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Welcome to Zamrock! 1972-1977: How Zambia's Liberation Led to a Rock Revolution - Volume 1
How Zambia’s Liberation Led To A Rock Revolution. 1972-1977. An overview of the Zamrock scene, from its ascension to its fall to its resurgence, presented as two volumes, both as 2LPs and hardcover book/CDs.
By the mid 1970s, the Southern African nation known as the Republic of Zambia had fallen on hard times. Though the country’s first president Kenneth Kaunda had thrown off the yoke of British colonialism, the new federation found itself under his self-imposed, autocratic rule. Conflict loomed on all sides of this landlocked nation. Kaunda protected Zambia from war, but his country descended into isolation and poverty as he supported rebel movements in neighboring countries Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and stood up against apartheid South Africa.
This is the environment in which the 70s rock revolution that has come to be known as Zamrock flourished. It’s no wonder that the Zambian musicians taken by American and European influences gravitated to the dark side of the rock and funk spectrum. Fuzz guitars were commonplace, as were driving rhythms influenced by James Brown’s funk and Jimi Hendrix’s rock. Musical themes, mainly sung in the country’s constitutional language, English, were often bleak.
When Now-Again Records’s Eothen “Egon” Alapatt started his investigation into this scene, he found that Zamrock markers were few. Only a small number of the original Zamrock godfathers that remained in the country survived through the late ’90s, when the music recorded in ’70s Zambia became the final frontier for those global-psychedelic rock junkies searching for their next fix. AIDS decimated this country, and uncontrollable inflation forced the Zambian rockers that could afford to flee into something resembling exile.
This was not a likely scene to survive – but it did. Following Now-Again’s previous anthologies centered around Zamrock bands WITCH, Ngozi Family, Amanaz and Musi-O-Tunya, Welcome To Zamrock!, presented in two volumes, arrives; these two volumes highlight Now-Again’s decade-long investigation into this musical movement and present the definitive overview of its most beloved ensembles. Zamrock’s ascension, its fall and its resurgence is detailed in an extensive book written by Alapatt and Zambian music historian Leonard Koloko.
By the mid 1970s, the Southern African nation known as the Republic of Zambia had fallen on hard times. Though the country’s first president Kenneth Kaunda had thrown off the yoke of British colonialism, the new federation found itself under his self-imposed, autocratic rule. Conflict loomed on all sides of this landlocked nation. Kaunda protected Zambia from war, but his country descended into isolation and poverty as he supported rebel movements in neighboring countries Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and stood up against apartheid South Africa.
This is the environment in which the 70s rock revolution that has come to be known as Zamrock flourished. It’s no wonder that the Zambian musicians taken by American and European influences gravitated to the dark side of the rock and funk spectrum. Fuzz guitars were commonplace, as were driving rhythms influenced by James Brown’s funk and Jimi Hendrix’s rock. Musical themes, mainly sung in the country’s constitutional language, English, were often bleak.
When Now-Again Records’s Eothen “Egon” Alapatt started his investigation into this scene, he found that Zamrock markers were few. Only a small number of the original Zamrock godfathers that remained in the country survived through the late ’90s, when the music recorded in ’70s Zambia became the final frontier for those global-psychedelic rock junkies searching for their next fix. AIDS decimated this country, and uncontrollable inflation forced the Zambian rockers that could afford to flee into something resembling exile.
This was not a likely scene to survive – but it did. Following Now-Again’s previous anthologies centered around Zamrock bands WITCH, Ngozi Family, Amanaz and Musi-O-Tunya, Welcome To Zamrock!, presented in two volumes, arrives; these two volumes highlight Now-Again’s decade-long investigation into this musical movement and present the definitive overview of its most beloved ensembles. Zamrock’s ascension, its fall and its resurgence is detailed in an extensive book written by Alapatt and Zambian music historian Leonard Koloko.
104 pages, Hardcover
Published June 9, 2017
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 12, 2023
First off, this isn't an in-depth book on Zamrock, it's more like liner notes collected in book form. Inside the book is a CD in a cardboard slip, so this is a nicer way to package liner notes than a small CD booklet. With that in mind, I'm giving this 4 stars for the fact it comes with the CD. If it was just the book it'd be three stars.
The first half of this book (which is just shy of 100 pages) is an introduction to Zamrock, a musical genre from Zambia. It gives context and a quick history of Zambia and where the music came from, and is by no means complete, with lots of names and releases thrown around so you can do additional research if interested.
The second half is a series of short bios on the artists and bands who are featured on the CD. These are great even if some are quite short, but each one ends with the suggestion to pick up related releases from Now Again for more information on the artists.
Overall, this is an introduction to Zamrock, and a nice advertisement to the other releases from this label. But what makes it stand out (apart from the CD) is the layout and extensive photos. Possibly half this book is photos of band members, Zambia, and old records. It's spread out really well, and the pages are given vibrant background colours which I loved. It's a great package, and I'm looking forward to jump into Volume 2.
The first half of this book (which is just shy of 100 pages) is an introduction to Zamrock, a musical genre from Zambia. It gives context and a quick history of Zambia and where the music came from, and is by no means complete, with lots of names and releases thrown around so you can do additional research if interested.
The second half is a series of short bios on the artists and bands who are featured on the CD. These are great even if some are quite short, but each one ends with the suggestion to pick up related releases from Now Again for more information on the artists.
Overall, this is an introduction to Zamrock, and a nice advertisement to the other releases from this label. But what makes it stand out (apart from the CD) is the layout and extensive photos. Possibly half this book is photos of band members, Zambia, and old records. It's spread out really well, and the pages are given vibrant background colours which I loved. It's a great package, and I'm looking forward to jump into Volume 2.
Displaying 1 of 1 review