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Various Artists Zambush Vol. 1 SWP, 2004

In the 1970s, President Kenneth Kaunda--himself a musician--decreed that 90% of the music broadcast on Zambian state radio had to be local. Up to that point, Zambian urbanites had been far more interested in foreign rumba and rock 'n' roll than in the traditional adaptations local bands were recording. Now, of necessity, people had to adjust. Bands began trying to play rock music, resulting in the "zamrock" genre. But starting in the early 80s, popularity went to bands who found creative ways to transform traditional sounds from various rural areas into urban, electric pop. Lonrho (The London Rhodesia Company) had built a record pressing plant at Ndola, and Teal Records used it to crank out local Zambian dance music. In 1993, plagued by rampant cassette piracy, Teal closed the plant, and the country went into a musical decline from which it has only recently begun to emerge. This compilation samples hits from the brief but rich heyday of roots pop in Zambia. Nine different band sing in four different languages in these ten tracks, in all a fantastic introduction to an all-but-overlooked era in Afropop history.

The dominant genre here is called kalindula, and that name has been applied to the era as a whole, although as Michael Baird points out in excellent liner notes, this was just one of the traditional pop genres animating Lusaka and other urban centers. One hears echoes of Congolese rumba's lilt, and the muted guitar favored by many Zimbabwean acts of this era, but these songs are distinctive. Many feature a ferociously fast 12/8 beat, but lyrical, harmonized vocal melodies and relaxed lead guitar lines give the music a deceptively laid-back veneer, as on the Serenje Kalindula Band's "Umwana Wanshiwa," a moralistic song about an orphan.

There is a lot of warning in the lyrics, as on the lead track "Kachasu" by The Five Revolutions. During this same period, AIDS was quietly ravaging the population, and it was often remarked that people in denial attributed deaths to other causes. This song turns the tables, claiming that the popular local liquor called kachasu kills many, and that the deaths are often attributed to AIDS. Sorting that one out is analogous to untangling the frenzied guitar and bass lines that weave through this cranker. But again, a sweet vocal line makes it all go down easily, perhaps like a shot of kachasu.

These are dance songs, driving and energized. When the Julizya Band boasts about putting on a fancy necktie to impress a girl in "Tai Yaka," there's no mistaking the playful bluster. The beat here is 4/4, with just a hint of rumba's swagger. The guitar work on these tracks tends to be more staccato than that of the era's Congolese bands. Baird points out that the most distinctive aspect of Zambian roots pop is the bass guitar work. In much of south-central Africa, the soloist in a percussion ensemble is the lowest drum. Echoing that, the bass players here play very strongly and melodically, often alternating between high and low melodies, like a high and low drum playing interlocking rhythms.

Zambia's pop music industry is in something of a revival these days, but as polished and tight as much of what is appearing is, the stamp of originality is often lacking. All the more reason why we need Zambush Vol. 2!


Contributed by Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org