Zamrock

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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 psychedelic period marked by social upheavals, flares, fluorescent colours, flamboyant hairstyles, generational differences, and powerful music.[2]

History

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. Rikki Ililonga & 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.

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'.[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.[2]

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 Why Zamrock is back in play The Guardian, 22 July 2013
  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).