This is Zamrock. Hailing from the southern African country of Zambia, it is a genre of music that fuses African rhythms, funk, garage, and psychedelic rock. It was big in the 1970s and its greatest exponent was a band called W.I.T.C.H. A drop in copper prices – which then represented 95% of Zambia’s export earnings – social and political upheaval, and the onset of the AIDS epidemic all contributed to the dissolution of the movement.
But an unlikely revival of Zamrock in 2010 – sparked by a sudden and unexpected European and American interest in the musical genre – not only eventually led to the reformed W.I.T.C.H. playing outside of the African continent for the very first time but also to them releasing Zango almost 40 years after their last studio album.
Bandleader and vocalist Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda is the only survivor of the original line-up, AIDS – which would claim the lives of up to 1.4 million people across Zambia by 2010 – having caused the deaths of all the other members. Now in his 7Os, the charismatic frontman is joined here by seven other musicians, including keyboardist Patrick Mwondela who had played in an early ‘80s incarnation of W.I.T.C.H.
Even if the second song they play tonight is entitled ‘Living in the Past’ – taken from their second album, 1974’s In The Past – nobody could rightly accuse W.I.T.C.H. of doing so. Pivoted by the young rhythm section of Dutchmen Jacco Gardner (bass) and Nico Mauskoviç (drums) who lay down a lithe contemporary groove, the band sparkle with bright sonic invention.
Drawing material from right across their back catalogue – including the title track from their debut album Introduction and a couple of songs from Zango ( ‘Waile’ and ‘By The Time You Realize’) – W.I.T.C.H. may well still call upon a range of influences from James Brown to Black Sabbath (just listen to the riff on ‘Evil Woman’ if any such proof is required) but distil them all into a vibrant, fresh and modern sound.
The band’s ongoing appeal owes much to the presence of Chanda, an unquestionable man of the people who is given to frequent high-fiving of the audience, handing out some of his onstage snacks to them, whilst inviting others to accompany the band’s intoxicating rhythms by banging on a cowbell. He pulls all of this wonderful communal spirit together on the second and final encore of the night – a chaotic but extremely lively cover of Rufus Thomas’s famous R&B toe-tapper ‘Do The Funky Chicken’ – when he invites both support bands – local funk outfit Flat Moon and Brighton yacht rockers Hutch – plus various other folks out of the crowd to join him and W.I.T.C.H. on stage for a joyful finale.
Photos: Simon Godley
More photos of W.I.T.C.H. at Belgrave Music Hall in Leeds
