Zamrock: Your Guide to the Awesomeness

At ComposeMD, the list of stuff we’re into includes geography, history, and music. We were thinking it would be great to be able to somehow combine all three. But how? Zamrock! That’s a combination of Zambia and rock music. And, needless to say, there’s some history to be told. So here it is – your brief guide to the awesomeness that was Zamrock.

 

Background

Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, currently home to about 18 million people and the 120th largest nominal GDP in the world. During the 19th and 20th centuries, like much of Africa, it had a European “caretaker,” also known as colonizer. In this case, the United Kingdom served that role, labeling the region as Northern Rhodesia and providing, among other things, a little musical influence.

In 1964, Northern Rhodesia gained independence as the Republic of Zambia, with Kenneth Kaunda being the nation’s first president. The economic hopes of a young Zambia rested largely on its copper reserves, found specifically in the country’s Copperbelt Province. The early years of independence were a relative success. Copper mines provided gainful employment, resulting in a sizable middle class willing to spend money on entertainment.

 

Zamrock

Under President Kaunda’s “One Zambia, One Nation” vision, music was a natural fit. (It didn’t hurt that Kaunda was an amateur musician himself.) In order to make it work, there had to be a home-grown element. In other words, the music had to be Zambian. And the result of layering native Zambian elements on top of Western sounds popular at the time (psychedelic rock, funk, metal, folk, etc.) was, let us say, awesome. In the words of a Zambian DJ, it was Zamrock.

Added to the mix of a decent economy and a unique sound was a mandate that radio stations play 95 percent Zambian music. By the time the 1970s rolled around, a legitimate movement had been born.

Some of the pioneers included Rikki Ililonga and his band Musi-O-Tunya as well as the band WITCH (an acronym for We Intend To Cause Havoc), fronted by Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda. Other big names included Paul Ngozi and his Ngozi Family, Amanaz (an acronym for Ask Me About Nice Artistes In Zambia), The Peace, Blackfoot, Salty Dog, and Keith Mlevhu.

The bands often sung in English, though local languages such as Bemba, Nyanja, and Tonga were also represented.

Here are two songs that exemplify the fusion of Zambian and Western components. The first is “Katonga” by Musi-O-Tunya (you have to wait a solid minute or so before the electric guitar kicks in). The second is “Kumanda Kwa Bambo Wanda” by Ngozi Family.

 

 

 

The Grunge Analogy

If the idea of an impactful, geographically defined music scene rings a bell, you might be thinking about Seattle and grunge. And there are a few unfortunate parallels. As was the case for grunge, Zamrock’s reign was short-lived and not devoid of tragedy.

As copper prices fell, so did the disposable income necessary to support the arts. In fact, as the story goes, some musicians returned to working in the mines.

Not helping the situation was Zambia’s support of regional rebel movements, including those fighting apartheid in South Africa. The result was unwelcome bombings of power stations and the implementation of curfews, neither particularly helpful to any music scene.

If any residual hope remained for Zamrock, it was eradicated by the 1980s HIV epidemic. As an example, aside from Jagari Chanda, all original members of WITCH died from HIV-related complications.

Because the grunge scene rose to prominence in the U.S. of the 1990s as opposed to the Zambia of the 1970s, its sound remains widely distributed. Thankfully, Now-Again Records has taken on the project of reissuing Zamrock classics, providing the same benefit to the genre and helping to preserve a sound and a story.

 

To honor the memory of Zamrock, go ahead and fire up your favorite music streaming service. Find a Zamrock playlist (there are a few) and let it roll. Think about the history and listen for how that’s reflected in what you hear. Actually, scrap that. Just grab a beer.