and 2009 were different versions of “Yesterday’s Children”. In 2011 came “Whispers”. Each are distinctly different from the other, but expertly played, ‘tight’, and presented well. Listen to the body of this work and it’s hard to believe that a band, any band, this old, could be better than their ‘glory years’. No artist is without flaws, but some of MagellanMusic’s work is so good that it’s classic, as good as any major artist you can think of. Maybe the record labels should be grateful that indie bands like MagellanMusic are unknown. Because if they and other indies became famed the labels would have to reach for smelling salts and re-think the whole business. From the hearts of those who know what artists are supposed to be, carry on MagellanMusic, carry on. Daniel Perry The Indie Chronicle