WITCH's rare Zamrock 70s singles tracks collected on "Fool's Ride" comp

WITCH's tough-to-find Zamrock singles have been thoughtfully compiled by Egon Alapatt on the "Fool's Ride" album from Now-Again out now.   

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The last of WITCH’s Zamrock to finally see wide commercial release – their uber-rare 7″ singles collected as an album. Pressed on deep purple coloured vinyl – Now-Again’s officially sanctioned Black Friday Record Store Day 2025 Release!

Zamrock was a bona-fide rock scene, with albums released through independent labels based in Zambia. This music scene was complete, encompassing the genres of rock, acid folk, fusion, Afro-beat, South African jazz and traditional Zambian melodies. It quickly became a uniquely Zambian movement, befitting of its name. Chrissy Zebby Tembo, Paul Ngozi and Amanaz sound nothing like other rock music from the African continent or elsewhere.

WITCH issued five albums as a Zamrock band. With ‘Fool’s Ride,’ we have collected the band’s uber-rare 7″ singles and present them as the final, golden-age WITCH LP.

WITCH’s first two, self-produced albums – ‘Introduction’ and ‘In The Past,’ released in unison with the birth of the commercial Zambian recording industry – are exuberant experiments in garage rock, and are as influenced by the Rolling Stones as they are James Brown. Their third album,’Lazy Bones!!,’ is the band’s masterpiece – a dark, brooding psychedelic opus that makes equal use of wah-wah and fuzz guitars, that relies as heavily on the stomping feel of hard rock as it does the syncopation of funk. The band’s last two albums – ‘Lukombo Vibes’ and ‘Including Janet,’ recorded after the band toured with Osibisa – make use of traditional Zambian rhythms and folk melodies. They are the most “afro-rock” of WITCH’s oeuvre. 

Get a copy of WITCH's "Fool's Ride" album on limited-edition purple wax while it's still available via Bandcamp right here.

WITCH - Fool's Ride

1. Talking Universe

2. Evil Woman

3. Sweet Sixteen

4. Up The Sky

5. Toloka

6. 81st Crowd Confusion

7. Fool’s Ride

8. Chifundo

“Toloka/81st Crowd Confusion” “Talking Universe/Sweet Sixteen” “Up The Sky/Evil Woman” 7″ singles produced and arranged by WITCH. Recorded at D.B. Applications, Lusaka, Zambia in 1975.

“Toloka/81st Crowd Confusion” 7″ originally released on Teal Record Company/Zambezi Records ZTZ 4.

“Talking Universe/Sweet Sixteen” originally released on Teal Record Company/Zambezi Records ZTZ 6.

“Up The Sky/Evil Woman” originally released on Teal Record Company/Zambezi Records ZTZ 9.

‘Fool’s Ride/Chifundo” 7″ single: Produced by Teal Record Company. Arranged by WITCH. Recorded at Sapra Studios, Nairobi, Kenya on September 21, 1976. Engineered by Detlef Degener.

Originally released on Teal Record Company WITI.

Watch the WITCH video for "Avalanche Of Love" off their Zango album

"Avalanche of Love" is off the forthcoming Zango album – out June 2 – from reconstituted Zamrock crew WITCH. 

You can pre-order a copy of the new WITCH album Zango on limited 'Zambian full moon yellow' vinyl right here.

W.I.T.C.H. with PAINT @ The Horseshoe, Friday

Original W.I.T.C.H. member Jagari Chanda is joined by hard-whumpin' backing band to reprise the band's Zamrock classics. 

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W.I.T.C.H. (We Intend To Cause Havoc) were the biggest rock band in Zambia in the 1970s and spearheaded a new genre dubbed Zamrock, fusing influences that ranged from the Rolling Stones to Black Sabbath and James Brown and mixing them with traditional African rhythms and bush village songs. At t the peak of their popularity, the band often needed police to keep fans at bay while their lead singer Jagari - whose name is an Africanisation of Mick Jagger’s - riled up crowds by stage diving from balconies and dancing manically as the WITCH’s blend of psychedelic rock and African rhythms permeated the surrounding atmosphere.

Emmanuel Jagari Chanda is the charismatic sole surviving original member of the band. As Zambia’s economy stagnated and the country buckled under the AIDS crisis, WITCH fell apart. Jagari retreated to a life of quasi-anonymity as a university music professor before being wrongfully arrested during Zambia’s toughest hour. Now a man in his 60s, he spends his time mining gemstones hoping to strike it rich, until very recently the band being just a nostalgic memory of his youth.

Largely unknown outside of their home country, WITCH finally got the exposure they deserved when Now Again Records reissued their entire discography in 2012. This allowed Jagari to play outside Africa for the first time and for a new generation of fans to discover his music. In 2016 he began a collaboration with Dutch musicians Jacco Gardner and Nic Mauskoviç, and together with them, in September 2017 WITCH headed out on its extremely successful first-ever European Tour,

In the Fall of 2019, WITCH embarked on their first North American tour, including a well-received performance at Desert Daze.

WITCH plays The Legendary Horseshoe with PAINT on Friday (October 7) at 8 pm. Advance tickets are $30 plus service charge available right here. Watch a recent WITCH performance on KEXP following the trailer for Gio Arlotta's new WITCH documentary We Intend To Cause Havoc and a performance of "Lazy Bones" from South Africa's Endless Daze Festival back in 2018. 

Michael Rault previews new album with Starsky & Hutch-inspired video

Montreal's Michael Rault's new self-titled album is out June 10th. Check out his "Neither Love Nor Money" clip and an interview.

Here's the scoop...
A remarkable re-imagination of '70s pop perfection, Michael Rault's new eponymous album began to take shape during a time of endings. Michael, on the cusp of turning 30 and freshly off the road promoting 2018's A New Day Tonight, had just ended a romantic relationship, and cut ties with his management and touring band. Returning home to Montreal, he hunkered down in his bedroom studio and began writing. From the drug-fueled, dance floor slow-stepper, "Neither Love Nor Money", to the introspective "Inside Your Heart", to the tongue-in-cheek playfulness of "Champagne", the body of work he created in this epoch of uncertainty is proof of just how crucial that time of endings really was. Michael delivers a lush, timeless collection of songs - continuing his increasingly profound exploration into the worlds of progressive pop, psych folk, yacht rock and beyond. 

You can pre-order Michael Rault's new album via Bandcamp right here. Watch Ryan Baxley's video for "Neither Love Nor Money" followed by Mark Neeley's animated clip for "Exactly What I Needed" and a fairly ho-hum podcast interview. 

Vinyl Me, Please releasing The Story Of Zamrock! anthology

This new compendium of psych rarities from Northern Zambia is an 8 LP set curated by Egon & Jason Connoy supported with a 4-part podcast series.

Here's the scoop...
VMP Anthology: The Story of Zamrock! highlights and celebrates one of the most intriguing and complete music scenes to arise in the latter half of the 20th century. Featuring 8 albums, 7 of which have never been reissued in their original form, The Story of Zamrock reflects a decade long journey that Eothan "Egon" Alapatt of Now-Again Records and Jason "MoSS" Connoy of Strawberry Rain Records have taken, delving into the Zamrock scene, finding the last musicians left standing, researching, documenting and legitimately reissuing the uber-rare albums originally released in Zambia’s cities in the 1970s. Get a copy right here. Check the promotional clip below.


Vinyl Me, Please: The Story Of Zamrock
WITCH – Introduction (Original Private Press Version)
5 Revolutions – Free Man
Amanaz – Africa
Ricky Banda – Niwanji Walwa
Ngozi Family – 45,000 Volts
Oscillations – I Can See It Coming
Fire Balls – Unreleased
Cross Bones – Wise Man

Host Mike D selected some rare Chardonnay to accompany his Echo Chamber chat with Egon & Madlib about hard-to-find recordings from Zambia.

The Perlich Post's Top Reissues of 2012

Single Artist Releases
1. WITCH - We Intend To Cause Havoc!
2. Don Cherry - Organic Music Society
3. The Flatlanders - The Odessa Tapes
4. Hannibal Marvin Peterson - The Tribe
5. Feedtime - The Aberrant Years
5. Ebo Taylor ‎– Twer Nyame
6. Dan Penn – The Fame Recordings
7. Myrian Makenwa ‎– La Extraordinaria
8. Edzayawa - Projection One
9. Tim Maia – Nobody Can Live Forever
10. Henri-Pierre Noel - Piano
11. Azanyah - The One
12. Yabby You & Bretheren - Deeper Roots: Dub Plates & Rarities, 1976 to 1978
13. Can - The Lost Tapes
14. The Funkees - Dancing Time: The Best Of Eastern Nigeria’s Afro Rock Exponents, 1973-77
15. Lee Perry - Sound Doctor: Lee Perry And The Sufferers' Black Ark Singles & Dub Plates 1972 To 1978
16. Sandy Denny – The Notes and Words: A Collection of Demos and Rarities
17. William Parker - Centering: Unreleased Early Recordings, 1976-1987
18. Henri Guédon - Cosmozouk
19. Grupo Los Yoyi - Yoyi
20. Buck Owens - Tall Dark Stranger
21. The Lijadu Sisters ‎– Afro-Beat Soul Sisters: The Lijadu Sisters At Afrodisia, Nigeria, 1976-79
22. Reverend Gary Davis - An Afternoon With Reverend Gary Davis
23. Ilaiyaraaja – Fire Star: Synth-Pop & Electro-Funk from Tamil Films 1985-1989
24. Pauline Oliveros - Reverberations Tape and Electronic Music 1961-1970
25. Alfonso Lovo - La Gigantona
26. George Jackson - Let The Best Man Win: The Fame Recordings Volume 2
27. William Sheller - Lux Aeterna
28. Derdiyoklar İkilisi - Disco Folk
29. Augustus Pablo - Dubbing On Bond Street
30. Lee Hazlewood – The LHI Years: Singles, Nudes & Backsides, 1968-71
31. Afro Funk - Body Music
32. Pharoah Sanders - In The Beginning
33. Ahora Mazda - Ahora Mazda
33. Rob – Make It Fast, Make It Slow
34. Brenda Ray ‎– D'Ya Hear Me! Naffi Years, 1979-83
35. Karen Dalton - 1966
36. HE3 Project - Chapter Three
37. Tronics – Love Backed by Force
38. Emil Richards - Stones / Journey To Bliss
39. The Outsiders - Monkey On Your Back: Their 45s
40. Baris Manco - Sakla Samani, Gelir Zamani
41. Doug Jerebine ‎– Doug Jerebine Is Jesse Harper
42. Lou Ragland – I Travel Alone
43. Shin Joong Hyun ‎– Shin Joong Hyun & Yup Juns
44. Mahmoud Ahmed - Mahmoud Ahmed Accompanied By The Ibex Band
45. Roy Porter Sound Machine – The Story of Roy Porter Sound Machine 1971-1975
46. Domingo Cura ‎– Tiempo De Percusion: An Anthology, 1971-77
47. Royal Band de Thiès – Kadior Demb
48. Justin Rutledge & The Junction Forty - No Never Alone
49. Afro Kelenkye Band - Jungle Funk
49. Salah Ragab & The Cairo Jazz Band - Unreleased Egyptian Jazz 1968-1974
50. Ironing Board Sam - An Introduction To Ironing Board Sam

Various Artist Compilations

1. Diablos Del Ritmo: The Colombian Melting Pot,1960-1985
2. The Return Of The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
3. Jukebox Mambo: Rumba & Afro-Latin Accented Rhythm & Blues 1949 to 1960
4. It's Saturday Night!: Starday-Dixie Rockabilly 1955-1961
5. Personal Space: Electronic Soul, 1974-1984
6. R&B Hipshakers, Vol. 3: Just a Little Bit of the Jumpin' Bean
7. Holy Spirit: Spiritual Soul & Gospel Funk from Shreveport’s Jewel Records
8. TV Sound & Image: British Television Film & Library Composers 1955-78
9. Work Hard, Play Hard, Pray Hard: Hard Time, Good Time & End Time Music, 1923-1936
10. A Search For CMS African Records by Blue Flamingo
11. ¡Saoco! The Bomba and Plena Explosion in Puerto Rico 1954-1966
12. The Detroit Funk Vaults: Funk and Soul from Dave Hamilton, 1968-1979
13. Killed By Synth, Vol. 1
14. The Rojac Story: The Best Of Rojac & Tayster
15. The Original Sound of Cumbia: The History of Colombian Cumbia & Porro As Told By The Phonograph 1948-79
17. Soul Cal: Funky Disco & Modern Soul Masterpieces 1971-1982
18. Fetén: Rare Jazz Recordings From Spain, 1961-1974
19. Now's The Time: Deep German Jazz Grooves Vol 2: 1957-1969
20. Cooler Than Ice: Arctic Records & The Rise Of Philly Soul
21. Loving On The Flipside: Sweet Funk And Beat-Heavy Ballads 1969-1977
22. Royal Grooves: Funk & Groovy Soul from the King Records Vault
23. Tomorrow's Achievements: Parry Music Library 1976-86
24. Down Under Nuggets: Original Australian Artyfacts 1965-1967
25. Spiritual Jazz Volume II and III: Esoteric, Modal And Deep European Jazz 1960-78
26. Eccentric Soul: Omnibus Vol. 1
27. Regional Garland - Mixed Sugar: The Complete Works, 1970-1987
28. Hall of Fame: Rare and Unissued Gems from the Fame Vaults
29. From The Vaults Of Ric & Ron Records: Rare & Unreleased Recordings 1958-1962
30. Sensacional Soul Vol. 3: Spanish Soul Stompers 1966-1976
31. The Music City Sessions, Vol. 1-3
32. Eccentric Soul: A Red Black & Green Production
33. Zendooni: Funk Psychedelia & Pop From Iranian Pre Revolution Generation
31. Wail Man Wail! The Best of King Curtis 1952-1961
32. Twin Cities Funk & Soul: Lost R&B Grooves From Minneapolis/St. Paul 1964-1979
33. Deep Enough Volume 1: Deep Jazz, Deep Funk & All Kinds Of Deep Grooves
34: Man Chest Hair: 17 Outbursts Of Unreleased Testosterone From The 1970s Mancunian Rock Underground
35: Java-Java: Indonesia Screaming Fuzz, Vol. 2
36. Soul Braza: Brazilian 60's & 70's Soul Psych, Vol. 2
37. Ike Turner Studio Productions: New Orleans And Los Angeles 1963-65
38. Cumbia Beat Vol 2: Experimental Guitar Driven Tropical Sounds From Peru 1966-1983
39. You Turned My Head Around: Lee Hazlewood Industries 1967-1970
40. Sofrito: International Soundclash
41. Lost Soul Gems: From Sounds Of Memphis
42. Surinam: Boogie & Disco Funk From The Surinamese Dance Floors, 76-83
43. Strange Passion: Explorations In Irish Post Punk DIY & Electronic Music 1980-83
44. Ivory Coast Soul 2: Afro Soul In Abidjan From 1976 To 1981
45. Ritmo Caliente
46. Khana Khana: Funk Psychedelia & Pop From Iranian Pre Revolution Generation
47. The Best of Perception & Today Records
48. Diggin' Down Argentina: Nuggets From The Rioplatense Scene 1967-1976, Vol 2
49. Jende Ri Palenge: People Of Palenque
50. Dabke: Sounds Of The Syrian Houran