Zango

‘Zamrock has resurrected from its decades of slumber,’ sings frontman Emmanuel ‘Jagari’ Chanda on ‘Message from WITCH’. Jagari, inspired by hearing The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, formed WITCH (an acronym for We Intend To Cause Havoc) in 1970s Zambia, becoming the centre of a scene dubbed Zamrock. Half a century later, founder member Jagari and keyboard player Patrick Mwondela (who joined the band around eight years after its founding) – both now in their 70s – are indeed resurrecting Zamrock and demonstrating a musical longevity rivalling that of Jagger and Richards.

Longevity is one thing, but can they still rock? Absolutely. Zango could have come from a time-capsule from 1975, but the surviving band members – sadly most of the early line-up died during the HIV/AIDS epidemic – began recording it in 2021, on the same analogue equipment used for those early albums. Jagari and Mwondela are joined by new members: Dutch-born multi-instrumentalist Jacco Gardner, drummer Nico Mauskoviç (also from the Netherlands) and guitarists Stefan Lilov (from Bulgaria) and JJ Whitefield (from Germany).

With this international, intergenerational ensemble, Zango fizzes with fuzz, wah-wah, Zambian rhythms and psychedelic funk. With its message to erase homophobia and xenophobia, it's both musically nostalgic and lyrically immediate.