Witch Band Re-Release Song After 38 Years
WITCH Band is known as a legend in the music genre known as Zamrock. This Zamrock band features a fusion of psychedelic rock and African music that developed in the 1970s.
WITCH, which stands for “We Intend To Cause Havoc”, released seven full-length albums in the 1970s and 1980s. Finally, they disbanded. However, they reunited in 2012, and they did several tours even though they didn’t release any new music.
Not long ago, WITCH released their first new single in 38 years, but it wasn’t a new song. This is an old live recording that they never recorded until now.
The zamrock genre, and in particular WITCH, has recently attracted attention because of the album As Above, So Below. The album has just been released by Zambian-born artist, Sampa The Great. On the record, Sampa pays homage to zamrock, and he collaborates with WITCH on one song.
So it looks like the time is right for WITCH Band to release the percussive rocker Waile, which really sounds like a 1970s vintage song. This is WITCH’s first new song since 1984, and it is their first recording with original singer Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda since 1977.
In a press release, WITCH keyboardist Patrick Mwondela explained the origins of the song, “Waile was one of the songs I brought to WITCH when I joined in 1978. Although it was often played live at the time, it was never recorded until the new line-up. the band picked it up 43 years later in a rehearsal on an island in Kenya. The band then accepted it and made it their own.”
“A few months after that, they gave him a new lease of life by recording it at the legendary DB Studios Lusaka. Sung in my native language, Luvale, the subject matter is a nostalgic lament for the home of an ancient African tribe that would eventually settle in Zambia,” continued Patrick.
Waile is out now on the Desert Daze Sound imprint from Partisan Records. The song will be available as a single on 7-inch vinyl which will be released on January 27, 2023.
Witch Band — also often written as WITCH or W.I.T.C.H.—is a zamrock or Zambian rock band formed in the 1970s. WITCH Widely recognized as Zambia’s most popular band of the 1970s, WITCH was led by lead vocalist Emanuel “Jagari” Chanda.
The band formed during Zambia’s golden age of post-independence, but in the late 1970s, economic collapse and rising government authoritarianism saw WITCH, like most Zamrock bands, fade away. The band was revived in 2012 after the reissue of their record became popular overseas.
WITCH formed during Zambia’s golden age of post-independence, but in the late 1970s, the collapse of the economy and rising government authoritarianism, made WITCH, like most Zamrock bands, play daytime shows to escape the curfew, fading away. This prompted Jagari to leave the band and pursue a career as a teacher.
After Jagari’s departure, WITCH Band recruited Patrick Chisembele and Christine Jackson as lead vocalists. During this time, the band moved away from the rock, and towards disco music. After the departure of Patrick Chisembele and Christine Jackson, WITCH’s sound shifted again, now to incorporate more Zambian musical elements. Later iterations, led by Chris Mbewe, played mostly kalindula music, exemplified in songs from this era such as “Janet” and “Nazingwa”.
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After the mid-1980s, the band disappeared and stopped playing live until 2012, when Chanda was invited to the US to revive the band. In 2013, WITCH toured again, with a new lineup including Jagari, alongside new members from the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland. The band’s previous discography has also been re-released digitally and vinyl. Since 2006, the group’s music has been featured on several compilation albums curated by international tastemakers including Rolling Stone, Rough Trade, and Now-Again Records; Now-Again has included WITCH on several releases including the popular compilation Welcome to Zamrock!
In their discography, WITCH Band listed several of their full album titles, including:
Introduction (1972; reissued 2011), In The Past (1974; reissued 2012), Lazy Bones!! (1975; reissued 2012), Lukombo Vibes (1976; reissued 2012), WITCH (1977), Movin’ On (1980; reissued 2015), and Kuomboka (1984; reissued 2015).
