Welcome To Zamrock! Vol.2 (2xLP) Various Artists

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. 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.  

Tracklist:

A1 Crossbones – Really
A2 Amanaz– History Of Man
A3 Witch – Strange Dream
A4 Rikki Ililonga– Stop Dreaming Mr. D
A5 Five Revolutions– Poor Man
B1 Keith Mlevhu– Love And Freedom
B2 Born Free– Mad Man
B3 Dr. Footswitch– Otenta
B4 Tinkles– Mpundu
B5 Salty Dog – See The Strom
C1 Fireballs – Umwana Wakusanga Mung’anda
C2 Peace– Umbwalwa Ne Chamba
C3 Oscillations– Request To God
C4 Musi-O-Tunya– Katonga
D1 Ngozi Family– Hold On
D2 Chrissy Zebby Tembo– I’m Not Made Of Iron
D3 Jesper Siliya Lungu– Hot Do
D4 Mike Nyoni– SM