Get up to speed; All you need to know about Zamrock.

Image source; MILES NAJERA FOR ROLLING STONE

Written by Lweendo Kalonga

The world of music has been alive as long as humans have been able to communicate with each other. Music can be non-verbal, like the throat singing that is common in several ethnic groups from Asia, Europe, South Africa and Canada, and can utilize musical instruments such as the guitar, drums, flutes, etc. Other forms of music such as Electronic Dance Music, which is popularly known as EDM, use most electronic devices like the keyboard. This is commonly observed in clubs and music festivals and is made and utilized by DJs and people enthusiastic about creating remixes from original tracks. To some, it speaks of emotions or is made experimentally for spreading awareness of a certain topic and even shade light on the current state of affairs.

It should be noted that music in the West and Europe has had a major influence on most of the world and Africa as well. With many great artists and bands producing the greatest-known songs. Some of the greatest iconic names in the industry include Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mozart and Beethoven, The Notorious B.I.G., etc all highly regarded in their respective genres. Many of these are the reason why many of the artists sprung up in the 20th century in Africa. But before the adaptation to the music from the rest of the world, Africans made and utilized musical instruments in their own cultures or ethnic groups. Some notable instruments include the Udu of the Igbo tribe of Nigeria, the Ekwe which has variants in countries such as Congo, Guinea and Nigeria, the Balafon and Djembe popular in the west coast countries of Africa, the Banjo (an acoustic guitar variant) and Nyeele of Zambia, and so many more. We can still see these being used in many parts of Africa for traditional ceremonies and songs that may not just sound right on modern-day musical instruments.

As the music of the Western world spread all across African countries, it did find its way to Zambia as well. After gaining its independence, things were going relatively well for the country. However, in the 1970s, the country went through one of the worst economic crises in its history. To be self-sufficient, the government sought to achieve this through import substitution which worked at first with the economy growing steadily. But the economy began to decline in the 1970s such that the country’s economy dropped by about thirty per cent. This resulted in the government getting large loans in hopes that the prices of copper would rise again. In 1973, an increase in the price of oil occurred and inflation was increasing as well. However, this only led the people affected by this to riot and speak up against the actions of the government. While many did this, others turned to music to voice their distaste through music. Hence, Zamrock was one way to go about this.

Zamrock is a music genre that arose in the 1950s but saw a steady decline in the late 1970s. Even though its inception was in the 50s, the genre did not see much popularity until the 70s. Because of the popularity of Western rock in Africa, several Zamrock artists drew their inspiration from bands in the West while adopting styles of those played on British and American radios. This genre can be described as a fusion of traditional African music and different subgenres of rock such as psychedelic, garage and hard rock as well as blues and funk. It is said that popular bands at the time like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Cream and the Rolling Stones were somewhat an influence in the foundation of Zamrock.

Out of the hard times arose several iconic bands with much credit being given to Rikki Ililonga and his band called Musi-O-Tunya which derived its name from Zambia’s most talked about natural waterfall, Victoria Falls. A name that is translated from the local language Tonga to mean “The smoke that thunders”. Soon after was the birth of several other musicians and bands such as WITCH, The Peace, Amanaz, Chrissy “Zebby” Tembo, and Paul Ngozi and his Ngozi Family. The emergence of these bands brought a new sound to the Zambian music industry. Many described it as a scapegoat that was upbeat, funky and traditional. Many regarded it as controversial because it addressed issues like racism happening in South Africa at the time and of course the economic crisis in Zambia.

We Intend To Cause Havoc, as they are popularly known as W.I.T.C.H., is a Zambian band formed in the early 1970s. Their era of popularity only lasted over a decade but has impacted most of the music we hear today. The band, like many others, formed during a time of crisis in the country and had been forced to play during the day due to the curfews at the time and the blackouts. Its members included the likes of Emanuel “Jagari” Chanda, Chris “Kims” Mbewe, Christine Jackson, Gideon “Giddy King” Mulenda and others. At a point, the band was headed by Jagari as the lead vocalist and he was considered to be the face of W.I.T.C.H. However, he left in the late 70s because of the many restrictions at the time which then lead to the band replacing him with two new vocalists, a decision that shifted the band from rock to disco. The band underwent another transition later on as the lead vocalists left. Unfortunately, it seemed clear that this was the end of an era as the band eventually faded from the music scene. Some of their best-known work includes In The Past, Lukombo Vibes, WITCH, Movin’ On, Kuomboka, etc.

Source: Rockasteria

As the economic crisis that existed in Zambia at the time, the country was facing an AIDS pandemic which eventually played a part at the end of Zamrock. This is because, as the disease spread throughout the country, many musicians ended up with it. It has been reported that since then, over one million citizens have died of AIDS. Unfortunately, all members of WITCH had died of AIDS by 2001 except Emmanuel Chanda. Another factor affecting the decline of the era of Zamrock is the emergency of piracy of music. Around this time arose third parties who would simply make counterfeit copies of music made by the artists that they eventually sold for profit. This then forced many artists to pursue work in other careers and activities to make ends meet as they had lost their only source of income

Fortunately, there is some hope for the revival of Zamrock as people like a former member of W.I.T.C.H. Jagari has had the pleasure of keeping the spirit of the genre alive. After his invitation to the US to revive the band in 2012, he has been touring since 2013 along with Patrick Mwondela and new members from the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. Their current tour dates include cities in the US but we do hope that they do have time to make a few stops in their home country, Zambia, as well. Do check out their Instagram page to keep updated on their world tour.

Useful links; Instagram- W.I.T.C.H

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