Zamrock: Difference between revisions

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| caption          = A Zamrock record by [[Rikki Ililonga]] and the [[Musi-O-Tunya (band)|Musi-O-Tunya]]]]
| caption          = A Zamrock record by [[Rikki Ililonga]] and the [[Musi-O-Tunya (band)|Musi-O-Tunya]]
| stylistic_origins = Rock, Funk
| stylistic_origins = Rock, Funk
| cultural_origins  = 1970s, [[Copperbelt]], [[Lusaka]]
| cultural_origins  = 1970s, [[Copperbelt]], [[Lusaka]]

Revision as of 04:31, 12 July 2016

Zamrock (Zambian rock) is a music genre derivative of Western psychedelic rock re-innovated by Zambian youth in the early 1970s.[1] It was a mixture of traditional African music, funk rhythms and psychedelic fuzz guitars.[2]

History

After Zambia gained its independence from the British in 1964, the nation's broadcaster, Zambia Broadcasting Services (ZBS) was established. As a way of promoting local music, President Kenneth Kaunda passed a law that at least 95% of music on the radio had to be of Zambian origin. This policy was instrumental in bringing many artists on the scenes and a number of bands were formed.

In early 1970s, Zamrock emerged in Zambia as a dual influence of Jimi Hendrix's psychedelic rock and James Brown's funk. Later, many of the Zamrock bands were highly influenced by the heavy repetitive riffs of bands like Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer and Cream. Rikk & Musi-O-Tunya are generally credited as the creators of this music genre. Other notable artists include The Witch,[3] The Peace, Amanaz, Chrissy "Zebby" Tembo, Paul Ngozi and his Ngozi Family among others.[4]

Zamrock's roots can be traced back to the 1950s with northern singers from the Copperbelt Province such as Stephen Tsotsi Kasumali, William Mapulanga and John Lushi.

It was a psychedelic period marked by social upheavals, flares, fluorescent colours, flamboyant hairstyles, generational differences, and powerful music.[5]

Style and influence

Zamrock was considered as aggressive and came to embody the economic despair that followed the 1973-1974 oil crisis, which flung Zambia into recession and exacerbated a wide range of social tensions.The music style also captured the controversy of wider politics in Africa and the world. Paul Dobson Nyirongo, one of the founding members of Musi-O-Tunya – believed by many to be the first ever Zamrock group – and a member of the band Ngozi Family, for example, went by the stage name 'Paul Ngozi', meaning "danger". Meanwhile, one of the most loved bands of the era was called The W.I.T.C.H., an acronym for 'We Intend To Cause Havoc'.[5]

Zamrockers were considered hippies and eccentrics: One legendary gig by the band Amanaz in 1974, reportedly saw the singer jumping out of a coffin wearing a skeleton suit with flared trousers.[2]

Decline

Many Zamrock bands were disbanded following the economic crisis which was caused by the fall in the price of copper in the late-1970s, when inflation and unemployment rose. The decline of Zamrock was also facilitated by new radio stations, television, and video flooding the country with outside musical influences, such as reggae, ragga, rhythm & blues, hip-hop, and gospel.

Musical piracy hit Zamrock artists hard, and with no safeguards in place, bootleggers in neighbouring countries were able to make money by copying and selling the music of Zambian artists. Many musicians of the era thus left the profession to find other work to sustain themselves and their families. Jagari, for example, became a teacher, and then a miner.[5]

The Zamrockers lived an extravagant lifestyle, but were very ignorant of the dangers of HIV and AIDS. Back then the disease was completely unknown – other than as something that only affected homosexuals.[2] This led to the demise of most artists.

See also

References

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  1. Documentary: ‘Zamrock Survivors’ w/ Emmanuel Jagari of WITCH & Rikki Ililonga Okayafrica, 8 June 2013
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Zamrock: An Introduction Red Bull Music Academy Daily
  3. WITCH on Dusted Magazine (Apr. 15, 2010)
  4. Lua error in ...ribunto/includes/engines/LuaCommon/lualib/mwInit.lua at line 23: bad argument #1 to 'old_ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Why Zamrock is back in play The Guardian, 22 July 2013