Hey Bandsplaining. I'm a young Zambian in my 20's and so many in my generation have no clue about the zamrock era in our country. Thank you very much for this short documentary and helping us preserve a piece of our history that was soon to vanish and be forgotten
Some of the bands from then are on youtube also, check them out! Sick guitar work all over. Maybe some of the young artists can bring this music from the past back. Great samples for house, hip hop, other contemporary styles th-cam.com/video/DLhloZ-m5AI/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/JjEnjX-4EDI/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/ZYvMcpYeM7o/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/2QxeDecgNWg/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/6T4OlQO56O8/w-d-xo.html
My grandfather was actually part of this movement. His music name was Dr. Footswitch. Man, you have bought back memories. I still have two vinyl records of his greatest hits.
Wow, as a kid, I remember Dr Footswitch, though I cannot recall any of his music. However I do remember he was one of the leading lights of the Zamrock era. Is it true that he left Zambia and moved to live in South Africa?
@@themoe.1 I'm so honored that someone remembers him. Yes he did move to South Africa, and just like most Zamrock champions of that day, his life was short-lived. I still own his guitar to this day. Though he only used this specific one once.
@ Michael, great to know you have 2 vinyl records of his hits plus his guitar. I don’t think any of his albums or collection of his hits have ever been re-issued, I’m hoping that day will come sometime soon.
Oh wow, he also called himself Ted Jagger for some time i think! Some of his music has actually been reissued in compilations, I have lots of photos of his that I dug up in the ZANIS archives, while making the documentary on Jagari Chanda and WITCH if you like I can send them to you!
Man Jimi Hendrix didn’t realize just how much of influence he was going to have on the world. Crazy how some poor black kid from Seattle could influence so many.
@@ercm2393 Eric - he is the best. I have a three album set of really obscure stuff I'm going to transfer to digital - talking to space people smoking colored cigarettes and such. Ever hear of Kevin Ayers? He and Hendrix are tied for my fav musical artist. The confessions of dr dream and the document series are my favs of his. Can't wait to dig into the Zambian tunes. I go on safaris hunting for music for my DJ shows. If the music is well composed and well crafted i will listen to it. Keep on rockin' my friend! Auto tuner - bah!
@@KaumbaChingonyi exactly. It's annoying me how people from western countries tell me my own history like wtf is our ministry of education doing? In 2017 a Belgian told me about mama Lenshina and I was shocked cause I had never heard of the woman before and I had to do some research. Being a rock and alternative fan, now I discovered that some covers I've heard online are actually songs from Zambia.!! 😑
I saw witch last night. There were only between 50 and 70 people at the show but the atmosphere was amazing. It was so great to see a band who helped creating a whole new genre almost 50 years later. Their Music is timeless 😍
I learned about Zamrock from the Movie *The Comedy* where they play Amanaz. I've listened to that album so much that I'm now tired of it, but damn is it a good album.
I saw WITCH recently and they were incredible. Emmanuel was the only original member, the rest were all from Europe. Still a great show. I asked him after if he was influenced by James Brown, because he played a cover and had a similar stage presence. He said that he saw James Brown in Zambia in 1970 and was instantly hooked on him. So grateful that they came here.
ghostphoto i saw them at DesertDaze last year and they blew me away. His presence onstage, still, was exhilarating. And those songs are great so yah, much love for these people!
@@gravelevel3084 I've seen people 1/3 his age perform with 10% of the energy. It was insane. He also told a story about how they played a show once and they were all arrested for loudness. They went to prison and were each given a pack of cigarettes and some sugar. Somehow that was the most rock n roll shit I've ever heard.
Damn 8:10 straight up sounds like the coolest place ever to hangout... Imagine the pioneers of rock in your country playing out their innovative stuff for you while you catch fish, bbq or take a leisurely swim in the lake instead of going to sweaty drug fueled nightclubs...My God
Haha same! You ought to check out some of the contemporary Moroccan musicians too. They're taking the traditional gnawa music to great heights by incorporating elements of fusion, jazz and rock. Similarly, you might like Egyptian jazz. Next level music.
This is an example of how we do well when others do well. If it wasn't for that brief window of prosperity we would've never had Zamrock, now imagine if that brief window of prosperity happened in every African country, now imagine if that brief window was a large window, and imagine how aside from music, what other things could have developed in a stable and relatively prosperous Africa, More game studios? More biochemists? More middle class people to do business with? Less refugees? We do well when others do well. I believe Orwell said something about asking himself how many Einsteins and Newtons of the world spent their days slaving away on a field somewhere.
There is no profit in poverty for anyone. Fact is capitalist prosperity if properly applied will lift people out of poverty and create a bountiful and creative society if given a chance. The problem is many people are more interested in abusing these systems and implementing political authoritarianism, which kills the human spirit. In the 1970s, much of Africa and the Middle East were on track to becoming modern, prosperous, liberal nations. If you look at pictures of Iran and Iraq and Turkey and even Afghanistan during that time period you can see free and open people enjoying a society on the upswing. But then the mullahs and authoritarian dictators took over and wrecked it all.
@@Dr.TJ_Eckleburg true but you have to acknowledge the role that other nations played in this period. Cold war was still going, US and Soviets fighting over resources, implementing authoritarian regimes all for the sake of stable resources. Mainly oil. Those regimes did not appear by themselves. Capitalism and authoritarianism sadly don't exclude one another
That could be if we didn't have 50 different tiny countries alover the continent. If western countries leave us alone instead of creating those tiny countries which are no more than military outposts that they use to loot the continent of its niches. If were one country we could pool our talents and say no with one voice to those who seek to exploit us. Yes we could. But as long as we have all these resources that others want, they will forever destabilise us and turn around and tell us we can't run our country while having their tum pressing down on the destabilizing scale. China, India the USA is great because they one country. If you had to pick one thing that make those country great it's their unity. Unity is the greatest wealth, without it you will be alwsys poor and powerless.
@EVOCATEUR I think you clearly have not studied Zambia or even the other nations you mentioned during those times.Zambia was ruled by a pro soviet government during this time that was not a traditional liberal democracy.Turkey saw its growth during the authoritarian Kemalist periods and is still quite rich today but with the Islamic buffoonery that came in the 90’s,same for Iran though their Islamism came earlier.And Iraq never had a liberal democracy like ever(except today),it was a monarchy until 1958 and then a socialist Pan Arabist republic,first under Qasim who was a communist type,then the Nasserist and then the Baathist who would lead to the rise of Hussein.Same for Afghanistan Which was a monarchy,then a modernist authoritarian republic and then a communist nation,things would go downhill once the Islamist took over.
I learn more off of TH-cam than I do in school, as a Zambian I didn't even know about zamrock until now and I love rock music so much now that I can actually listen to rock music from Zambia it really makes me happy, thank you for the video❤️
I'm a Trinidadian 🇹🇹 who had the fortunate opportunity of meeting Emmanuel last year, at the screening of a film based on the band W.I.T.C.H. An amazing film. An amazing man🇿🇲
Thank you! Well researched. It was a golden era and I loved every minute. I was a guitarist for the band Musi O Tunya (Wayne Barnes) Rikki Illilonga, Brian Chengala, myself, and Jasper are still going. I no longer play due to illness but the others are doing it. Brian is now Shakarongo and a public figure, as is Rikki. RIP Paul, Aliki, and Ndara. And all other sisters and brothers who fell along the way. (Edit: I know I was the worst guitarist in music history, but did you cut me out of 4:27 intentionally?)
Hey Wayne..I've just bumped into this report and mentioned that I knew you guys in Nairobi in 1973. I only remembered Rikki and Brian(drummer) who became my buddy. When Mosi O Tunya band was in Nairobi, you guys hung out at Arcadia Restaurant and Nightclub. It was owned by Jack "the Jew". Early 1973, a Kenyan musicologist from London negotiated and bought the venue from Jack and I remember you guys playing there before you left for Zambia. The Kenyan who bought the club was my father who, thereafter, really rocked Nairobi for four years. Please give a big hug to the guys....you may not remember for I was small but I played acoustic guitar(classic) on nylon. I came to school in San Diego and Los Angeles, California in 1979 and have done alot of music concerts of Afro rhythms...Congo, Brazil, Cuba and more. I'm doing biz back in Kenya and am planning to go back to Afrika. Stay in touch, I still have Afrisa(Tabu Ley's band) to work with in LA and my network and we may hookup after all these years and rock the John Anson Ford theatre. Ahsante sana.
@@ochiengolum2808 Thank you That info cheers me up Jack was a real character and also a brave war hero. His belief in African music was important. Can't remember your dad but I will. I'm very old with bad memory.
''They are singing in their own tongue, they are not trying to sound like anybody else but themselves'' - what a sentiment. Amazing video, thank you for this.
I'm a South African who loves African music so this discovery adds to my love. My uncle worked in Zambia and Zimbabwe in the 70s. I'd love to hear the younger musicians sample these songs and preserve a part of this history.
As a Zambian living in Zambia, this gave me so much joy to watch. It also enlightened me on a lot I didn't know about our Zamrock era. Big ups to you lot for this one.
I’m half Zambian on my mother’s side. I sent my parents this video and it made them and myself so happy to hear about this Zamrock scene :) thank you for creating this
@Reginald Brent did you watch the video....? all the music was inspired by each other. the zamrock movement was started after the beatles and whatnot lmao
Reginald Brent bud... he didn’t say anything racist. I agree that Rock n Roll has black roots but races don’t own genres. Zamrock was inspired by the Beatles the same way the Beatles were inspired by Chuck Berry and so on. And this is coming from a Zambian African-American too before you start calling me racist.
I know Jagari from Witch well. We've done a radio show together. In the 70s and 80s it was very expensive and hard for musicians to get instruments and sound gear so my grandfather John Kruger and his partner Hendrik Garson started making guitars, drum kits, mixers, speakers etc for all of these guys. The business was called Piano House and was an institution in Zambia. I have many many fond memories of playing in the shop as a kid and think that listening to Zambian musos practicing there is what inspired my passion for music.
Absolutely fantastic video man, loved it. You dug up some great historical facts and got me eager to check out more Zamrock. You might also enjoy Cambodia's rock music during the 60's and 70's which was sadly abruptly crushed by the Khmer Rouge, with several musicians dying in the genocide. They had some outstanding music. "Cambodian Rocks" is a great compilation album to start with if you're interessted.
@@daskalbdashupfte oh yeah! I bought myself this 50 CD collection from the record company "Sublime Frequencies". Havent nearly got half way through, but one I did listen to and which stuck out was an album called "Saigon Rock". They had this fascinating mix of cool as hell oriental female singers with somewhat Jimi Hendrix influenced funk rock.
Oh man I remember witch. My Dad was born in Zambia and I must have heard of them through him. Well most of my childhood memories regarding music centers around my Dads album collection. Thank god it was a good one. Really cool vid man.
Loved how he was not critical of his fellow people who died of aids, rather he just regrets the loss of the musical talents his country had. Great man and a great musician.
Beautiful, grew up listening to these, my father Norman C Muntemba was a founding member of Salty Dog, a talented bassist who passed in 2017, listening to their music here is sooo heartwarming❤❤❤❤
Khala My Friend is a masterpiece. Spotify recommended a Zamrock compilation to me a few years back and I've been listening ever since! Thanks for the history behind such amazing music!!
It's crazy how AIDS could just wipe out a whole movement of trailblazing musicians like this... makes you wonder what the world has missed out on because of the harm that disease inflicted...
Yeah, and not just colonialisms and racism, but you can even go back to neighborhoods in my part of the country and you just think how can society systematically drain itself from so many potential Einstein's, Beethoven's etc. Kind of offtopic here thougj
The TH-cam algorithm gave me this video despite me knowing nothing about Zamrock or this channel and I have to say it’s fantastic, both the music and the video. Subscribed!
The crazy thing is my dad is from Ghana and grew up in the 1960s - 1970s listening to Zamrock and I found them years later looking for new music and now we're both listening to Zamrock
Thank you for doing this, great stuff! My son worked for part of a year in a medical clinic in Burundi and he said the local folks he met there were among the best folks he has ever known and maintains long distance relationships with them to this day. He also saw the famous Drummers of Burundi perform while he was there.
I don't know why this was in my recommendations but I'm so glad it was, I was captivated from start to finish! I'd never heard of Zamrock before. So sad that the scene didn't survive for longer.
Just wanted to say thank you for making this, I’m a young Rap artist based in the UK and I’m of Zambian heritage. My Dad always used to tell me that he was in a bad grouping up and this allowed me to get a glimpse of what this era of music looked like
Let's not forget that Dr Kenneth Kaunda himself is a complete musician, a guitarist, a pianist, a vocalist and a songwriter. Just that politics took a higher precedence in his life calling.
I feel like we've lost a piece of history. I lived in Zambia as a kid and never heard any ZamRock,. It's sad that I never heard it then, but I glad I got to hear it now.
I’m glad someone is documenting how much of music culture really comes from Africa. The level at which music culture is generated here is surreal. Thousands of music genres, a wealth of sounds and very original creative ideas exist here, safe from gentrification and idea thieves.
Miss T it’s hard to appreciate differences when their identity is hijacked and then covered in the history books. Why is Elvis the king of rock n roll when it should be chuck berry? America has done that with rock, jazz, and tried it with hiphop. It’s not that their racist at heart, but rather they want to cash out, a white musician makes more and sells more than a black musician, but the black musicians where creating the cool shit, cool and black go hand in hand. There was once a joke on the tv the office on how to star a business. “ you get the black people to start doing it, then the white people will do it too, then you get the blacks to stop doing it” There’s some serious truth in that joke. American pop culture starts in the black community trickles down from those who take ( the gays) they bring it to white girls then it becomes mainstream. The easier way to trace his pattern is through slang and popular music.
@@Southforthewinter American pop culture is nothing but garbage these days. Not something to be proud of. You want to know why Elvis was the king of rock n roll? Because he had the charisma and sex appeal that Chuck Berry didn't have. His image was more important than his music in regards to his success. Jimi Hendrix on the other hand had it all, and is regarded as one of, if not the greatest guitar player of all time. Was he just an Uncle Tom? By your logic all music that blacks make using instruments invented by whites should be credited to whites. Did blacks invent the acoustic guitar? I guess Robert Johnson doesn't get credit for his work then, oops! Nothing but idiotic racist nonsense.
MrFreeGman everything would be fine and dandy if credit was given to the originator that’s all. Everyone borrows from everyone the difference is Europeans have a tendency of lying, plain and simple.
@@misst7923 No, they literally stole it. Early Stones, tons of Zeppelin songs that made them rich while they didn't pay royalties for decades to people like Willie Dixon, and that hambone beat that Bo Diddley popularized and you find throughout rock and pop from the 1960s to present was carried here from Africa and perpetuated by slapping the body when their drums were banned to oppress their culture. Once you hear it in African music you hear that clave in all musics of the Americas. If it wasn't for Africa you'd be listening to Victorian parlor music. Please.
To anyone coming back to this video, Witch came out with a great new album this year and you should definitely check it out. if you like their old stuff even better, but it’s a great rock album on its own regardless of the tremendous struggle and perseverance it took to get here
I absolutely love stuff like this. It's sad it ended so tragically but glad people are now working to preserve such a great musical culture. Also love all the links you shared. Definitely going to check out more
For once I appreciate my insomnia...randomly turned the channel to ZNBC and they were discussing zamrock...something I've never heard about! Which is sad. I appreciate this video so much, it truly has educated me on something I should have known. Definitely gonna do more research on this
I grew up in Zambia in the 70's and 80's, but was too young to experience Zamrock originally, , but I do remember the curfews. So glad to be able to experience it. Thanks for exposing it to more people..
this is like a whole new world opening, this kind of sound is my favorite kind of music and to like discover a whole new world of psych garage rock is amazing
Something about this music is so beautiful, yet so tragic. The idea of young Zambians trying to escape from their bad hand they've been dealt in life, through music, and then succumbing to a horrible disease and then having their music largely forgotten, even by their own countrymen (no disrespect intended, I am just going off some others comments written here). I don't know, the whole story fills me with joy that they were able to do what they loved, but at the same time I can't help but feel sad that it was cut short by something ultimately out of their control. What could have been, yknow? Love and respect to Zambia and Zambians, thankyou for the music, and please don't let this beautiful piece of your culture be forgotten.
You guys have done an amazing job compiling this footage. I can only imagine the headache you went thru getting this information. Its so well researched and documented. It matches everything my father told me about the 70s rock scene, its so unfortunate the remaining survivors are not given much recognition and credit for the contribution they made to the genre
I had read in a comment from your excellent Sahara music post (I've been rocking out to Mdou Moctar, Tinariwen, Tamikrest, etc for over a week now) that mentioned Zamrock, which I had been completely unaware of and I started checking out WITCH and some others. I was hoping you would do a post on them. Well done! I can't believe all the stuff I've missed! I guess I will be looking forward to Soviet Post-Punk and Cambodian (check out Dengue Fever from San Francisco) music next ;). Life without exploring is just existing.
I love all African psychedelia. I love hearing African musicians take all the American genres from blues to Cuban to reggae, hip hop and everything else that were inspired by W. Africa and bring them full circle like the call and response tradition writ large, putting their masterful touch on it. West Africans were already amazing with string instruments so guitar was a natural fit here. Psychedelia from all over the world was amazing, check out the tropicalia movement in Brazil if you're not familiar and someone mentioned cumbia and chicha, love that electrified. Excellent work, thanks :-)
This is insightful! For a music lover, i really appreciate the perspective this piece provides. Thank you for the wealth of music knowledge in this documentary 🙏
This is very, very well told! I lived in Zambia for 2 years (2010-2012) and started to hear about the stories of Zamrock, but couldn't locate any music there. Listened to lots of kalindula in the villages, rumba from the Congo, and folk music from Malawi. Was so stoked to find Witch records in my local shop when I finally came back to the states.
Just now noticed you have a VINYL profile picture. Definitely one of my favourite tv shows of all time. Would love to see a video about it from you! Also great video as always!
Great video overview. Some tapes of these bands survive and must soon be digitized as magnetic tapes lose quality with time and quality can drop off rather quickly after several decades. At 9:45 in the video, I noticed a store front with a sign that said Kwatcha. Kwatcha was the currency and one could buy a vinyl for about 50 Kwatcha. I had a suitcase of 50 Kwatcha notes and sold them for use as props in movies made in Southern California. Many bands lost members due to AIDS. Perhaps most notably some members of Oliver Mtukudzi's band (in neighboring Zimbabwe). Tuku, as he was known, recorded a popular song commemorating this tragedy. The chorus throughout the song, "What shall we do?" was a sad reminder that some problems have complicated or difficult solutions. The song, in Shona as I recall, was about a fictional man that gave AIDS to his pregnant wife, who transferred it to his new born son - hence the chorus "What shall we do?" Tuku died a couple years ago. As I recall, from complications of diabetes. He was in his late 50s and a truly great man.
This is so beautiful. As a Zambian it's nice to see someone share such inspiring stories. I feel Zambia has alot of potential but things went wrong along the way.
that potential part, my guy. We have too much wasted potential. My sister and I had a conversation recently on why modern Zambian music is so under-appreciated across the continent. Yes, we still have to refine our production, but I see no reason why we can't compete alongside West Africa and South Africa. Look at Kay Figo, who has an insane Russian following (I dare you to go to the Kanyelele video and find a non-Russian comment lol). James Chiti, Yellow Man, and other 00s era musicians have huge Pacific Islander and South American followings. Videos of Chika's 2010 mega hit, Lupupa, are full of French comments because it was a hit in France. Oga Family are big in Mozambique, Namibia etc... There are more examples. The talent is there, the fans are there, but somehow we are still so over looked. I don't get it.
This is why the internet was created! To share knowledge like this.
I could not agree more
word
fuckin aye dude!
truest thing I heard today
Yesssss
Hey Bandsplaining. I'm a young Zambian in my 20's and so many in my generation have no clue about the zamrock era in our country. Thank you very much for this short documentary and helping us preserve a piece of our history that was soon to vanish and be forgotten
Haha I've found you here my fellow rock music lover
@@annied1997 Glad to know I'm not the only one Annie
And what about nowadays? What’s interesting is in the underground?
Some of the bands from then are on youtube also, check them out!
Sick guitar work all over. Maybe some of the young artists can bring this music from the past back. Great samples for house, hip hop, other contemporary styles
th-cam.com/video/DLhloZ-m5AI/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/JjEnjX-4EDI/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/ZYvMcpYeM7o/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/2QxeDecgNWg/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/6T4OlQO56O8/w-d-xo.html
Bro not even the museum has a section to honour great musicians and artists 🤦🏾♂️
My grandfather was actually part of this movement. His music name was Dr. Footswitch. Man, you have bought back memories. I still have two vinyl records of his greatest hits.
Wow, as a kid, I remember Dr Footswitch, though I cannot recall any of his music. However I do remember he was one of the leading lights of the Zamrock era. Is it true that he left Zambia and moved to live in South Africa?
@@themoe.1 I'm so honored that someone remembers him. Yes he did move to South Africa, and just like most Zamrock champions of that day, his life was short-lived. I still own his guitar to this day. Though he only used this specific one once.
@ Michael, great to know you have 2 vinyl records of his hits plus his guitar. I don’t think any of his albums or collection of his hits have ever been re-issued, I’m hoping that day will come sometime soon.
Oh wow, he also called himself Ted Jagger for some time i think! Some of his music has actually been reissued in compilations, I have lots of photos of his that I dug up in the ZANIS archives, while making the documentary on Jagari Chanda and WITCH if you like I can send them to you!
Michael That’s amazing. I’m happy to have come across this music
Man Jimi Hendrix didn’t realize just how much of influence he was going to have on the world. Crazy how some poor black kid from Seattle could influence so many.
Have you ever heard the Hendrix jingle for Radio one? It is my fav after "If 6 turned out to be 9". Jimi having some fun.
Mark Clipsham Yes I know almost everything about Jimi.
@@ercm2393 Eric - he is the best. I have a three album set of really obscure stuff I'm going to transfer to digital - talking to space people smoking colored cigarettes and such. Ever hear of Kevin Ayers? He and Hendrix are tied for my fav musical artist. The confessions of dr dream and the document series are my favs of his. Can't wait to dig into the Zambian tunes. I go on safaris hunting for music for my DJ shows. If the music is well composed and well crafted i will listen to it. Keep on rockin' my friend! Auto tuner - bah!
Black people are the pioneers they see what we create and they copy it 🤷🏾♂️
...and to think he was heavily inspired by the likes Terry Kath who’s unknown to many.
Fun Fact: WITCH is actually an acronym for "We Intend To Create Havoc"
I love that
That's actually really cool!
*cause
no jonny welfare its called hamock.🤣
They say it in the beginning of their song "Introduction" (live version)
Sounds like a Netflix series to me.
Truee
I was thinking feature film.
Definitely
Good idea, netflix series about music from all country.
@@williamsichone8591 8
This is the best youtube recommendation I've had in a while
Am Zambian and I didn’t know this. This should be in our history books.
Dude am wondering what they are teaching in music classes not cool man i have learnt more zambian history than my history teacher ever taught me
Our education system needs a face lift
Joe yeah definitely we need to learn more about our culture and not western bullshit. This is something to be proud of.
Tell me about it all they teach is how to read music I guess.
@@KaumbaChingonyi exactly. It's annoying me how people from western countries tell me my own history like wtf is our ministry of education doing? In 2017 a Belgian told me about mama Lenshina and I was shocked cause I had never heard of the woman before and I had to do some research. Being a rock and alternative fan, now I discovered that some covers I've heard online are actually songs from Zambia.!! 😑
I saw witch last night. There were only between 50 and 70 people at the show but the atmosphere was amazing. It was so great to see a band who helped creating a whole new genre almost 50 years later. Their Music is timeless 😍
🧢
I AM A ZAMBIAN JUST UNDER 25 AND I WOULD LOVE TO THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO, I HAD NO IDEA ABOUT THIS AND IT HAS MADE ME VERY PROUD.
I learned about Zamrock from the Movie *The Comedy* where they play Amanaz. I've listened to that album so much that I'm now tired of it, but damn is it a good album.
I saw WITCH recently and they were incredible. Emmanuel was the only original member, the rest were all from Europe. Still a great show. I asked him after if he was influenced by James Brown, because he played a cover and had a similar stage presence. He said that he saw James Brown in Zambia in 1970 and was instantly hooked on him. So grateful that they came here.
ghostphoto i saw them at DesertDaze last year and they blew me away. His presence onstage, still, was exhilarating. And those songs are great so yah, much love for these people!
@@gravelevel3084 I've seen people 1/3 his age perform with 10% of the energy. It was insane. He also told a story about how they played a show once and they were all arrested for loudness. They went to prison and were each given a pack of cigarettes and some sugar. Somehow that was the most rock n roll shit I've ever heard.
we intend to cause havoc
Where do you see it at? Like what streaming company?
Great. Also:James Brow actually performed in Zambia? Didn't know that.
Damn 8:10 straight up sounds like the coolest place ever to hangout...
Imagine the pioneers of rock in your country playing out their innovative stuff for you while you catch fish, bbq or take a leisurely swim in the lake instead of going to sweaty drug fueled nightclubs...My God
It's still a cool place to hangout to this day though there are not so many live band performances that take place there now.👍🏾
Mindolo dam still is an interesting place. My parents took me there as a kid in ther early 2000s
I used to consider myself an adventurer on music genres and styles
Now I see, I don't know shit about good music.
brëu ditto
That’s the best part is it a endless trip
this is the type of humility I like to see...
Haha same! You ought to check out some of the contemporary Moroccan musicians too. They're taking the traditional gnawa music to great heights by incorporating elements of fusion, jazz and rock.
Similarly, you might like Egyptian jazz. Next level music.
th-cam.com/video/zeAsSgPBmO0/w-d-xo.html surely you must be familiar with bagpipe jazz?
This is an example of how we do well when others do well. If it wasn't for that brief window of prosperity we would've never had Zamrock, now imagine if that brief window of prosperity happened in every African country, now imagine if that brief window was a large window, and imagine how aside from music, what other things could have developed in a stable and relatively prosperous Africa, More game studios? More biochemists? More middle class people to do business with? Less refugees? We do well when others do well. I believe Orwell said something about asking himself how many Einsteins and Newtons of the world spent their days slaving away on a field somewhere.
ReddoFreddo most elected leaders and those who call the shots on a global scale dont have such enlightenment or wisdom.
There is no profit in poverty for anyone. Fact is capitalist prosperity if properly applied will lift people out of poverty and create a bountiful and creative society if given a chance. The problem is many people are more interested in abusing these systems and implementing political authoritarianism, which kills the human spirit. In the 1970s, much of Africa and the Middle East were on track to becoming modern, prosperous, liberal nations. If you look at pictures of Iran and Iraq and Turkey and even Afghanistan during that time period you can see free and open people enjoying a society on the upswing. But then the mullahs and authoritarian dictators took over and wrecked it all.
@@Dr.TJ_Eckleburg true but you have to acknowledge the role that other nations played in this period.
Cold war was still going, US and Soviets fighting over resources, implementing authoritarian regimes all for the sake of stable resources. Mainly oil. Those regimes did not appear by themselves. Capitalism and authoritarianism sadly don't exclude one another
That could be if we didn't have 50 different tiny countries alover the continent. If western countries leave us alone instead of creating those tiny countries which are no more than military outposts that they use to loot the continent of its niches. If were one country we could pool our talents and say no with one voice to those who seek to exploit us. Yes we could. But as long as we have all these resources that others want, they will forever destabilise us and turn around and tell us we can't run our country while having their tum pressing down on the destabilizing scale. China, India the USA is great because they one country. If you had to pick one thing that make those country great it's their unity. Unity is the greatest wealth, without it you will be alwsys poor and powerless.
@EVOCATEUR I think you clearly have not studied Zambia or even the other nations you mentioned during those times.Zambia was ruled by a pro soviet government during this time that was not a traditional liberal democracy.Turkey saw its growth during the authoritarian Kemalist periods and is still quite rich today but with the Islamic buffoonery that came in the 90’s,same for Iran though their Islamism came earlier.And Iraq never had a liberal democracy like ever(except today),it was a monarchy until 1958 and then a socialist Pan Arabist republic,first under Qasim who was a communist type,then the Nasserist and then the Baathist who would lead to the rise of Hussein.Same for Afghanistan Which was a monarchy,then a modernist authoritarian republic and then a communist nation,things would go downhill once the Islamist took over.
This is the kind of classic rock doc I want to see.
I learn more off of TH-cam than I do in school, as a Zambian I didn't even know about zamrock until now and I love rock music so much now that I can actually listen to rock music from Zambia it really makes me happy, thank you for the video❤️
th-cam.com/video/2C84koMOUng/w-d-xo.html
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
I'm Zambian too and I found out about Zamrock on Wikipedia but this documentary dove much much deeper than that article.
I'm a Trinidadian 🇹🇹 who had the fortunate opportunity of meeting Emmanuel last year, at the screening of a film based on the band W.I.T.C.H.
An amazing film. An amazing man🇿🇲
As a Zambian, I appreciate your research into this part of our history. My mother confirms that you actually got your facts right. Thank you so much.
Thank you! Well researched. It was a golden era and I loved every minute.
I was a guitarist for the band Musi O Tunya (Wayne Barnes)
Rikki Illilonga, Brian Chengala, myself, and Jasper are still going.
I no longer play due to illness but the others are doing it.
Brian is now Shakarongo and a public figure, as is Rikki.
RIP Paul, Aliki, and Ndara. And all other sisters and brothers who fell along the way.
(Edit: I know I was the worst guitarist in music history, but did you cut me out of 4:27 intentionally?)
Hey man. Do you by any chance have a collection of songs or albums you guys did?
We need the music !!
Hey Wayne..I've just bumped into this report and mentioned that I knew you guys in Nairobi in 1973. I only remembered Rikki and Brian(drummer) who became my buddy. When Mosi O Tunya band was in Nairobi, you guys hung out at Arcadia Restaurant and Nightclub. It was owned by Jack "the Jew". Early 1973, a Kenyan musicologist from London negotiated and bought the venue from Jack and I remember you guys playing there before you left for Zambia. The Kenyan who bought the club was my father who, thereafter, really rocked Nairobi for four years.
Please give a big hug to the guys....you may not remember for I was small but I played acoustic guitar(classic) on nylon.
I came to school in San Diego and Los Angeles, California in 1979 and have done alot of music concerts of Afro rhythms...Congo, Brazil, Cuba and more. I'm doing biz back in Kenya and am planning to go back to Afrika. Stay in touch, I still have Afrisa(Tabu Ley's band) to work with in LA and my network and we may hookup after all these years and rock the John Anson Ford theatre. Ahsante sana.
@@ochiengolum2808 Thank you
That info cheers me up
Jack was a real character and also a brave war hero. His belief in African music was important.
Can't remember your dad but I will. I'm very old with bad memory.
Ahh,
I remember him now.
''They are singing in their own tongue, they are not trying to sound like anybody else but themselves'' - what a sentiment. Amazing video, thank you for this.
I'm a South African who loves African music so this discovery adds to my love. My uncle worked in Zambia and Zimbabwe in the 70s. I'd love to hear the younger musicians sample these songs and preserve a part of this history.
Exactly!!! They (new generation musicians) want to sound anything but Zambian and it’s so cringe
As a Zambian living in Zambia, this gave me so much joy to watch. It also enlightened me on a lot I didn't know about our Zamrock era. Big ups to you lot for this one.
I’ve always wanted to learn more about Zambia but I didn’t think I’d relate to the culture too much. Never been more proud of my Zambian Heritage 🇿🇲🤘🏿
I’m half Zambian on my mother’s side. I sent my parents this video and it made them and myself so happy to hear about this Zamrock scene :) thank you for creating this
Glad to see people are still talking about zamrock
You left this comment just to feel like u knew about it before us
*Zamorak
@Reginald Brent did you watch the video....? all the music was inspired by each other. the zamrock movement was started after the beatles and whatnot lmao
clicking on rocks zamorakian rock
Reginald Brent bud... he didn’t say anything racist. I agree that Rock n Roll has black roots but races don’t own genres. Zamrock was inspired by the Beatles the same way the Beatles were inspired by Chuck Berry and so on. And this is coming from a Zambian African-American too before you start calling me racist.
I know Jagari from Witch well. We've done a radio show together. In the 70s and 80s it was very expensive and hard for musicians to get instruments and sound gear so my grandfather John Kruger and his partner Hendrik Garson started making guitars, drum kits, mixers, speakers etc for all of these guys. The business was called Piano House and was an institution in Zambia. I have many many fond memories of playing in the shop as a kid and think that listening to Zambian musos practicing there is what inspired my passion for music.
Absolutely fantastic video man, loved it. You dug up some great historical facts and got me eager to check out more Zamrock.
You might also enjoy Cambodia's rock music during the 60's and 70's which was sadly abruptly crushed by the Khmer Rouge, with several musicians dying in the genocide. They had some outstanding music. "Cambodian Rocks" is a great compilation album to start with if you're interessted.
Thank you! Definitely will check this out
I actually came into the comments to suggest the same thing. I would be super interested to hear a discussion of this!
Same thing goes for south Vietnam. They also had some realy dope music during the 60-70!
I will check out some Cambodian music from that era and curse evil Pol Pot right as I push the play button for each song.
@@daskalbdashupfte oh yeah! I bought myself this 50 CD collection from the record company "Sublime Frequencies". Havent nearly got half way through, but one I did listen to and which stuck out was an album called "Saigon Rock". They had this fascinating mix of cool as hell oriental female singers with somewhat Jimi Hendrix influenced funk rock.
Oh man I remember witch. My Dad was born in Zambia and I must have heard of them through him. Well most of my childhood memories regarding music centers around my Dads album collection. Thank god it was a good one. Really cool vid man.
Thank you! Does he/you still have any of those records? Those original pressings are worth hundreds, sometimes thousands.
@@Bandsplaining No unfortunately not. Its a crying shame but that was about 28 years ago or so. Some records survived and some just vanished over time
Loved how he was not critical of his fellow people who died of aids, rather he just regrets the loss of the musical talents his country had. Great man and a great musician.
Seeing someone talk about Zambia in a generally positive light was nice. Thank you Bandsplaining 🙌🏽☺️🎊
Beautiful, grew up listening to these, my father Norman C Muntemba was a founding member of Salty Dog, a talented bassist who passed in 2017, listening to their music here is sooo heartwarming❤❤❤❤
Khala My Friend is a masterpiece. Spotify recommended a Zamrock compilation to me a few years back and I've been listening ever since! Thanks for the history behind such amazing music!!
I wonder if the musos and writers are getting any pennies from Spotify?
It's very Zambient.
Could you share the playlist?
Now it’s gained a new listener in 2024!!! My kind of music! All the way from Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬
It's crazy how AIDS could just wipe out a whole movement of trailblazing musicians like this... makes you wonder what the world has missed out on because of the harm that disease inflicted...
More like racism n colonization
Yeah, and not just colonialisms and racism, but you can even go back to neighborhoods in my part of the country and you just think how can society systematically drain itself from so many potential Einstein's, Beethoven's etc. Kind of offtopic here thougj
As a Zambia, not only did Aids wipe out our music but also a large number of our educated population
If by "racism and colonization" you mean technological, medical and social advancement, then you are correct.
@@StriatedMuscle I doubt technology and medical advancements spread AIDs, genius.
Man, please revive any form of African rock and guitar music, especially rock. This is so monumental.
The TH-cam algorithm gave me this video despite me knowing nothing about Zamrock or this channel and I have to say it’s fantastic, both the music and the video. Subscribed!
Wow Zambian here. I didn’t even know they had a large psych rock scene. That’s my favourite music genre
Amanaz is great. I stumbled on them last year and fell in love with their sound instantly.
Am Zambian and these songs Make my Psychedelic trips better 🔥🔥🔥* in my own language😭
lmao 😂😂😂
So interesting to find these new types of music as a songwriter for inspiration! Thank you very much
Ryan Billing i know right! Found out about sahara rock and now this. So cool
You are doing awesome work...I found your channel by chance..don't think would ever leave it.
The crazy thing is my dad is from Ghana and grew up in the 1960s - 1970s listening to Zamrock and I found them years later looking for new music and now we're both listening to Zamrock
Thank you for doing this, great stuff! My son worked for part of a year in a medical clinic in Burundi and he said the local folks he met there were among the best folks he has ever known and maintains long distance relationships with them to this day. He also saw the famous Drummers of Burundi perform while he was there.
I don't know why this was in my recommendations but I'm so glad it was, I was captivated from start to finish! I'd never heard of Zamrock before. So sad that the scene didn't survive for longer.
Best TH-cam recommendation this week🙂
True❤
🔥 th-cam.com/video/2C84koMOUng/w-d-xo.html 🔥
Just wanted to say thank you for making this, I’m a young Rap artist based in the UK and I’m of Zambian heritage. My Dad always used to tell me that he was in a bad grouping up and this allowed me to get a glimpse of what this era of music looked like
Wow! Awesome rabbit hole!
Thank you for enlightening me to all this great music I've probably never would have come across. Love all of your videos, keep it up!
well done guys what a great documentary! thanks for sharing it 😍😍😍😍
Let's not forget that Dr Kenneth Kaunda himself is a complete musician, a guitarist, a pianist, a vocalist and a songwriter. Just that politics took a higher precedence in his life calling.
You have no idea the Joy in my heart to hear someone dig into the positive of my Country,Zambia!! I'm happy!!! Thanks Bandsplaining!
I feel like we've lost a piece of history. I lived in Zambia as a kid and never heard any ZamRock,. It's sad that I never heard it then, but I glad I got to hear it now.
I can't explain how much this video as inspired me🔥🇿🇲
I'm zambian and this is so great to see, I can't say how much I appreciate this video. Thank you
Wow am from Zambia 🇿🇲 thanks for this knowledge...
I bet you're a record collector.
You guys do a lot for us musicians and other music fans that live for obscure music. Thank you!
Zikomo, musale bwino! (Nyanja: Thank you, be well!)
This video is fantastic, thank you for sharing it with us.
I’m glad someone is documenting how much of music culture really comes from Africa. The level at which music culture is generated here is surreal. Thousands of music genres, a wealth of sounds and very original creative ideas exist here, safe from gentrification and idea thieves.
Did you even watch the video? Zamrock literally started by 60s British cover bands...
Miss T it’s hard to appreciate differences when their identity is hijacked and then covered in the history books. Why is Elvis the king of rock n roll when it should be chuck berry? America has done that with rock, jazz, and tried it with hiphop. It’s not that their racist at heart, but rather they want to cash out, a white musician makes more and sells more than a black musician, but the black musicians where creating the cool shit, cool and black go hand in hand. There was once a joke on the tv the office on how to star a business. “ you get the black people to start doing it, then the white people will do it too, then you get the blacks to stop doing it”
There’s some serious truth in that joke. American pop culture starts in the black community trickles down from those who take ( the gays) they bring it to white girls then it becomes mainstream. The easier way to trace his pattern is through slang and popular music.
@@Southforthewinter American pop culture is nothing but garbage these days. Not something to be proud of. You want to know why Elvis was the king of rock n roll? Because he had the charisma and sex appeal that Chuck Berry didn't have. His image was more important than his music in regards to his success. Jimi Hendrix on the other hand had it all, and is regarded as one of, if not the greatest guitar player of all time. Was he just an Uncle Tom? By your logic all music that blacks make using instruments invented by whites should be credited to whites. Did blacks invent the acoustic guitar? I guess Robert Johnson doesn't get credit for his work then, oops! Nothing but idiotic racist nonsense.
MrFreeGman everything would be fine and dandy if credit was given to the originator that’s all. Everyone borrows from everyone the difference is Europeans have a tendency of lying, plain and simple.
@@misst7923 No, they literally stole it. Early Stones, tons of Zeppelin songs that made them rich while they didn't pay royalties for decades to people like Willie Dixon, and that hambone beat that Bo Diddley popularized and you find throughout rock and pop from the 1960s to present was carried here from Africa and perpetuated by slapping the body when their drums were banned to oppress their culture. Once you hear it in African music you hear that clave in all musics of the Americas. If it wasn't for Africa you'd be listening to Victorian parlor music. Please.
To anyone coming back to this video, Witch came out with a great new album this year and you should definitely check it out. if you like their old stuff even better, but it’s a great rock album on its own regardless of the tremendous struggle and perseverance it took to get here
Had never heard of Zamrock before. Glad this popped up in my recommendations. Thanks for making a video on this.
We
Intend
To
Create
Havoc
“Hometown” is such a damn good song.
Hometown is an amazing song! *We Intend To Cause Havoc
Skal Man right, and thank ye for that. Been a while since I said that.
nah one of their best is "strange dream."
@@ralphedwards7803 yea, they have a lot of catchy songs, strange dream must have been one of the biggest songs from the lazy bones album.
th-cam.com/video/2C84koMOUng/w-d-xo.html
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
I absolutely love stuff like this. It's sad it ended so tragically but glad people are now working to preserve such a great musical culture. Also love all the links you shared. Definitely going to check out more
Those kind of stories makes me so happy! The human spirit and creativity is incredible
Woah. This is NUTS!!!! The music is INCREDIBLE! Thank you for the introduction!!
Amazing episode. Classic music. I'm from Namibia and this made me appreciate Zambia more...
So I played the Spotify playlist & it's some of the grooviest tunes I've ever heard. Thanks brus
For once I appreciate my insomnia...randomly turned the channel to ZNBC and they were discussing zamrock...something I've never heard about! Which is sad. I appreciate this video so much, it truly has educated me on something I should have known. Definitely gonna do more research on this
Storming off to Spotify to listen to Zamrock right now!
TH-cam knows what to recommend when I'm high.
Same bro
I see a robot violating a crab in your profile image. 😂
@@WmG2004 It's an upside-down Chicago Bulls logo, but I'll now never look at it the same way.
@@WmG2004 Dude!!😂
@@davidhaseyes lol
After being in Zambia i had no earthly idea they shaped music history. Beautiful. There should be a museum in Zambia for this.
I grew up in Zambia in the 70's and 80's, but was too young to experience Zamrock originally, , but I do remember the curfews. So glad to be able to experience it. Thanks for exposing it to more people..
Thank you for covering this music history of my great country of Zambia!! Such a well put together documentary!! 🇿🇲🇿🇲🇿🇲
this is like a whole new world opening, this kind of sound is my favorite kind of music and to like discover a whole new world of psych garage rock is amazing
Many are the afflictions of the righteous but God delivers them all #zambiakuchalo 🇿🇲🇿🇲🇿🇲2022
Yeyeyeye❤‼️‼️‼️‼️
Something about this music is so beautiful, yet so tragic.
The idea of young Zambians trying to escape from their bad hand they've been dealt in life, through music, and then succumbing to a horrible disease and then having their music largely forgotten, even by their own countrymen (no disrespect intended, I am just going off some others comments written here).
I don't know, the whole story fills me with joy that they were able to do what they loved, but at the same time I can't help but feel sad that it was cut short by something ultimately out of their control. What could have been, yknow?
Love and respect to Zambia and Zambians, thankyou for the music, and please don't let this beautiful piece of your culture be forgotten.
You guys have done an amazing job compiling this footage. I can only imagine the headache you went thru getting this information. Its so well researched and documented. It matches everything my father told me about the 70s rock scene, its so unfortunate the remaining survivors are not given much recognition and credit for the contribution they made to the genre
I had read in a comment from your excellent Sahara music post (I've been rocking out to Mdou Moctar, Tinariwen, Tamikrest, etc for over a week now) that mentioned Zamrock, which I had been completely unaware of and I started checking out WITCH and some others. I was hoping you would do a post on them. Well done! I can't believe all the stuff I've missed! I guess I will be looking forward to Soviet Post-Punk and Cambodian (check out Dengue Fever from San Francisco) music next ;). Life without exploring is just existing.
This is a really well-researched video. Thank you for creating a Spotify playlist as well!
Am happy to see documentaries like this, being from Zambia I didn't know we had such rich history
I love all African psychedelia. I love hearing African musicians take all the American genres from blues to Cuban to reggae, hip hop and everything else that were inspired by W. Africa and bring them full circle like the call and response tradition writ large, putting their masterful touch on it.
West Africans were already amazing with string instruments so guitar was a natural fit here. Psychedelia from all over the world was amazing, check out the tropicalia movement in Brazil if you're not familiar and someone mentioned cumbia and chicha, love that electrified. Excellent work, thanks :-)
How can I not click this title. Great video concept, great execution!
You sir are a serious documentary creator, I've watched a bunch of them already. Love your work, cheers to you and thank you!
Holy crap, what an amazing channel. History lesson and awesome music tips in one.
Bless your soul mate. Discovering such a wonderful genre cos of you.
This is such an amazing channel!
This is amazing. I'm sending this link to all my Zambian friends!
As a Zambian who does / LOVES music this is so enlightening and amazing to hear. Thank you so much for sharing 💛
This is insightful! For a music lover, i really appreciate the perspective this piece provides. Thank you for the wealth of music knowledge in this documentary 🙏
This is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this, I'd be happy to add any of this to my LP collection.
Zamrock is on every Sunday afternoon on radio Phoenix. Best day of the week for me. Thanks for this short documentary.
This is very, very well told! I lived in Zambia for 2 years (2010-2012) and started to hear about the stories of Zamrock, but couldn't locate any music there. Listened to lots of kalindula in the villages, rumba from the Congo, and folk music from Malawi. Was so stoked to find Witch records in my local shop when I finally came back to the states.
Bandsplaining... The fact that you know The BJM is all the credibility I need from you! EXCELLENT video!
Just now noticed you have a VINYL profile picture. Definitely one of my favourite tv shows of all time.
Would love to see a video about it from you!
Also great video as always!
I have had goosebumps all the duration of the video.
Thank you for sharing this.
Wow thank you for introducing me to this music, it's really great.
Great video overview. Some tapes of these bands survive and must soon be digitized as magnetic tapes lose quality with time and quality can drop off rather quickly after several decades. At 9:45 in the video, I noticed a store front with a sign that said Kwatcha. Kwatcha was the currency and one could buy a vinyl for about 50 Kwatcha. I had a suitcase of 50 Kwatcha notes and sold them for use as props in movies made in Southern California. Many bands lost members due to AIDS. Perhaps most notably some members of Oliver Mtukudzi's band (in neighboring Zimbabwe). Tuku, as he was known, recorded a popular song commemorating this tragedy. The chorus throughout the song, "What shall we do?" was a sad reminder that some problems have complicated or difficult solutions. The song, in Shona as I recall, was about a fictional man that gave AIDS to his pregnant wife, who transferred it to his new born son - hence the chorus "What shall we do?" Tuku died a couple years ago. As I recall, from complications of diabetes. He was in his late 50s and a truly great man.
My dad worked on the copper belt in Zambia in the 70s! I’ve heard all his stories about Zamrock scene in the mines, cool to see it on a video!!
Excellent video, and thanks for the link to the Spotify playlist! Awesome!
This is so beautiful. As a Zambian it's nice to see someone share such inspiring stories. I feel Zambia has alot of potential but things went wrong along the way.
that potential part, my guy. We have too much wasted potential. My sister and I had a conversation recently on why modern Zambian music is so under-appreciated across the continent. Yes, we still have to refine our production, but I see no reason why we can't compete alongside West Africa and South Africa. Look at Kay Figo, who has an insane Russian following (I dare you to go to the Kanyelele video and find a non-Russian comment lol). James Chiti, Yellow Man, and other 00s era musicians have huge Pacific Islander and South American followings. Videos of Chika's 2010 mega hit, Lupupa, are full of French comments because it was a hit in France. Oga Family are big in Mozambique, Namibia etc... There are more examples.
The talent is there, the fans are there, but somehow we are still so over looked. I don't get it.
Great show! Really enjoyable and kudos for spotlighting these guys